The Church in a tough economy

If you have a 401(k), stock investments, grocery shop or just watch TV, it goes without saying that you are aware of the difficult financial times we are in. Every business, family, and non-profit organization is concerned about our financial future, and rightly so. We at Rock Point are constantly evaluating and reevaluating our financial situation to continue to move forward with excellence while wisely utilizing our resources. We believe that what is happening at Rock Point is as valuable as anything that is taking place in the Chattanooga region. Because of this, we have a commitment to make to those who attend Rock Point:

The Staff, Elders and Leadership at Rock Point are committed to 2 things:

1. Being the best stewards we can be of the resources we have been entrusted with...

2. ...while continuing to create relevant environments to effectively lead people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ.

This is not easy as creating engaging environments can be expensive, but in our estimation, life change is worth it.

My family currently sponsors a Compassion child who lives in Africa. If you are not familiar with Compassion, they provide an opportunity for people who have been blessed to "adopt" a child who is less fortunate. For a moderate amount we are able to provide food, school and shelter for a child on the other side of the globe.

Recently at the Catalyst Conference in Atlanta GA, a young lady who was a Compassion child and is now receiving her Masters degree here in the states was asked about how difficult it can be for people to give during these tough economic times. The following was her response:

"Changed lives and raising up future leaders with integrity who know God, and creating environments where children and adults can come to know how much God loves them is a guaranteed investment in all economic times."

WOW! Those words echo our desire and as long as the Lord allows Rock Point to exist as a church, we will continue to pursue this with our whole hearts.

As your pastor, I greatly value your continued confidence and support which allows us to respond wisely to the current economic situation but not retreat one inch from leading people into a growing relationship with Christ.

Heath

Let's Get Started

Do you have questions about the Bible, God or Christianity?
Are you a new Christian or just coming back around to church?
Would you like a safe place to discuss and ask questions about faith?

YES?! Well, at Rock Point we have a great environment for you, Starting Point. Starting Point is a fantastic place to discuss areas of the Christian faith and ask some tough questions that you might have previously felt uneasy asking. Starting Point is a group of 10 people that meet for 10 weeks during our 11:30 service at Rock Point. The group will begin meeting early November.

Our orientation is this week at Rock Point at 11:15 (immediately following our 10am service and right before our 11:30 service), and will last approximately 15 min. We will briefly discuss what Starting Point is all about...introduce the leaders...and give you an opportunity to sign up for the group.

If you are interested or have questions, please shoot an email to startingpoint@rockpointcc.org.

Oh yeah, if you are "on the fence" about signing up, maybe this video will help you out!

What a Story!

What do you get when you have...
audio difficulties...
video difficulties...
a very nervous person...
and an authentic story of life change?

A God moment type of story!

Check out what recently happened at Buckhead Church in Atlanta GA during one of their baptisms.

Exciting Day at Rock Point

This past Sunday at Rock Point we experienced a first. Every week we plan diligently our service times...worship set list...opening songs...videos...sermon time. We truly want the experience for all who attend to be something they talk about later in the week. After this past Sunday, those who attended the 11:30 service had much more to talk about than the sermon. After an amazing opener by our band and Michael Johnson ("Faceless Man" by Creed), we experienced the perfect storm of a hazer and an A/C unit that wasn't working. That means our haze had no place to go but park itself right up against the fire alarm sensors. The good news for us and CCS is that the fire alarms work and the Fire Department is very quick to respond! (I believe we had 6 trucks arrive.)

Fortunately, we were able to conclude the service, which was part 1 of "Twisted", without any other incident. And hey, after the ear piercing alarms no one commented on the music being too loud!

God definitely has a way of always keeping us on our toes!

Heath

Inside Out - Intersect Project

Recently the students from Inside Out went on a service project at the Chattanooga Rescue Mission. We started off the morning by cleaning up around the mission and the surrounding neighborhood as well. The students were great, interacting with all the neighbors and really showing what true Christian service is, love in action. In serving in this way, the reaction was overwhelming. The director of the mission recently called to pass on that he had already gotten a lot of calls and just people stopping by to say how great it was to see young people out serving and reaching out into the community. But the thing that really blew them away was how happy they were while they were doing it, and how encouraging it was to see that.

We ended up the day by helping restock and reorganize the pantries. As soon as they heard what needed to be done everyone grabbed some cans or a box, with some of the boxes weighing nearly as much as the students, and dove right in. We really do have some amazing students with true servants’ hearts.

If you are in the 6-12th grade, don't forget to join us on Sunday morning at 10am at Chattanooga Christian School for Inside Out. We can't wait to see you this Sunday.

MJ
Inside Out Director

To Reach People No One Else is Reaching...

OK, so there's a quote which has been stuck in my head lately. Craig Groeschel, Senior Pastor of Lifechurch.tv, a multi-site church based in Oklahoma said, "To reach people no one else is reaching, you have to do things no one else is doing." Wow! Pretty challenging statement, but I believe this is very true. Why would we want to copy what others are attempting to do to reach people if it's not working. As Lead Pastor of Rock Point I have to continually keep this thought in front of myself as well as the church as a whole. What does this mean for us? Does it mean we need to be more innovative...creative...out-of-the-box thinking? Or does it mean we need to look at the simple truth of the gospel and identify ways to communicate this life-changing truth clearly? Or all of the above?

Hmmm...something to think about today.

What do you think?

Heath

Baptisms at Rock Point

Recently at RPCC we had the opportunity of celebrating the life change of 2 ladies through baptism. At RPCC we love to celebrate the difference that a life with Jesus can make and one of the coolest ways to do this is through baptism. Check out one of the recent baptisms at Rock Point.



How cool is that! If you would be interested in being baptized at Rock Point, please check out the baptism link on our website or email baptism@rockpointcc.org.