What a Glorious and Exhausting Week

This week Pointway Church set up a mission booth at the Crow Wing County Fair in Brainerd, MN. It was both a glorious and exhausting week. As a dear friend and mentor often say, "I am tired, but it is a good tired."

During the five days of the fair we gave away 80 gallons of Kool-Aid, 100 pounds of candy,200+ copies of the ESV New Testament, 200+ copies of Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Christ Came to Die, 1500+ gospel tracts and 1500+ flyers inviting people to the Launch of Pointway Church on Sept. 14, 2008.

Also during those five days I had the honor of sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with many many people and two people professed faith in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. I praise God for the work he accomplished through us this week. Only eternity will reveal the fruit of our labors.

May the Spirit of the Living God convict the hearts of those who heard the gospel and lead them to repentance and faith for the glory of God.

Church Planting - Living the Dream Baby!!!

"Church Planting will make you feel alive, and it can push you to the brink of insanity. It will give you a new sense of God's presence and convince you that Satan is alive and well. You will celebrate the birth of a new church with unearthly joy, and experience betrayal from friends and family in ways you never thought possible. As a church planter, you will experience high highs and low lows. It's dangerous and dramatic. As they say on television - kids, don't try this at home."
~Stephen Gray

It is as the man says it is. Buckle up - were living the dream baby!!!

Meet Mark Bjorlo

This is my friend Mark. He is the Lead Pastor of The Journey North here in Brainerd, MN. There are a number of reasons why I really like Mark. One reason is that he can grow a super bad goatee. Another reason is that we share a passion to reach people with the gospel of Jesus Christ through Church Planting.

Something amazing is taking place with The Journey North and Pointway Church. This Sunday I will be 'co-preaching' with Mark and will share the vision to plant Pointway Church. I will also be inviting people to seek the LORD and ask if He would be calling them to join us in our mission.

A phrase Mark regularly uses is that sometimes God redeploys his troops. This is not just a nice catch phrase for Mark. He believes it and he lives it! This partnership is amazing because Mark is releasing people and money from TJN to go towards our mission.

On one hand this seems like not big deal in light of the teaching of the New Testament concerning the Kingdom of God. On the other hand it is a big deal for at least two reasons.

1. The sad truth is that many pastors feel like other pastors in their community are competitors rather than team mates. Mark and I do not see each other as competitors. We are fellow soliders in the Kingdom of God.
   
2. The Journey North is a part of the Baptist General Conference and Pointway Church is a part of the Christian and Missionary Alliance. It is rare to see this kind of partnership between denominations, though it should be a more common occurrence. My hope is that our partnership extends beyond the planting of Pointway Church to joining together to saturate our community with the gospel and planting many churches together (both BGC & CMA).

It is my prayer that God would be glorified through our partnership and that hundreds of people would come to know the grace of God in Jesus Christ through our efforts. Pray for Mark that God would continue to give him wisdom and discernment as he leads The Journey North. Join me in thanking God for his friendship and his commitment to building the Kingdom of God through Church Planting.

Soli Deo Gloria - to God alone be the Glory

X Factor 2

Behavior 2 – Trust God to Provide

Acts 1:8-8:1 – The earliest days of the church.

1. Trust God by exercising prayer (1:14; 4:24).

2. Trust God by hearing from God while together (2:1, 46).

3. Trust God by learning through the apostles’ teaching (2:42).

4. Trust God by allowing Him to reveal Himself (5:29).

Acts 16:6 and 19:10 – God’s very specific hand of direction.

1. The Holy Spirit keeps Paul and companions from Asia.

2. Now the people of Asia hear the good news.

Acts 5:1-11 – The antithesis…the couple that did not trust God to provide.

1. In succession Ananias and Sapphira keep something back for personal security.

2. They lied to Peter; perhaps they lied to themselves (and they lied to the Holy Spirit).

Bottom Line:

The Early Church leaders always had their antennas high. The listened to God, and they trusted Him for specific direction. Today more than ever we need to hear from God and receive His direction. This concept of trust is not easy. The sooner we acknowledge that whatever is from God cannot be stopped, the sooner we will trust Him to multiply the Church. One more note – holding back is not a good option.

Feel the Burn

Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.
~Hebrews 12:28-29

In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith - more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire - may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
~1 Peter 1:6-7

Therefore thus says the LORD, the God of hosts: "Because you have spoken this word, behold, I am making my words in your mouth a fire, and this people wood, and the fire shall consume them.
~Jeremiah 5:14

The Devil's fiery arrows fall to the ground harmlessly, but fear the LORD who is a Consuming Fire! Feel the Burn! Consume me Jesus, set me on fire and let people watch me burn!!!

X Factor 1

Behavior 1 – Wait for the Holy Spirit’s Power

Acts 1:4 – Initial instruction from Jesus himself to WAIT.

1. Significance of His final words on earth.

2. Significance of power to the previously powerless.

3. Significance of active waiting (see 1:14, 15, 16-26, 2:1)

4. Significance lessons from some who tried it without THE power (19:13-16)

Bottom Line:

God’s power is not token. It is not a power occasionally available. It is not a power to be fooled with. Spiritual warfare, especially in church multiplication, is real. Therefore, it is critical to wait to be empowered by the Holy Spirit! Satan will aggressively work to thwart your progress. He knows it will lead to the taking of his territory.

Don’t miss the activity surrounding the word WAIT. WAIT did not, and does not, mean to be idle!

