This Mother’s Day we are privileged to hear from Gwen Adams who has served as Pastor to Women on our church staff for several years.  Gwen is a gifted teacher whom God has used in multiple settings both in our Church and in the Community at large.  Recently she suggested a perspective on Proverbs 31 that I find insightful and believe will benefit our entire church.  I think it is specifically appropriate for Mother’s Day.   I asked Gwen if she would be willing to share that perspective with the church family and after the Elders assured her that she could teach it under their authority and covering, she agreed. 
Though Gwen has joined me before in team teaching and has provided up front leadership in the past, asking her to fill our pulpit as a guest speaker may be a bigger deal for many in our church family.  Depending upon your church background, you may have opinions ranging from a belief that women are never to teach in a setting where men are present all the way to a belief that churches should have women in the roles of Teaching Pastor and Elder.  
In theological circles the first position is considered a “hierarchical” view and contends that women and men are created to operate in different spheres of ministry within the church. Women are not permitted to serve as Elders or Deacon.  They cannot serve Communion, teach men, lead worship, pray or speak in the church service, etc. According to this position women should focus on building ministries for other women and children.

The second position is labeled “egalitarian” and generally teaches that men and women are partners together in every area of ministry. All ministries and offices in the church are open to both men and women. Gender is not a relevant distinction for excluding any person from any church office.

At ChangePoint we embrace a “complimentarian” position that is between these two opposite poles.  We believe the Bible teaches that men and women are partners in every area of ministry together. Women and men are encouraged and equipped to fulfill all ministries and offices of the church with the singular exception of the office of Elder, which the Scriptures require to be a male-only office.

Below are six biblical principles that undergird our position and a statement from the Elders regarding women in church leadership.

Biblical principles:

Men and women are equal before God in both their value and dignity as humans.  They are co-heirs of the grace of Christ; there are no ontological distinctions.  Galatians 3:28,  1 Peter 3:7

Men and women are equally important to God’s purposes and plan for his creation and for his church.  1 Corinthians 11:11-12; 12:12-27

God created men and women with distinct differences designed as a compliment to one another in equal but different functions and roles.  The man was created before the woman.  The woman was created from the man.  At creation the man was responsible to name the woman, to lead her in obeying God’s commands, and to care for her needs as an equal partner in God’s purposes for humankind. Genesis 2:15-24, 1 Timothy 2:13

As a consequence of sin the complimentary design for men and women was distorted and confused.  Where cooperation was part of the created order, competition between men and women resulted from sin.  Apart from Christ it is the nature of men to dominate women and/or abdicate their responsibility to lead.  Apart from Christ it is the nature of women to usurp the role God intended for men.  Genesis 3:1-20 

Both testaments of the Bible confirm male responsibility for the family and for the church.  As the roles of husband and father are restricted to men, the role of Elder in the church is restricted to men as well. This is an issue of responsibility and commensurate authority.  It is not a matter of gifting and/or function.  Genesis 2:18, 1 Corinthians 11:7-10, 1 Corinthians 14:33-35, Ephesians 5:21-33, Colossians 3:18-19, 1 Timothy 2:11-15.

Though the New Testament describes women who served important leadership functions, there is no biblical precedent for women possessing the responsibility or the authority of an Elder.  It is this responsibility and authority that the bible exclusively assigns to men.  Romans 16:1-16, 1 Timothy 2:11-15; 3:1-7, Titus 1:5-9

Statement from the Elder Board:

"At ChangePoint men and women are equally encouraged to use their gifts in every ministry.  Both men and women may serve as leaders, administrators, supervisors, teachers, and staff pastors. There are no “functions” limited by gender.  The role of Elder however is exclusively assigned to men and is primarily a role of responsibility for doctrine and practice in the church.  Women may not serve as Elders but are free to teach and lead in any setting under the authority of the Elders."

On May 19, the week following Mother’s Day we will begin a summer sermon series entitled “Frequently Avoided Questions.” In that series we’ll tackle your most common questions related to how we understand the scriptures and how we practice our faith in a modern world.  I will address the roles of men and women in leadership as the first FAQ.  Hopefully that will stimulate more discussion, provide more clarity, and help liberate all of us to use our gifts more fully… 

“until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.”  (Ephesians 4:13-16)

Dan Jarrell
Teaching Pastor

I shut my eyes tightly, as if closing my eyes will shut out the voice of God.  How many times have I stood on the Mount Tabors of my life, knowing what God is asking me to do, and waiting for him to prove himself before I move?

