Category: Outreach

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Community Impact

One thing that I am passionate about is outreach. Reaching out to the people and organizations in our community and in our country and around the world. As a church we can make a difference. My passion to serve the hurting, broken and less fortunate people in our world has been growing. Every day I talk to people that are hurting or struggling in some way. I have seen first hand the poor living conditions of people in our own community. I have talked to people that are unsure where their next meal is coming from. I have seen the destruction of a hurricane and walked the streets of garbage city in Egypt.

I believe God is moving in our community and He wants to use the local church to turn our community on its ear. To do that we all need to play our part. It starts by using the gifts and abilities God has given you to serve people. When we reach out in love to our neighbors, they may not understand it, but a seed is planted. They become curious about a church that gives so freely and really cares about the needs of ordinary people. Those acts of kindness draw people to God. It gives them hope and encouragement and can be the beginning of transforming their lives. It begins to build a relationship of trust that can lead to future open doors and opportunities.

Too often we sit on our hands and stay in our own little world. We don’t want to take the time it takes to really make a difference. What if we all served other people passionately and without conditions? What if we stepped out of our comfort zones on a regular basis? What would happen if that became our culture and we constantly were looking for ways to help and serve others? What if we sent hundreds of people on mission trips to the Middle East and to help with disasters in our country? What if we all gave ten percent of our income? What if we all did just one act of kindness this week?

I want to be a part of a movement like that. An unleashing of the local church that is so untypical, that is has ripple effects that will last for years.

On Sunday August 3rd we are doing a community impact day. On that day we will not have church services, but we will go out and be the church to our community. Groups, families and individuals will gather in locations of up to 20-30 miles from our church and serve people, schools, non-profit organizations and cities. These acts of service will generate a buzz around those communities and draw attention to God. That is the ultimate goal, to glorify God, to show people that His ways are not our ways. That Christians are not typical or ordinary but extraordinary and untypical.

I hope that all those that call NewPointe their home church will get involved and make a difference. This isn’t just about one day of serving, its about changing our communities and changing lives. It’s about being a church that shines so bright, it can’t be ignored.

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An Untypical Look

On Wednesday night we kicked off a new series called Untypical for the month of July. At NewPointe Community Church we have a service on the first Wednesday of every month. It is a great time of worship, prayer, reflection, learning and sharing the Lord’s Supper. Last night we took an untypical look back, ahead, inward and upward.

The night started with incredible music and Danny Bunnelle talked about looking back. He used the song “What a Good God You’ve Been to Me” and talked about how faithful God is. Even in the darkest of times God is faithful and helps us through those times.

Then Kevin West talked about looking ahead and threw out the statement that “Greatness is in your future.” He challenged us to strive for greatness and use it for God’s glory. To see the world the way God sees it and to respond the way God would respond to the world around us.

John Bunn spoke next about Looking inward. He talked about setting aside time to be with God, to take an inventory of where we are with God and finally to pray. John shared his heart for NewPointe to be untypical and to really impact and change our community.

I spoke last about Looking up. Looking up is about having an encounter with God. A moment when God comes down and meets with us. I shared my story of surrendering to God and praying the dangerous prayer of Yes, Lord use me, which led me on a two year journey to full time ministry. In Exodus Moses took the people out of camp to meet with God at Mt. Sinai. The spiritual truth I shared from that is this: Often times, life-altering encounters with God require us to leave the routine, the comfortable and the familiar. Only when we take those dangerous steps do we encounter God and transform our lives.

We ending by worshiping God through communion. We also kicked off our food drive for Go ’08. Our goal is to fill 1,500 boxes with 10-15 food items and deliver those boxes to four area food pantries. this is not a typical thing for a church to do, but I don’t want to be a typical church. My desire is for our church to so impact the communities around us that they can’t imagine life without NewPointe. That may sound arrogant, but I believe that the local church is the hope of the world and the church is God’s plan to change the world. To do that we need to GO out into the world and impact people up close.

