SportReach Ministers to US and International Children Over the Summer

We received two notes from SportReach International, one of LPC’s impact partners this week. The first is from the SR Director of Domestic Ministries Chad Tabor:

What a great summer of outreach that God has displayed through twelve volunteer coaches traveling the central US to eleven churches, using sports as our tool to share the message of Jesus Christ. Along with reaching over 500 with the good news through sports camps, half the team also had a chance to evangelize on the streets of Minneapolis while the other half also helped at a Bible camp in Nebraska. Many of the coaches expressed that this summer of ministry was the best experiences of their live and how it made a difference in their relationship and understanding of Jesus.

The coaches shared in many God sightings. At a JV camp in St. Cloud, a coach started to review the different colors on the e-ball. A younger girl was there listening to a description of the white patch on the ball when she asked one of the coaches, “What kind of prayer would pray to be made pure in Christ?” The coach gave her an example of a prayer of salvation. She took that cue to just start praying and talking directly to God, in her own way, about her need for Jesus.

Experiences such as this really hit home with all of us about how this is all about God. To see children made such an important decision and personally understand what it means at such a deep level is an awesome experience. We feel so privileged to be a part of God’s great plan for his kingdom.

Until all the nets are full,
Chad Tabor
Director of Domestic Ministries

The second note is from Tom Parr, SR Executive Director:

On the international front, I was able to help lead 17 teenagers from Woodland Park to northeastern Brazil to help complete the construction of a church and then to hold three-day SportReach camps. We played and shared the gospel with about 150 kids each day, and by the end of three days, 80 kids ranging in age from 8-18 had accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Also, 13 of our teenage staff had their lives so transformed by the trip they were baptized by our youth pastor in Brazil. And I had the privilege of baptizing my 15-year-old son there, too. God was so evident in every event: construction, worship, sports camp, devotion times, and all the kids’ relationships with each other and the Brazilians.

God bless!
Tom Parr
Executive Director

A Life Saved at Pregnancy Care Center’s New Primrose Facility

LifePoint received this update from the Pregnancy Care Center this week:

As the apostle Paul began his letters in thanksgiving, I want to thank you for your unwavering faithfulness to God’s work at Pregnancy Care Center in Springfield and Aurora. You have made it possible to purchase the Primrose property, and you have invested in the long-term impact on lives, eternity, and our community as a whole.

As God knits us together in the womb, he also orders the steps of young women to our center. Before we opened our doors to this new facility, we saw a young Christian student. In the midst of her crisis, she wanted to terminate her pregnancy. The giver of life had different plans. She has chosen life for her baby and is not on a course in harmony with her faith.

Thank you to all who faithfully help us in the mission of the Center. We are still getting settled in to our new offices and seeing many clients who enjoy their new surroundings.

In his service,
Cindi Boston
Executive Director

LifePoint partners with Pregnancy Care Center and will be participating in PCC’s Walk for Life on Saturday, October 4, at 10 AM, in Jordan Valley Park.

A City of Light

The beam that shines from the Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas is the brightest in the world. On a clear night, it can be seen from Los Angeles.

I cannot get this light out of my head; it has been haunting me for days. As we study for City on a Hill, I’m reminded that cities are places of light, and I’m trying to wrap my brain around God’s Word being a light to my path and Christ-followers being a light to the world. All this in the shadow of the Luxor…

Yes, we are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Why? Because of its light. Lights, actually. The light of a city is not comprised of one lamp; its hundreds and thousands and millions of individual lights—individual Christ-followers—that make the light of the city so bright and so magnetizing.

When one light joins forces with another and then another, shadows are erased. Darkness is pushed a little farther away, and the cumulative light becomes stronger than the sum of the individual lights. In design, we call this Gestalt Theory, that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

LifePoint’s mission is leading people to be Christ-followers in life … together. God wants to accomplish something in us together. He’s calling us to be more than a city of lights; he’s calling us to be a city of light.

—–
Photo source

Incarnational: The Strategy of City on a Hill

Why do you love the city in which you live? This week, we study Jeremiah 29 and read a letter the prophet wrote to the exiles in Babylon. Like them, we know our city is not our permanent home; however, God has plans for us while we remain here. Listen now…

—–
Photo source

What Is God Doing Through a City on a Hill?

The question of “What does God want to do through LifePoint?” has resonated in me for years. It didn’t begin this fall, nor in the summer leading up to. This question has been a dominant point of meditation since God birthed a vision within me to plant LifePoint. It actually began as “What is God doing/wanting to do in the world?” Among all the verses of mission in the Scriptures, I am drawn to Ephesians 3:7-13, which teaches a larger perspective of all that God is doing joined with a specific understanding of the Church and personal ministry. The “plan” of God is to reveal his manifold wisdom through the Church. The work of LifePoint is very real in the present but bears the priority and impact of all eternity. While this was not the first question I asked, it is the specific application for LifePoint of the eternal purpose in the heart of God. LifePoint’s City on a Hill campaign is a continuation of defining what God has been doing from the very beginning.

