Keep Praying!

Last Sunday was a great day of ministry, Connecting Real People to the Real God, as the sign says!

We had more help then ever before setting up & striking the gym for our service! (“striking” is a theater term used to describe removal of the sets from a stage…just in case U didn’t know). God brought 7 first time guests & 3 people made a decision for Christ. Is that exciting or what!!

Our “CrossRoads” series continued with a message entitled “What’s the future hold?/overcoming anxiety.” The Big Idea…Leave your future up 2 God, take advantage of your opportunities & don’t let anxiety take advantage of you. (See the book of Daniel, Chaps 1-6 for great examples in how 2 flesh out this idea)

Francie & I are so in awe of God and all that He’s doing AND we are so proud of all the BPC’ers who come every Sunday & make it happen. From the nursery, preschool to the hospitality, info area & every area in between including P. Cal & Miss Donata in Jr. Church. You guys & gals are the best! It takes a team to pull it all together & you THE team. Remember, we need each other! Lets contuniue rowing together!

A special thanx to Artie & Linda for bringing the continental breakfast for everyone 2 enjoy! (Hope your Sunday afternoon fishing trip to Erie after the service was profitable!)

And thanx so much to the APC choir & Pastor Kate for hosting Francie & I last Wednesday during your “Mexican Fiesta Connect Night.” We soo appreciate you adopting BPC as your mission focus, praying for the church & taking up such an incredible offering that will go towards paying off the sound system.

KEEP PRAYING 4 BPC!

CrossRoads & Guest Survey

Last Sunday we began a new message series entitled, “CrossRoads - Making Correct Choices at Life’s Intersections.” Before deciding…go to God first. Good decisions are made filtered through a God perspective. After the service we hosted a luncheon.

We also began giving to our 1st time guests a free book entitled “How Good is Good Enough?” by Andy Stanley. Enclosed in each book is a “First-Time Guest Survey.” We ask our guests to give us their feedback. Below are responses from one of the surveys.

What did you notice 1st: The boxing ring. Actually the kindness & willingness to bring real people to the real God. I think that is awesome!

What did you like best: praise and worship; the messages really hit home and I can relate.

What was your overall impression: I love the atmosphere. I feel I can grow stronger in God with this church and I really want that!

Praise God!! This week BridgePoint will be 7 weeks old! Please continue to pray for us BPC’ers as we Connect Real People to the Real God!

CrossRoads message series begins

I can’t begin to tell you how many times I found myself at one of life’s crossroads during my adulthood (is that a word?) since leaving home @ 18. Crossroads are the intersections in life where we find ourselves having to make choices. “If I go left…it’ll take me here. Right will lead me to… and straight…I’ll end up there…” Before Christ the “Which way should I go?” question was easy… “Whatever way I want to!” That’s kind of a gamblers approach to life, sometimes you get it right & sometimes you don’t. And…the odds are always with the house.

Once I made a decision to follow Christ, the choices I had to make at life’s crossroads became somewhat easier to decide on. Still difficult at times but always worth it knowing I was traveling with Jesus. I bet, at one time or another, you’ve found yourself at one of life's crossroads. “Which way should I go?” “Who should I invite to go with me?” “How much will it cost?” are just a few of the choices we all must make at various crossroads in life.

Well, this Sunday I’m beginning a new message series entitled; “CrossRoads, left right or straight. Making correct choices at life’s intersections.” The Bible is Gods “road map” for life & is filled with a ton of instructions that can help guide us towards making correct choices. Over the next 5 weeks some of our topics will include, “How to Make Good Decisions”, “What to do When Crisis Hits” & “What’s the Future Hold?” I hope you can join us for this series.

This Sunday, April 20th following the service, we’ll be hosting a luncheon. Everyone is invited & believe me, you won’t leave hungry!

Regarding choices/decisions; after deciding on Jesus the 2nd best choice I ever made was to ask Francie to marry me…which she did. Yesterday we celebrated our 24th wedding anniversary! Amazing isn’t it?....considering now a days we both don’t look much older than say…30? LOL!!

Guy talk that Bridges the Gap

“I’ve opened ___ of stores in the PGH market this year…”
My 1st house was ___ square feet. My 2nd house was double that & my 3rd house was triple that…”
I’ve got this 34 year Mercedes Benz in mint condition. My wife told me to sell it. I told her, No way! I’m not selling my baby…”

Guy talk…some of the conversation I overheard this morning @ a local coffee shop from 4 guys sitting 2 tables away from me. (not that I was ease-dropping but, bits & pieces of their conversation peaked my interest) It’s what I do that determines who I am. My identity is found in my accomplishments & my “toys.” The essence of Guy Talk.

I wonder what was said during guy talk when Jesus was “sipping on a New Testament cup of coffee” with His group of guys? The Bible gives us bits & pieces of their many conversations but wouldn’t be great to know all the details. Peter, John, Matthew, Judas & the rest may have talked about their lives before they connected with Jesus & what their lives were like afterwards.

This Sunday @ BridgePoint we’ll finish our “Bridging the Gap” series. In the past few weeks we’ve seen Jesus bridge the gap of unbelief, unforgiveness, loneliness & pain. We’ve also heard great stories from Real People about what their lives were like before they Connected to the Real God & afterwards. This week we’ll talk about the gap of past mistakes & hear from Jim Adams. Jim didn’t decide on Jesus until he was in his 50’s. Jim was a union painter for many years eventually becoming the boss on many large jobs that took him all around the U.S. Since deciding on Jesus, Jim has founded a ministry called “Feeding the Flock”, helping thousands of people, churches & ministries. Knowing Jim, I have to believe that in the past his guy talk sounded a lot like what I heard this morning. But now…Jim’s guys talk is all about how Jesus bridged the gap in his life.

It’s a great story you don’t want to miss from a Real Person who Connected to the Real God!

Everybody's Got a Story...

“Everybody’s got a story, everybody’s got a song. Everyone’s a little different, but we all went wrong. Then a Savior came, and He took the blame, He changed everything!”
This is the 1st verse to the song, “Love Came Down” written by Lindel Cooley, worship leader through the Brownsville Revival of the mid to late 90’s.

Since our Grand Opening we have seen how Jesus “changed everything” by “Bridging the Gap” of unbelief. A father asked “help me overcome my unbelief !” The Gap of forgiveness… “flows from the cross, through us to others.” And the Gap of loneliness, “call & invite Jesus…where there is 2, there is a party.”

It’s true, each of us has a story to tell so during our services we have invited “Real People” to tell their stories about how Jesus “Bridged the Gap” in their lives “Connecting them to the Real God.” Paul, Rick & Rachel have a great story and this week we will be hearing another one from Curtis Polaski. The pic 2 the right is Curtis, his wife Joanna & their daughter Adalea.

Have you got a story to tell, has Jesus “Bridged the Gap” in your life? How so?