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Outward Focused Church

Whose lives are different because of your church? I asked myself that question today, and I could think of dozens of individuals, families and organizations that have been touched by my church. It is so exciting to be a part of a church that is thinking about how to reach out and really make a difference in peoples lives. Not just talking about it, but putting it into action.

We are in the middle of something called the BIG GIVE, where we gave out grants of $400.00 to small groups to do community outreach projects. Over 60 small groups participated and well over $30,000 was handed out. Some groups helped families in need pay bills, others helped local organizations like the homeless shelter and Harbor House with improvements and food. Others did home improvement projects for families and individuals and still others handed out gas cards to people in need. There are many other projects as well, each touching people in different ways.

We also are working with local organizations to do home improvements for elderly, disabled and handicapped people in our communities. These projects are ongoing throughout the year,and we hope to complete over 20 such projects this year.

In July, we are doing a food drive for four local food pantries. Our goal is to fill 1,500 boxes with food and bless those pantries, by filling their shelves for a month. We will end that with a serving Sunday in which we will serve our local communities instead of having a church service. Hundreds of people will go out and serve that morning, instead of sitting in church.

Later this year we are hoping to do a coat and shoes drive to supply needy families and children with coats and shoes.

That is just a taste of what has been and will be happening at NewPointe Community Church. I know there are many people that call NewPointe their home church that do random acts of kindness on a regular basis. I hope this becomes the DNA of NewPointe attendees, too serve others and impact people up close. I have heard many stories of people reaching out and helping people. Calling someone that is going through a hard time and offering to pray for them or bring a meal. Giving someone a gift anonymously. Writing a note of encouragement. Helping a neighbor with outside clean up. Helping people move. Volunteering to help local non profit groups. Visiting elderly in nursing homes and hospitals.

The local church should be the most generous, outward focused organization around. The local church is what should bring hope to the communities it is in. The local church should be the first place people think of when it comes to helping people in need. The local church should be actively working with other community organizations to make a difference and help them reach their goals. The local church should be reaching out to the business community to partner with them and serve them. Local churches should be working together to help those in need.

I am seeing some evidence of these things happening. 8-10 local churches have come together to run a food pantry for the Dover/New Philadelphia area. Local churches are working together on projects like Habitat for Humanity and to raise awareness for foster care and adoption.

Jesus said that we should be salt and light. Salt preserves and enhances and light helps people to see clearly. Is the church doing that? Are we adding value to our community? Are we helping people to see God clearly? Are we being real and relevant to the world around us? Do we really care about lost people? Hurting people? Poor people?

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In this World

I started doing some jogging lately and I really enjoy it. I like the idea of getting healthier and maybe even running a 5k or two, but the other thing I enjoy is getting to listen to some of my favorite music, enjoying the great outdoors and listening to God while I run.

This past week I have experienced several things that led me to this entry in my Blog. I listened to a CD from John C. Maxwell called “Success Classics – Part One”. I went to the Free Methodist annual conference in Dalton Ohio at Living Water Free Methodist church. I did some reading, I met with my men’s group and I bought some music on iTunes.

You might wonder what all those things had to do with each other. Well not much except as I was running today God helped me realize that all these events were speaking to me about being in this world and understanding what that means. Sometimes Christians call it secular or worldly stuff. You know, some things are Christian and some things are secular.

Let me explain. John Maxwell was talking about 9 classic books about success. Most of the books he mentioned were rather old, yet they had many great truths in them. Of the 9 books I have only read 2. None of them were Christian books. The one statement that stuck with me was that John said, he is willing to read anything, if he thinks there might be a nugget or two he can take a way. He mentioned the book “The Secret” which has been very popular in the “secular world”. He said that he read it not because it was a classic, but because so many people were reading it, he wanted to see what the author had to say. He went on to say that there were some good things in the book. He also said there were some things that he didn’t think were true and he clarified that. The point was, he was able to read it and take a away some good stuff and throw out the useless stuff, or at least have the discernment to know what is true and what is not.