“Enlarge the place of your tent, and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out; do not hold back; lengthen your cords and strengthen your stakes” (Is. 54:2). The prophet speaks to God’s children and says, “Prepare to be enlarged with more people.” It is God’s plan to ransom people from the city that is (earth), redeem them for the city that shall be (heaven), and strategically utilize in the city on a hill (local church). Two specific acts direct what LifePoint must do in order to prepare for God’s blessing: strengthen our membership and expand our mission.

I will elaborate in more detail what each of these mean in the weeks to come. But for now understand that what LifePoint has begun by following God in faith is a path of experiencing God as he uses us for his divine, ordained purpose as a local church. It is humbling to entertain the thought, yet simultaneously obedient to know, that God is revealing his manifold wisdom through LifePoint. While his purposes are eternal, his work is intimately practical. God has not given us the commission to “go and make disciples of all peoples” without also ordering our steps to follow him and empowering our work by faith to accomplish his will.

I invite you…join LifePoint in this work. I challenge you to embrace the vision and allow it to resonate deep within you as God leads, Jesus saves, and the Spirit empowers. “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden” (Matt. 5.14). God said let there be light and there was. Now he’s setting it on a hill to do its work. Get ready to be seen.

—–
Photo source

Come: The Invitation of City on a Hill

We are all thirsty. In Isaiah 55, we learn that water, milk, and wine not only meet physical needs but represent God’s grace, goodness, and generosity to us. God is inviting us to experience all three. Listen now…

—–
Photo source

Preparing for the Move of God

Even when we remember all the good God has done for us, we can quickly lose sight of that when we see the troubles that lie ahead. As we study Numbers 13 and 14, Pastor Lane calls the people of LifePoint to remember God’s goodness and to pray during the City on a Hill campaign. Listen now…

City on a Hill—A Call to Pray

One question we will surely hear over the next several weeks is “What is City on a Hill?” Each week we will communicate more information in answering this question. Let me begin by simply saying this, City on a Hill is a vision for LifePoint Church to become an ever-increasing influence for the gospel of Jesus Christ. The Lord has prepared the way and is now leading LifePoint to follow him and build a city on a hill.

For today, we must recognize City on a Hill as a campaign to take the first step in following the Lord’s leading as we pray together so God can shape us to his will and use us, unite together so Holy Spirit can empower lead each person, and commit together so the Lord can reveal his will for how each person will participate in this vision. Every true movement of God begins in prayer. Join us and pray for…

• Unity among the people of LifePoint. Each person must be surrendered listen to and follow God’s Spirit as he moves among LifePoint (Psalm 133; 1 Peter 3:8).
• Guard against attacks form the Evil One. Guard your mind (Isaiah 26:3; Philippians 4:4-8). Guard your heart (Proverbs 4:23). Guard your way of life (1 Timothy 6:11-12).
• People will make a deepening connection with Christ and LifePoint (Hebrews 13:1-19).
• Spiritual growth for each person and for LifePoint as a church (1 Peter 2:1-3; Ephesians 2:19-22).
• Favor with people for missional advancement (Colossians 4:5-6).

As we pray together, the Lord will work in each heart that is surrendered to him and bring forth the purpose that he has ordained for LifePoint. There will be a time for each person to consider and commit to a financial pledge. There will be a time for each person to gather and bring their offering to the Lord. There will be a time for LifePoint to consider and count the costs in order to be faithful stewards of God’s entrustment to us. Today is not that day. Now is the time to pray and prepare for God’s move among LifePoint. Let us bow before him in humility and surrender. If you were unable to be present with LifePoint on Sunday, September 7, listen to the sermon here and let the Lord begin to prepare your heart.

Let LifePoint delight ourselves in the Lord, so he might delight in LifePoint.

—–
Photo source

David and Alicia Arrive Safely to Central Asia; Adjusting to New Home

We have been in our city for a week now. We see how essential it is to learn the Russian language to be able to function here on our own. We have visited our school, who serves us free lunch every week day. Yesterday they brought us new furniture, including a couch that is too big for our doorway! It’s still in pieces in our living room. We have been to the local park and taken buses downtown. Today we ventured out on our own without any teammates–what an adventure! Our city has 6 other people on our team and three of them were here last year, so we have good “guides” around town. We have not managed to get the internet to connect in our apartment (dial up with only one number for the whole city!), so we are downtown at a cafe. We may have more access to internet in our school, but it is not officially open for the school year yet, so we’ll let you know how that develops. We think we’ll have at least another week before school starts. We’re grateful for the time to get settled, but we’d also like to start having something to keep us busy and get into our routine. Our biggest challenges here so far have been the lack of convenience. No fast food. Laundry done by hand in the tub and line dried. Leaky pipes. Water that is sometimes hot and sometimes cold, but rarely offers both at once.

For more from David and Alicia, check out their blog at backpackdownload.blogspot.com.

Mystery Hosts Cinco de Baptismo and Baptizes Four

Steev Inge, pastor of Mystery Church, updated us this week with summer news. The church in Joplin baptized four people at their Cinco de Baptismo celebration in May and has had many encouraging gospel stories emerge from their people. For the complete story plus family and church news, a finances update, and prayer requests, download Mystery’s August Update.