A few years ago I came home to visit for a weekend. During that visit I sat down with my former youth pastor to catch up with him. He was always interested in what was going on in my life. What was I doing, was I dating someone, how was school going, was I working, who was I spending time with, and how life in general was going. He always checked in on me so visiting him at his office wasn't really out of the ordinary. We sat and had our usual checking in conversation, he asked me the easy questions and was never afraid or hesitant to ask me the not so easy questions. He always kept it real and always made sure I was focused on things. He and his AMAZING wife invested in me from the moment he arrived on Long Island and for that I will forever be indebted. I had a rough life growing up and when this youth pastor came on the scene he helped me to see the potential God saw in me. (Every now and then I need a gentle reminder of that and I am thankful that PT and Mary are still people who are there to do that.) Anyway... this meeting was a little different... He wanted to tell me about something that was going on in their lives. That wasn't out of the ordinary but what he said was unexpected. He told me they would be stepping down from their position at the church which made me sad b/c I knew the influence he and Mary had at the church especially with kids like me. But what he said next excited me.... they were going to be leaving so they could plant a church. I was so excited for them and for the people who would eventually walk through the doors of where ever that church ended up being. So I began to pray for my amazing youth pastor and his wife and their young son as they ventured out into the unknown. I know you're probably thinking... ok so what.... your youth pastor planted a church.... well... first of all that's a HUGE deal, but there is more. About a year into their journey I came home for another visit. I walked into their church (in a movie theater) and felt this crazy sense of "home".... it was so inviting and you could tell these people really loved what they were doing, from the people handing out information to the worship team and of course the crazy guy speaking up front. I quickly became a fan and anytime I came home to visit in the next few months this was the church I would visit. And then it happened, I crossed over the BRIDGE and headed home... my stuff was all packed up and I moved back in with mom and dad because this thing that was happening at this church was far too amazing to not want to be a part of. So that Monday I headed to PT and Mary's house to begin working in the office... in the basement of their house. This family sacrificed so much... including their personal space, they are incredible and deserve to be recognized for that. We ran the church from the basement of their house for a little over a year and then an opportunity to move into an office space came up and we took it. That office was huge to us at that point, space for everyone to work so we packed our BOXES and moved into our new BASEMENT office in an office building in the same town as our church. Our church was growing and developing into something even more amazing then that first time I walked into the theater. About a year ago on a random Saturday morning a small crew of us went to this building in this town a few minutes from where our church met and we walked through a building that was for sale. We walked through and prayed and we just trusted that God would do whatever it was that He wanted to do for our church. Well fast forward to today.... our church is meeting in that building, our office is no longer in a BASEMENT and we are running 2 services here on Sunday mornings, small groups during the week, worship practice one week night (which is huge b/c they used to rent studio space), and so much more. The CRAZIEST part is.... tomorrow.... our pastor signs the papers to make us the official OWNERS of this BUILDING!!!!!! THREE and a half years into this CRAZY awesome journey and GOD just continues to blow our minds. Can't wait to see what the future holds for thePOINT CHURCH as we strive together to reach our FULL REDEMPTIVE POTENTIAL!!!!!
So thank you BISHOP family for dreaming a crazy dream and going after it.... you have made a difference in the lives of so many people... thank you for believing that God had more in store, it is an HONOR to serve with you!(A few pictures from our journey over the last few months....)
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