At the Free Methodist conference on Friday we heard from our new Bishop. He was interesting and tried to be funny and relaxed. It was a nice change from some of the past conferences, but still pretty boring. However, I was able to take a way some good stuff. I am excited about the vision of reaching out to help the poor in our communities even more over the next several years. They also showed a video about a church that was built in a town about 40 years ago. At the same time a grocery store was built in that same town. About every 8-10 years the grocery store made major changes to reach its customers and get them to come to the store. They would change the type of food they offered and changed the look of the store often. The church did not change over those 40 years and eventually was closed. Evidently the church did not want to reach people and get them to come back or even come at all.

I have been reading a book called “What Got You Here, Won’t Get You There” by Marshall Goldsmith. I don’t think he is a Christian, as a matter of fact he mentions some Buddhist stuff he studied. I am learning some good things that are helping me be more efficient at work. I also am reading “secular” fiction books by John Grisham and David Baldacci, both great story tellers.

I also met with my men’s group this morning. We had breakfast together and had a great time laughing and talking. One of the guys is moving to Florida and we said our goodbyes, but we plan on staying in touch. He is now a friend of mine. Some of the guys in the group have really opened up and are sharing the real stuff going on in their lives. It is messy and dirty and not much fun. We are praying for each other and trying to encourage each other. Those guys all know that we care about each other and will be there for each other no matter what. This is a real group of guys that are building lasting friendships.

Lastly, I love music. I have been building my iPod collection. I listen mostly to “secular” music. Even the radio stations I listen to are mostly “secular” 92.5 WDJQ & 98.1 WKDD if anyone cares. Just today I downloaded “3 Doors Down” newest CD and I also bought a couple of “Cold Plays” new songs. Other groups on my iPod are Plain White T’s, OneRepublic, Nickelback, Matchbox Twenty, Maroon 5, Lifehouse, Linkin Park, Goo Goo Dolls, Evanescence, Daughtry, Justin Timberlake, Usher, The Killers, Augustana and The All-American Rejects. Of course I also have some great Christian groups as well.

My point of all this is that I don’t want to isolate myself from the world. I don’t want to be a typical pastor or typical Christian. I don’t want to miss what is real and relevant in this world. I want to know what people are thinking about and listening to. As Christians it is very easy to get into our own little world and talk our talk and walk our walk. We can put on a smiley face and be content with our safe little world. Most of the time we are only vocal about what we are against.

I don’t think that is how Jesus was. He was in the world. He got his hands dirty and met with and listened to the most undesirable people. He understood what people were struggling with and what they needed. This world can be dirty and ugly sometimes, but that what makes it real. That is why we are here.

It seems to me that most non-Christian people don’t think very highly of church and church people. At our church conference the Bishop shared that non Christians or seekers use words like judgemental, hypocritical, boring, out of touch and irrelevant about church and Christians. Wow, if that is how people are seeing us, I can imagine what they then think about Jesus. Why would they want to know more about Him?

I had to ask myself this question. Do I love this world or do I hate this world? I have decided that I love this world, because Jesus loves this world. God loves every person in this world, even if they have tattoos or piercings. He loves the alcoholics and the house wives. He loves the homeless person and the farmers. He loves the CEO and the factory worker. He loves the poor and the rich.

Because that is how Jesus is, I want to be like that. I want to understand what people are dealing with and connecting with. I want to be able to listen to someone and not judge them or think that I am so much better than that person. I am glad I am in this world, because that is right where God wants me. He wants us to get dirty, to get real and to be with people. He wants to use us to reach a lost, dirty, broken world. To do that we need to understand the culture in which we live. We can’t isolate ourselves and hope the people come to us.

That is how the church should be. It should be irresistible and real, the coolest most happening place in the community. It should be a place where everyone feels welcome and not judged. A safe place, a place to heal, to grow, to ask questions, to have fun and celebrate, a place to make lasting friendships, a place to be inspired and to be equipped for whatever God brings their way. In short the church should be the hope of the world.