I know I’m going back a couple weeks, but what struck a strong nerve in me about the account of Deborah and Barak is their action in response to God’s commands. 

God commands Barak, through Deborah, to gather 10,000 men at Mount Tabor.  Barak and Deborah go.  Once there, God commands Barak to lead 10,000 men into a valley filled with the military might of Sisera, Israel’s enemy. 

Abandoning the high ground while facing a superior trained enemy armed with the latest military weaponry, and leading 10,000 of Israel’s men (fathers, husbands, sons, brothers) to their death is a terrifying command. But Barak obeys, Deborah trusts, and God delivers.

God does the impossible when Barak runs headlong into the valley. 

And Jehovah provides a deluge, cripples Sisera’s army, and the enemy is massacred.  Not one is left. 

I can recall distinctive moments in my life when I have made it as far as Mount Tabor. But, once reaching the top, I want a guarantee of God’s provision and deliverance.

I am like Gideon.  Instead of trusting, I stall asking for multiple “fleeces” wet with dew.  Ignoring God’s confirmation, and needing just one more sign before I take the risk God has set before me, I seem to always ask for one more sign. 

The comparison of faith between Deborah and Barak and Gideon is astounding. 

What’s even more striking, is to watch the rest of the story unfold. Deborah and Barak trust God, take great risks, and humbly give Israel’s true deliverer, God, the glory. Ironically, Gideon, an unwilling, resistant servant, uses God’s deliverance for his own advantage. 

Convicting yet?  

Over and over again, I am reminded that God delights when we take great risks, abandon our excuses, and run headlong into the valleys filled with our enemy.  

So, open your eyes with me, see the valley below, and trust that God will provide deluge in his time. 

In my mind, the story of Ehud unfolds like the Emperor Strikes Back. A fat, evil worm, Eglon, controls the land. Hans Solo, frozen in carbonite, must band together to defeat his nemesis and free the people.

And Ehud as the rogue Sololike character, quick with a quip, making a plan as he goes along, and getting himself out of what could be perilous situations, ultimately saving the day.

In my imagination…but the story of Ehud builds more graphically than George Lucas could ever contrive.  At least we didn’t have to see Jaba die in his own feces. 

Still, so many details seem to be missing, and like most of the stories in Judges, what’s told leaves me even more puzzled. Grabbing any spiritual parallel or lesson from this story seems impossible, and perhaps it is.

This story compelled me to step back from looking at the obvious plot and examine the big picture.

There is a deeper truth that lies beneath the story of Ehud. It is a visual depiction of the spiritual condition of God’s people. The story of Ehud is not really about Ehud, it’s about the Israelites’ hearts. And I wonder if it resonated with them the way it hit me this week.

In the book of Judges the Israelites are constantly abandoning the “God of their fathers”, handing over “their daughters ”, and “serving other Gods.” They allow evil to creep into their lives when they were commanded to drive it out and destroy it. They made the enemy their ally, inviting the Moabites to live among them and begin joining their households and corrupting their homes. 

Jaba the Hut in this story isn’t actually Eglon. It’s the hearts of the Israelites fattened by compromises and concessions, burrowing deep into their hearts and changing minds.  

I let that sit with me, and then shudder knowing how often I have fed the Jaba the Huts, or Eglons, in my life.  This worm of evilness can grow so great it can consume.

I read through Judges amazed, watching the people of Israel flip flop between their devotion to and then abandonment of a faithful, loving God.  But I am just like them.

Thankfully, God has provided a deliver.  And my deliver is not showy, roguish, left-handed, or making up his plan as he goes along.  He had a plan to save all along.

When I’m finally willing to yield and give them over, Jesus takes the Eglons in my life and annihilates them.

So I end Ehud with this challenge, what have you left unconquered and fattened by compromises? 


Holly Luiken
Communications Coordinator
www.changepointalaska.com

A few years ago our daughter was in high school at Grace Christian, but that year we also enrolled her for a vocational class in the Anchorage School District. We enrolled her recognizing that she would miss the first three days of class due to an annual high school retreat that GCS students attend.  I called the ASD school to get her absence excused and was told that she would be unable to be a student if she did not attend the first week of classes.  I asked to speak to the registrar and was told the same thing. As I went further in the process I became increasingly angry and accused them of not supporting a parents right to choose faith based educational options.  “If it were a reason other than a Christian school retreat you would be supportive,” I told them, following up with how “anti-parental rights” they were.  

