This past Sunday we looked at Paul’s exhortation to fulfill our role as ambassadors of Jesus Christ. That role is not just to be another part of our lives, it is to be our lives. We are ambassadors at our jobs, in our families, during our recreation, in our fantasy football leagues, in our neighbor hoods, you get the picture. We are to be ambassadors because our message is not intuitive; it's not about a philosophy of life people can arrive to on their own; it’s not general concepts about God; and it's not about some elevated sense of morality or ethics. Christianity is about an event that happened in history.. Jesus Christ died, was buried and rose again and offers no-strings-attached forgiveness & grace by faith. The only way to discover history is for someone to tell you. People will come up with do better and try harder on their own, but they won’t come up with the scandalous message of the Gospel. The Gospel is a message that is for everybody but is always shared by somebody. If you were not there Sunday you can listen to Get Back Part 6 by going www.centerpointfl.org/seriesarchive.php.
The individual Christian and The Church collectively were always meant to be partners in modeling and proclaiming the message of Jesus. The Church was not a weird Christian sub-culture; the Church was to be counter-cultural with our message and life as we partner together as the body of Christ in order to not make it difficult for those who are turning to God (Acts 15:19). That’s why our strategy at CC is to tear down the unnecessary barriers so the message of Jesus is clearly heard by long-time Christians, those new to faith, those who see the church as the obstacle to faith, or those who are simply investigating Christianity.
So many of you have modeled that mission and strategy in your individual lives and as a part of The Church. Because of that, we have heard about stories of transformation in your communities outside the church, God has blessed us with many attenders coming to know Jesus as their Savior within the church, healed marriages, freedom from addictions, students & children finding adults who care, and many more stories. This also means that we have grown numerically by more than 100 people since August.
With that in mind, I would like you to pray with me about two exciting new opportunities:
1. Online Streaming Service – This was one of our long term strategic initiatives that recently became feasible. This platform is thousands of dollars worth of web content for a state of the art online service provided absolutely free through the generosity of Life Church and Craig Groeschel. This will include more than just a video of the service:
- An embedded video area of our message and music each week.
- A slide area of our graphics and announcements.
- A way for people to request live prayer.
- Social media connections.
- Tab options including chat, visitor map, sermon notes, and other text.
This is not a substitute for our service, but a supplement to our weekend services. It has been the experience of many of our friends and fellow churches that this tool will reach many long before they will ever step foot into a service. It also provides a way for people to share what God is doing through CC regardless of where they live. Our podcast hits have grown significantly beyond just our local area and this provides another format to experiencing and hearing the Gospel. We often hear that people have no idea what to expect of Centerpoint just by driving by or hearing something. For that reason it provides a powerful tool for you to share with people the experience and for them to see what God is doing at CC before they ever attend.
2. A second service – Statistically, we are at 80% capacity with our adult and children’s service attendance. We are close to maxing out our growth and because you have invested & invited, we continue to grow! This past Sunday, we added more chairs and nearly filled up the auditorium again, even with the added seating. We have now used all of the additional seating we purchased at the end of December. For that reason, we have included a Second Service Survey in your bulletins this Sunday and it will also be available on our website. This survey will give us an idea about the best options for times for our second service and give us an opportunity to see how many people would be willing to volunteer in a Sunday environment like Kid Zone & Promiseland if there is a second service.
We are humbled by all that God has done through the ministry of Centerpoint for the name and renown of Jesus. We are praying for wisdom and direction to be faithful stewards of all that God has given us. Now is the most strategic time ever to volunteer and consider serving, especially to children, in one of Sunday environments with the start of a second service. God has given us an unbelievable opportunity to reach a part of the 60,000 un-churched, unreached in our community who have been turned off to the church, have questions about Jesus, are looking for a place to “fit” regardless of their background or what they look like, or those who are simply looking for a place to grow in their faith while reaching others who need the life changing message of grace. We have an opportunity to be that place.
Bryant