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Habitat For Humanity

Today I participated in my first Blitz Build for Habitat. I am currently serving on the board of director for Tuscarawas Valley Habitat for Humanity. We are currently building a house in Midvale, OH. The house got started about three weeks ago and today we wanted to get the walls up and get it under roof (Blitz Build). It was a nasty, rainy day, but we got most of the work done. We had around 20 great volunteers from the local community that came out and helped get the house up. We worked for about 7 hours. We got the black paper on the roof, all the windows and doors are in and it is ready to hook up the electric (We still need a plumber).

This was a good experience for me. I helped out with several parts, but the most interesting was helping up on the roof. I learned that if you show me how to do something I can do it, but if you try to tell me I struggle to catch on.

Isn’t life like that sometimes? When we have a good example and can observe the right way to do life it really helps us, especially growing up. We learn about how to have healthy or unhealthy relationships, how to handle money, how to work, how to give, how to set priorities, how to show love, how to eat right. It goes on and on and it can be helpful or destructive depending on the example you have.

When someone tries to tell us how to do it correctly or differently later in life, it becomes much more difficult, because we have this filter we hear and see everything through. That filter may not be accurate, but it is what we have learned from observing others. Changing the behavior we have always known can be difficult, but not impossible. You can find a new example, read and study that area and then make the changes you need to make.

At the end of the day I was tired, muddy and truly blessed.

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A Moving Experience

On Friday night a group of guys from NewPointe Community Church helped a family move. I was part of a group of 7 guys. Three of them are in my small group (John Troyer, Casey Miller and Darryl Kurtz), one was in my old small group (Todd Kandel and his son Nick) and one I went to Mississippi with in the Fall (Mike Young). Thanks a bunch guys!

I had gotten a call from a lady that needed to move from New Philadelphia to Newcomerstown. She told me she had 5 kids and needed a bigger place. I was also able to give her a little food and introduce her to some other people at church. After calling around this group of guys agreed to help. We had 5 pickups a trailer and a large box truck.

I have helped quite a few people move over the last few years and it is always an interesting experience.

People are often surprised that a group would want to help without expecting anything in return. You also get to know these families, because you are in their homes and get to talk with them as you move.

I came to find out that two families had been living in this small apartment in New Phila. The lady I talked to with her husband and five kids and another woman with two small children. All between the ages of 15 months and 9 years old. All packed in a two bedroom apartment. Both of these families had lived at the homeless shelter for a while before getting into this apartment.

I got to spend some time talking with the second woman with the two children. She shared some of her background and challenges she has faced. As we talked my heart went out to these two families. They are trying, yet have made some bad decisions over the years and are paying the consequences. I try very hard not to be judgemental or critical. I simply listened to her story and tried to encourage her to return to God and build that relationship up again. She is facing a surgery next week to remove a kidney and is already concerned more about her children than herself. I think it helped her just to have someone to talk to about the many things she was facing. I was able to pray with her and we also prayed as a group in their new home in Newcomerstown.

These are real people facing real challenges and I hope our group was able to bless them and turn them toward God. When a church comes together and takes the time to help those less fortunate it send a message to the community. Word has gotten around that we are a generous church. I hope more people that call NewPointe Community Church their home church get involved with service projects.

We plan on following up with them and sending them notes of encouragement and stuff for the children. I don’t know what God is up to, but I want to be available to impact and influence people by serving them and praying with them.

How about you and your small group. When was the last time you helped someone as a group? I know many of our small groups have adopted needy families and are serving them throughout the year. That is real ministry, getting your hands dirty and getting involved in peoples lives. I think that is the kind of stuff Jesus would have been involved in.

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Influence

I met with a friend of mine on Friday afternoon. He wanted to share with me that he was having a conflict in a relationship because of differing beliefs. His friend has a different worldview of who God is and how we can relate to Him. She believes that everyone will eventually make it to heaven and that other religions pray to and worship the same God he does.