I filed an appeal with the Principal and marched into the school to “have a talk”.  My daughter stayed in the car as I marched into the school, the one smart thing I did so she did not to witness my “epic failure”. But, unfortunately, there were others who witnessed and received my failure. 

The Principal was just as angry and indignant as I was.  He carefully stated the school policy relating to absences during the first week of school, explaining he and his staff were strongly committed to the success of students and had found their ability to do well was strongly linked to a good start of the first week.  I could see his eyes turning red and tears starting to form as he told me about the work his staff did to make the school accessible to private and home school families. Despite their efforts, he was continually surprised by how demanding and difficult the private school “Christian” families were.  Finishing with, “Your attitude and abuse of my staff is unacceptable and I would appreciate it if you would consider offering an apology to the registrar for your behavior and treatment.” 

I stood facing him, exposed and alarmed.  I had played the “faith-based education bias” card to get my own way and in the process I became the ugly face of religion that is hurtful, judgmental, and damaging. My defenses were falling as I realized I acted in a way that I abhorred, forgetting my opportunity as a follower of Christ was to demonstrate the love of Jesus Christ, not the anger and contention that was in my wake.  

All my arguments and defenses were obliterated all I could do was beg forgiveness.  I told him that I was just trying to get my own way, acknowledging my mean behavior, asking him who I needed to make amends to, and how I could best do so.  I humbly asked him to forgive me for being demanding and manipulative. 

The room was silent for a breath. He was stunned and his eyes began to well up.  I could now clearly see that this was an area of ongoing hurt and pain. 

I said it again, “Will you forgive me for how I behaved?  I was wrong.”  After a moment he cleared his throat and stammered a quiet “yes”.

Later I was anguishing over my failure and acknowledging it to the Lord. 

It was then I heard the sweetest response.  God said, “Sue, I demonstrated my character in your repentance.”  God used my epic failure to show the staff at that school His love and grace in a way that would not have been possible another way.  It made me think of 2 Corinthians 12:9 “ But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”  

God demonstrated his character through my epic failure and because of the redemption of my faults I will pray for his continued grace and gladly boast my weakness. 

Sue Floyd
Pastor of Ministry Training & Support
www.changepointalaska.com 

When I first read the account of Othniel I started romanticizing a brave man so taken with Achsah that he would capture a city for her. And, Achsah, like any good damsel, waits in a castle tower pining for Othniel. But no, that’s not the story. 

Judges begins like Band of Brothers, with the tribe of Judah driving the Canaanites out of the land (cutting the thumbs and toes off 70 kings). Then a little twist, Caleb offers his daughter, Achsah, to marry the man who takes the city of Kiriath-sepher. Othniel swoops in takes the city and gets the girl. 

And there’s no elaborate story of love or romance. 

On the week of Valentine’s Day nothing could be more disappointing for this gal. 

So if not for love, why would Othniel valiantly risk his life? 

And even the story of Achsah unfolds mysteriously to me.  She marries Othniel and asks him to request of her father, Caleb, a sizeable inheritance of land.  Achsah, instead comes to Caleb, asks for his blessing, and Caleb in response gives her what she asks.  Achsah’s actions don’t reflect an oppressed woman given as a war trophy. 

As an American woman, I doubt that would’ve been my response to the whole situation. 

After getting over my dissatisfaction at the straightforward, unromantic account, I started to see the Othniel and Achsah for who they truly are, people of action. 

Othniel didn’t take the city for love of a woman.  He took a city out of obedience to what God wanted.  Perhaps, Othniel wanted a wife, but that’s not elaborated in the account we have and that’s not what’s important to this story.  What’s important is Othniel’s response to God’s command.  Seeing what needed to be done, and doing it. 

It positions us to understand why this man would be the first Judge of Israel.

Achsah (in more ways than one I imagine) turns out to be a blessing to Othniel.  She enters her circumstance not complaining or looking for a way out, but seeking blessing.  As a result, she honors her new husband and provides prosperity for her family.  She sees what needs to be done and does it. 

Othniel and Achsah don’t just live happily ever after. Eventually, Othniel becomes the first Judge of Israel leading a wayward people back to God.  What rises out of Othniel and Achsah’s story is a couple who risk great things for God and how he honors them for their obedience. 

And in my imagination their ending isn’t predictable. They lived their life of action together, and I doubt two people as assertive as Othniel and Achsah would have a typical romance.  Which is better than any fairy tale ending.  