X Factors from the book of Acts

We are on a Journey to the End of the Earth as we plant Pointway Church in Brainerd/Baxter, MN. This Saturday I will begin Leadership Training with our Launch Team. One of the things that we will be doing as a part of this is studying the book of Acts.

In August I attended the Christian and Missionary Alliances sXt (strategic multiplication training). While there we looked at the key biblical multiplication factors that lead to the explosion of the Christian Church.

As we work through them as a Launch Team I will share them with you for your edification. One conviction that I hold very deeply is that the contemporary Christian church needs to rediscover its identity. The book of Acts is the best church planting manual I know of and understanding what the Christian church was in the very beginning is the first step in rediscovering who we truly are as followers of the risen and exalted LORD Jesus Christ.

Key Biblical X Factors

(X equals Multiplication)

“And the LORD added to their number day by day those who were being saved.”

1. Wait for the Holy Spirit’s Power

2. Trust God to Provide

3. Anticipate Victories Emerging from God’s Control

4. Expect and Discern Divine Appointments

5. Observe and Join what God is Doing

6. Stand Strong Even in the Face of Opposition

7. Praise First In and Out of Adversity

8. Build Bridges to the People

9. Empower and Release Your Best People

10. Relentlessly Focus on Bringing People to Christ and His Kingdom

The first four behaviors (wait, trust, anticipate, discern) are consistently found in multipliers. These four behaviors are all about becoming aligned for God to do His work.

Behaviors five through seven (observe and join, stand strong, praise first) begin the transition into horizontal activity while maintaining a clear eye on God.

The final three behaviors (build bridges, empower and release, relentlessly focus) are deliberate, focused activities resulting in fulfilling God’s purpose and Commission to be His multipliers all over the world.

Storming the Gates of Hell

I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
~Matthew 16:18

The LORD Jesus Christ is building Pointway Church and the gates of hell are being stormed by the army of Kingdom Warriors the King is raising up. I continue to be in awe of the way the LORD is working in our midst. I am absolutely astounded by his grace and his glory.

We are feeling the hot breath of the roaring lion who prowls around looking for someone to devour. We do not fear traveling in lion country because we wear the full armor of the Living God.

It is pure joy to walk on this battlefield as a warrior of the Kingdom of God. I can not think of one other thing that I would rather do with my life than to live in this place, at this time engaging the enemy and bringing the gospel to the walking dead.

May God be glorified in this work and may his name be feared by all.

Soli Deo Gloria

A Church Planters Dream

We had dinner with a young couple who has recently become a part of Pointway Church. John recently came to faith through the ministry of Teen Challenge. Last week before our cell group he called me and asked if it was alright for him to bring someone with him. I think you can guess what my response was. Tonight he asked me again if he could bring another person with him to cell group. Again my response is predictable.

In just three weeks this new believer has brought three pre Christians to our cell group. I am amazed at the way God uses new believers to connect pre Christians to our church plant. We are also working to start and Evangelistic Bible Study in the book of Mark with another group of his friends.

This goes to show the importance of having connections with pre Christians if we are going to be effective in reaching out with the gospel of Jesus Christ,who was after all THE FRIEND OF SINNERS. We must be missional in our thinking and seek to cultivate redemptive relationships with pre Christians.

Let me end this post with a thought bomb: Based on the relationships and social connections you have could you be accused, as Jesus was, of being a FRIEND OF SINNERS?

Church Planting Partners

Pointway Church is now one month old and we have grown from 3 to 13 people. One of our core values is Church Multiplication. One thing that we want to do in planting Pointway Church is to ingrain our core values into our DNA right from the start. After all they are core values!

That is why I am so excited about an opportunity that has recently arisen for us to partner in helping a new church plant. North Star Church Plant in Hibbing, MN will begin after the first of the new year. Pointway Church will partner with North Star prayerfully, financially and in gospel ministry.

We are also making plans to daughter our first church plant together in 3 to 5 years. I count it a privilege in many ways especially because the planter is a treasured friend and mentor.

This is the outworking of a conviction I hold that a church is not a true New Testament book of Acts type church unless it is working to plant other churches. I praise the LORD of the harvest who has given us this opportunity to bear witness to the truth and power of the gospel.

May the Holy Spirit have his way with us and may God be glorified because of us.

Soli Deo Gloria

What is in a name?

It is an interesting discussion when you talk about what you should name a new church plant. I have wrestled with this for about three months now and have come to some conclusions about the naming of our church.

1. The name of our church must communicate our vision.
2. The name of our church must be distinctive and memorable.
3. The name of our church must be understandable.
4. The name of our church must have church in the name.
5. The name of our church must be indigenous to the community.

At some point I had to make a decision that fits the criteria above. After much thought and discussion with others I choose the name Pointway Church.

1. Pointway Church communicates our vision of pointing people to a life transforming encounter with the Kingdom of God.
2. Pointway Church is both distinctive in that it points THE way and memorable because of the short and catchy phrase Pointway.
3. Pointway Church is understandable, we are a church that points the way!
4. Pointway Church is a Church! Not a chapel or a fellowship or a community. It is a church!
5. Pointway Church is indigenous to our community that has many points on its numerous lakes and many ways with its numerous paths and trails.

While choosing a name is important it is not the most important thing and I am thankful that this task is complete so that I can focus more time on reaching out with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

What is a Missional Church?