My friend was struggling with this and had tried to point her to Jesus and the Bible. He felt like he wasn’t getting anywhere though. I told him to not force it. God does the work of drawing people to Him. I told him to pray for her and give her some resources like a Bible that is easy to read and understand, a series from NewPointe Community Church called “Reality Check” and maybe a book like “A Case for Christ” by Lee Strobel.

The exciting thing to me is that his friend is listening and searching for truth. I believe when someone sincerely want to find truth, God draws them to Jesus, because Jesus is truth. I told my friend that he has influence with her and can be an encouragement or a stumbling block for her.

Sometimes we can come on too strong and try too hard to convince someone we are right. Instead we need to share truth in a loving way. Not judgemental or holier than thou. My friend really cares about this person and that is why he is so concerned about her understanding. If he can be patient and pray diligently for her, God will draw her in and open her eyes to the real truth.

So, who do you have influence with? Who are you praying for and reaching out to? If you don’t have anyone, start asking God to bring a person into your life that you can invest in. Make yourself available to be used by God. He may use you to draw someone closer to Him. Pray for open doors in your life and see what happens.

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How brightly is your light shining?

I read this Scripture today and it made me think about compassion:

“You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on a stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:14-16.

People are not impressed by a churches attendance, staff, growth or buildings. Jesus says there is one force in this dark world that can shed light in a dark world. That force is the local church, the people.

What impresses or impacts people is feeding the hungry, helping the homeless, doing house repairs, helping someone move, visiting someone in the nursing home, helping people in financial trouble, reaching out to those that are hurting and blessing the life of someone else. That gets peoples attention.

The early church in Acts 2, attracted some of the most undesirable, helpless people. They eventually overpowered the world and are still growing today.

So, how brightly is your light shining? How brightly is our churches light shining? Are you involved in activities that will cause someone to say what a good God there is? Maybe your wattage is dim – 25 watts instead of 100 watts.

I am talking about acts of compassion. Many of us like to think we are compassionate, but thinking and doing are two different things. Here are three reasons to engage in acts of compassion:

1. When you let your light shine to others, it will change you.

Think about that. What causes authentic joy in most people? Is it having more money, eating chocolate, nice clothes? Think about this; if you would do something that is pleasurable for you personally like going shopping or tinkering in your workshop and then do something for someone else like rake your elderly neighbors yard or help build a ramp for a handicapped person, what brings more joy. For most people it when we help someone in need.

When people focus on others they are happy, when people focus on themselves they get depressed. I spoke with a guy last week and he shared that the most meaningful time in his life was when he went on a short-term mission trip with his church. That was when he felt most alive and full of joy.

2. You change the world one person at a time.

How can you touch the life of someone? It may be your neighbor, it may be a family you know is in need. There are a lot of people in this world that have next to nothing. Here is a challenge for you. Take one meal and eat only rice. As you eat the rice think about the many people that only have rice to eat every meal. Maybe you can donate food to one of the local food pantries. I am involved with the Greater Dover/NewPhila food pantry at the Dover Salvation Army. We are supplying food to people every Friday. There are food pantries in Uhrichsville, Newcomerstown and Millersburg. Everyone can start right now by doing acts of compassion for one person this week.

I remember some of the people we helped on our huricane Katrina relief trips. I saw the smiles on their faces and the tears in their eyes. That is helping one person at a time.

3. It does something to the heart of God, it blesses God!

Jesus said whatever you did for the least of these you did for me. God loves it when we give and show compassion to other people.

Have you turned any heads lately by simply giving without expecting anything in return. Many people start out with good intentions, but then get busy and preoccupied and forget about all those people out there. We can forget we are in the people saving business. God wants people that are willing to go into the life saving business. He wants churches that are outward focused and shining brightly in their communities and around the world.

I so glad I am part of a church that is reaching out and shining brightly. Every person that calls NewPointe their home church can make a difference in someones life. Think about how you can show compassion to those around you. Be watching for opportunities to help reach out to the world through NewPointe or your own church.

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Back from Eight Days of Hope




I just got back from Bay St. Louis Mississippi. Eight Days of Hope had their 5th Katrina relief event there. All I can say is Wow! What an amazing organization, the passion and commitment are incredible. I was very impressed with the leadership of EDOH. They have learned a lot over the past 2 years and have made an amazing impact in the communities they have worked.

