Most people like to hear stories. Whether it is on TV, magazines, newspapers or the internet. We relate and remember stories. That is why every Monday morning at our staff meetings we share stories that we have heard or experienced in the past week. This is a great motivator for our staff, because it reinforces that our church is making a difference.
I met with an executive coach this past week and he asked me what gets me excited. I told him hearing stories about life change. Stories about people growing in their relationship with Jesus Christ. Stories remind me that what I am doing really does make a difference. The Bible is filled with incredible stories, like Joseph, Esther, Daniel, and my favorite Nehemiah.
Here is a story from last week:
I called a guy that has started coming to NewPointe this past week. He had asked that someone call him, so I did. He had some questions about where we stood on certain things and what I thought about some situations he was in. After we covered those topics I asked him how he ended up at NPCC and why he came back.
He said that the reason he first came was his girlfriend. She came here and wanted him to come with her. His background with church was much different than NPCC, he had grown up Catholic. He said that at first he was a little shocked that you could take coffee into church. He told me that he immediately connected with the music and then the message was practical and easy to understand. He said the reason he came back was becasue he liked it and found it very helpful. He also has two children and they loved it wanted to come back as well (That always helps).
He has been here 5 or 6 times and plans on continuing. He told me one thing that really connected with him was when Pastor Dwight talked about the church being a tool shed, where we come to get tools to help us grow in our relationship with Jesus Christ. He said he looks forward to Sunday’s now and plans to make this his Church home. I am so excited about what God is going to do in this guys life. I know there are many more people with similar stories and that keeps me going.
I would love to hear other stories of how God is working in your life. I have heard stories about restored relationships, reconciled marriages, transformed finances, physical healing, emotional healing, transformed parenting, people finding their place to serve, stories of new friendships through small groups, stories of changed attitudes at work stories of community outreach. If you have a story please share it by emailing me at cstutzman@newpointe.org.