Holly Luiken
Communications Coordinator
www.changepointalaska.com 

In 1968 Spencer Silver, a chemist working for 3M laboratories, was charged with developing a super-strong adhesive for use in industrial manufacturing.  After two years of research and experimentation, what Silver created was an abject failure; weaker than 3M's existing adhesives.  Silver's product was pressure sensitive and easily separated once applied.  It could be re-adhered to another surface but, in the end, it was super-weak, not super-strong.  

For four years they laughed at him until one Sunday, while singing in his church choir, another 3M scientist named Arthur Fry used pieces of paper as markers to keep his place in the hymnal, but they kept falling out of the book. Remembering Silver's adhesive, Fry used some of it to coat his markers. Success! With the weak adhesive, the markers stayed in place, yet lifted off without damaging the pages.  Ten years after Silver's embarrassing failure 3M marketed his weak adhesive on the back of small squares of yellow paper.  They called them "Post-It Notes," and the rest is history.  In the end, for Spencer Silver, it was an "Epic Fail."

Sometimes the greatest things in our lives come out of what we consider to be our deepest failures.  It's not  that the failure is glorious, but what we learn from the failure can indeed be a path to glory.  In failure we recognize our limitations and how deeply we need God.  Through failure we come to understand that our weakness may actually be venues for God to display his strength, if we offer even our failures to Him.   Success seldom leaves us with that lesson.  When we are successful we are tempted to believe too strongly in our own ability and too weakly in the power of God.

The book of Judges gives us record of the power of failure and how that failure can be glorifying to God if we are willing to change the way we think, admit our own inadequacies, and trust Him to be our strength and our deliverer.  In the coming weeks, this blog is dedicated to telling stories of failure and how God has used those experiences to draw people closer to him and to teach them to trust him more fully.  You will hear from your pastors and from your friends.  What we have in common is a deep love for Jesus and a shared propensity to "screw it up."  In the end, God has taken our greatest mistakes and deepest regrets and turned them into "sacred scars" that remind us of his grace, his love, and his passion to transform us into the image of Christ. We will be brutally honest with you in the coming weeks.  Perhaps by entering our stories you may catch a vision of how God might use your own personal experiences of "Epic Fail."

Dan Jarrell
Teaching Pastor
www.changepointalaska.com 

I believe that God is always speaking to me. I know that I am not always listening to Him. Thus the journey! The abiding life, at the core is tuning in to God and living in a two way conversation. As we begin to see this invasion of our world from His world, we are beginning to hear Him speak. The nature of his voice in our lives comes in momentary times when we allow the opposition of our kingdom and all of our natural instincts to be challenged by His Kingdom and a whole new way to live. It’s a call into a world that is opposite of the world of our birth. These invasions are called “Kairos” moments.

I believe so many of us have difficultly knowing if we actually heard the voice of God or had a moment of  God’s Kingdom invading our own small world, because our gut “instinct” opposes what we have heard. It is important to know that as we live in the flesh, or the kingdom of this world, our gut instinct will always oppose life in the kingdom of God. BUT, as we begin to see ourselves as citizens of a new kingdom and begin practicing the customs and culture of a different world, a yearning within us for this kingdom begins to awaken. It allows gut instinct to be transformed into a God given yearning for something more, perhaps, something we cannot even explain. 

As one born into the kingdom of this world, it will take time to see myself as a daughter of a different kingdom, much like princess born in exile. But the stories, the history books and artifacts of a different day will soon give birth to hope of a world that could be. My time in the Word of God, immersing myself with truths of His Kingdom, and time with others, whose home is not here either, will birth in me that same hope. 

Just going about my day living with the expectation that God has “Kairos” moments, just for me, awakens me to the possibility of His very kingdom invading my small world! I can hear that challenge to “live differently” as I am cut off in traffic. In a split second, I can choose to reject my instincts, keep my hand gestures in check and stay away from three or four long blasts of my horn and instead quietly thank God for protection and drive home in peace. 

This invasion may cause me to change the channel on my TV or stop to make a call to encourage a friend. Talk about exciting! To think that the God of the whole universe cares enough to invade my world is overwhelming. I look forward to each and every time he says, “Girl, the time has come, the kingdom of God is at hand, turn (repent) lets go this way instead because I have so much in store for you in my wonderful kingdom.” And, that my friend, is indeed, very good news. 

Gwen Adams
Women's Pastor
ChangePoint

About this time last year, our church hosted an event called The Table. Perhaps you remember it, perhaps you don’t. It was a great time of prayer for our church and for gaining a sense of how God is leading us. After The Table, our church leadership felt like God clearly was moving us towards greater involvement in reaching out to the city of Anchorage. Our elders felt this leading so strongly that they actually made it one of this year’s strategic ministry initiatives. 