About 1,100 people were a part of this outreach. People from 43 different states. There were 16 people from NewPointe that made the trip. I traveled and worked with Doug Miller (left) and Mike Miller (right) (no relation).

We left last Thursday night and drove 16 hours straight (we stopped 5 times). We got there Friday morning around 10:00. We checked in and they asked if we wanted to go work right away. There was an 80 year old lady that needed some some small jobs done. She had just moved back into her home from her FEMA trailer. We worked at her place for about 5 hours and then went back and got settled in.

Our first official work day was Saturday December 29th. We got to pick out our job on Friday night, so we hit the ground running on Saturday morning. Mike, Doug and I hooked up with Lowel Rice and his wife Shirley. Lowel had built three home and was retired. Another retired couple Pete and Pat also joined us to round out our team of seven.

Our job was for a single lady, Ms. Leonardine Curry. She had been living in a tiny FEMA trailer for over two years, just her and her dog. We had to install wood Pergo flooring in every room, hang all the interior doors and one exterior door, and put down all the finish trim. We ended up doing a bunch of other small jobs for her as well.

At the end of the four days we had everything done and she was ready to move in. All she had to do was get the gas turned on and have a final inspection. She was very grateful and gave most of us a hug. We all gathered around and prayed for her and her new home.

In the first four days of work over 100 projects were completed. There was another 50-75 to complete and four new houses that needed to be finished. Originally they wanted to build seven new homes but three did not have enough pre-work done to get started.

I really enjoyed getting to know the people I worked with and the families we met. The people are so grateful for the volunteers that come to do work. For many people they cannot afford to pay someone to do the work, so it sits there until they can save a little money. Many of these folks also have been taken advantage of by dishonest contractors.

I ran to Lowes about 6-7 times to pick up supplies and materials and met some nice folks there as well. This area is slowly coming back.

One of the highlights of the trip for me was Steve Wingfield. Steve is an evangelist from Virginia and I have known him for almost 10 years. He spoke to all the volunteers on New Years Eve. What a great message! He really challenged and encouraged all of us to not be “normal”, but abnormal. What normal person takes a vacation to go work on homes in Mississippi? He said that the people that we are trying to reach, those that are not saved, view Christians as boring, judgmental and hypocritical. He also shared some amazing stories of how God has been working in Long Beach MS, which is the area he has been working with the past two years. God is truly Good and Amazing.

This trip helped to increase the fire inside of me. I want to make a difference in this world with the time I have left. I want to bring the Eight Days of Hope attitude to this community and our church. I want more people to be so in love with Jesus that they do abnormal things. I want our church to show compassion to the hurting people in our community. I want to be Jesus with skin on. I hope many of you will join me.

Eight Days of Hope will be doing another trip later this year back to MS. They also will start doing shorter 4-5 day projects throughout the country. Probably two per year. The next one is scheduled for April or May in northern Mississippi.

Here are some more pictures from my experience. Enjoy!














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Goat ’07

This past Sunday Bubba Joe was back on the big stage. He crashed the announcements with a goat. Bubba Joe misunderstood the Go ’07 Christmas Edition. He thought we said Goat ’07 Christmas Edition. He borrowed my neighbor’s goat Oatmeal. She did very well on stage. My wife Vikki was the Goat trainer and handler.

Anyway, Go ’07 went well. We sponsored approximately 115 children from Ohio and Iraq and sponsored approximately 52 families locally. My small group took on a family from Dover and today we delivered our gift to the family. I am looking forward to staying in touch with, and praying for this family. They have six children from 19 years old to 18 months old.

Great job NewPointe! let’s keep it going throughout 2008. Together we can make a difference in the lives of the people around us. Reaching out and helping people in need reflects God’s love and compassion for people. Take the time to show acts of kindness to those around you. Take the time to notice the needs of the people in your neighborhood, school, church and community.