We are intentionally continuing in this direction by offering a very unique, local outreach course call “How Things Work”. The reason we are hosting this course is because so many people want to invest their lives in meaningful ways but really are not sure how to go about it. Our hats are off to those who are already actively serving our community but for those of you who may be looking for the right local outreach fit, our hearts and hands are open to help equip and guide towards the right fit.   

The “How Things Work” course is a great place to learn how to demonstrate Christ’s heart within the many outreach needs and opportunities represented in Anchorage!  This course is comprised of six local outreach topics and hosted by Dave Bacher, ChangePoint’s Pastor of Local Outreach .  Each topic will be covered by a local subject matter expert who will lead us in one week of information and one week of hands-on application.   Although we are highly encouraging people to take the entire course, it is just fine to jump in mid-stream and participate in the topics of your choice.  Here are the topics and activities that we have to look forward to:

Jan. 28: Topic #1:  Personal Preparedness for Disaster
Feb. 4:   Create Personal Disaster Preparedness Kits 

Feb. 11: Topic #2:  Participating in Disaster Relief Efforts
Feb. 18: Visit Red Cross Disaster Relief Facilities

Feb. 25: Topic #3: Assisting Immigrants & Refugees
Mar. 4: Visit the Refugee and Immigrant Services arm of the Catholic Social Services

Mar. 18: Topic #4: Assisting Anchorage’s Working Poor and Homeless
Mar. 25: Visit New Hope on the Last Frontier and Downtown Soup Kitchen

Apr. 1: Topic #5:  Adoption and Foster Care
April 8: Meet with and hear from parents who have adopted and who foster parent

Apr. 15: Topic #6:  Community Service
Apr. 22: Perform a designated community service project

Our church has a rich history of loving our city.  We have felt God leading our church towards greater local outreach involvement.  Don’t miss out on this great equipping opportunity.  Our heart’s desire is that you will find the right fit for enjoying God through life investment!  If this sounds like the right class for you, then be sure to register online at http://www.changepointalaska.com/spring/.  


Jim Capaldo
Outreach Pastor
ChangePoint

“Oh, no, not that word! Here we go again!” Change.  At our church, it’s not just our middle name, it’s our first name. It’s a word that causes a lot of emotion for some of us. We love stability. There’s comfort in knowing what to expect. We wonder why leaders feel like they have to keep making changes. Why can’t we just keep things the way they are?

But leaders need to constantly evaluate whether what they are doing is getting the results that are needed, especially when they are responsible for using resources provided by others. In the church, it’s even more important since those resources are ultimately the property of God, and he calls leaders to be faithful and obedient stewards.

I’ve been reflecting on how well ChangePoint is accomplishing the mission to which God has called his church. We know that our primary calling as a family of followers of Jesus is to make more disciples. We know this because this was the last commandment Jesus gave to his disciples (Matthew 28: 18-20), after modeling for them a successful strategy for effectively making disciples. We know it was a successful strategy because we see his disciples doing the same things Jesus did throughout the New Testament, and the result was more disciples. In fact, the strategy was so effective, that the church grew from a very small number of people to over fifty per cent of the Roman Empire in a little over 250 years. That’s an amazing movement by any historian’s standards! We don’t have to guess how this was done. The Bible tells us the answer. Jesus’ disciples mentored others the way Jesus had mentored them, and they got the same results. On top of that, this amazing multiplication happened in a time of great persecution!

Fast forward to present day and what do we see? We live in the most exciting time in history for the spread of the good news of Jesus to the ends of the earth! Did you know that one out of 7 people on our planet today is a practicing Christian? And that percentage has doubled in only the last 32 years! That’s astounding! The church in China has grown from one million to 80 million people in the last 50 years! Protestant Christianity is growing three times faster than the birth rate in Latin America.  The number of Christians in what we used to consider the “mission fields” now surpasses the number of Christians in the “sending” countries. And more missionaries are now being sent from non-Western churches than from North America and Europe.1 

So how does the United States compare? Well, it’s not good. Currently 39% of Americans attend church regularly, but church attendance is declining quickly. 65% of Americans age 66 and older attend church regularly. Among Americans age 47-65, the number drops to 35%. Church attendance for Americans age 35-46 drops a lot more to 15%. And only four per cent of Americans age 18 to 34 attend church regularly.2  Those are scary statistics! At this rate, America is well on its way to becoming a post-Christian culture, like Europe.

How does Alaska compare? Well, of the 50 states, Alaska ranks last in church attendance. Only 22% of Alaskans are regular church goers!3

So where is the disconnect? Why does the growth of church in America look nothing like the growth we see in the first 300 years of Christianity? And why is it the opposite of what’s currently happening in other parts of the world? This is a very important question, one whose answer is equally as important.

For the first three centuries of Christianity, the focus was on multiplying disciples and multiplying churches. Followers of Jesus were intent on taking the Good News to the ends of the Earth by reproducing their faith, at great risk to themselves and their families. That’s true today in many churches around the world as well. In the U.S. however, in recent decades we’ve predominantly been focused on a church-growth movement. (That’s an ironic name for it given the rate at which we’re shrinking). A church growth movement focuses on getting more people to participate in church activities mostly led by church staff. Just to clarify, I'm not saying there's anything wrong with more people participating in church events. Of course that's great. But if that's the whole of our strategy for seeing life in Christ for every Alaskan and the world beyond, we're in big trouble.

What is a disciple-making movement? It’s a focus on mentoring disciples of Jesus toward learning to be more like Jesus and do the things Jesus could do, including making more disciples. A disciple-making movement is a strategy of multiplication, not just the addition you get by inviting more people to come to church. It’s a strategy of reaching many by relationally investing in a few and teaching them to do the same.

Well, then why don’t we change our strategy if we know there’s one that’s working elsewhere, especially when we see it working throughout the New Testament? Good question. Here are a few reasons. Investing in people is hard work. People are messy and time consuming. We’re too busy. That’s the pastor’s job. I don’t have time for my own kids, so how am I supposed to have time to invest in other people? I'm an introvert. No one ever invested in me that way, so how am I supposed to know how to invest in others? Pick whichever of these sounds most like you.

Well, we have a choice to make. We can deny that we need to change. Or we can see that change is needed and decide to avoid it, resigning ourselves to declining year after year until we’re an obsolete relic in our community, like most of the churches in Europe. (And by avoiding change, this is the choice we’ll be selecting.) Or we can take seriously Jesus’ command to make disciples and his model for doing it that he, Peter, Paul, Barnabas, Timothy and others left for us throughout the New Testament. For me there’s only one clear choice. I must be obedient to our King and learn to model my life after his, including investing my life in making more disciples.

Jay Pullins
Executive Pastor of Ministries

1. Ralph D. Winter and Bruce A. Koch, Finishing the Task: The Unreached Peoples Challenge, Perspectives on the World Christian Movement: A Reader, (William Carey Library, 2009), pp. 531-546.

2. Mike Breen and Alex Absalom, Launching Missional Communities: A Field Guide, (Mike Breen, 2010), p. 12.

3. http://www.pewforum.org/How-Religious-Is-Your-State-.aspx

Hello, ChangePoint missionaries of the gospel!

Well, the holiday season is just about upon us. It’s been a great fall semester so far at ChangePoint. Lots of you are taking advantage of some great classes and courses, and giving your lives away both inside and outside our church family. 

I’ve had an amazing season of personal spiritual growth in the last month or so. In October, the entire ChangePoint staff participated together in a “Perspectives on the World Christian Movement” one-week intensive training course. It was a great time of team building and focus on God’s mission for his church! We all came away re-energized to reach our world with the gospel for God’s glory.

Right after the Perspectives course, I was privileged to travel with a team of pastors to Kenya as a guest of Compassion. There I toured some of Compassion’s Child Development Sponsorship and Child Survival projects and met with students of Compassion’s Leadership Development Program. These are located in some of the worst slums in Africa, where most children do not live to see their eighteenth birthday and babies are still dying of preventable diseases that we no longer hear about in the U.S.  I can only describe what I saw as heart breaking. You can read my blog posts that I wrote during my trip by clicking here.  I also posted lots of photos and videos from Kenya on my Facebook page, here.

Let me highly encourage you to participate with us in our first ever Engage Outreach Conference, coming up on November 16th and 17th. This is going to be a great time of worship and teaching, focusing on reaching our city, state and world with the good news of Jesus Christ. You don’t want to miss this! You can read more about the conference here.

Check out the other articles in this newsletter for more info on what’s going on in our ChangePoint family as we pursue Life in Christ for Every Alaskan and the World Beyond.

Blessings,
Jay Pullins
Executive Pastor of Ministries