Paul CastelliLead where you’re gifted, serve where you’re needed.

Just want to take a few minutes to celebrate some big stuff from Sunday.

*We had 19 people accept Jesus on Sunday, Go God!!!
We had been praying for God to move in a mighty way and He did.

* We had 23 first time guest families!

Those are tow great things that need to be celebrated. As a church you are are inviting people and they are coming and they are coming to receive Jesus Christ as Lord. It is a privilege to serve alongside of you Crosspoint!

Also we have an update for our capitol campaign to celebrate

* 77 families or individuals turned in pledges committing to give over $341,000 over the next three years toward our $1 million goal. What a great start!

* 26 families committed to becoming givers, regular givers and tithers. This is a huge step in obedience, we talked about our pledges to the capitol campaign being over and above are giving and that for some families the first step is to become a tither. I am so excited about those who took that first step.

* 20 people accepted Christ during our Capitol Campaign. What a true testimony to God that during that time people where coming to Jesus. It has been a awesome season for harvest and I think it is just the beginning.

Be praying for Sunday that we will see even more people come to know Jesus and take the next step of obedience by signing up for Baptism.

In God’s Hands
Pastor Paul

That’s right, we are moving for the next two Sundays. Due to a lack of power and AC at Challenger we need to temporarily relocate. We are moving to Explorer K8 school at 10252 Northcliffe Blvd. Spring Hill, FL. 34608 for Sunday June 20 and Sunday June 27.

While this is a big surprise and a little stressful, it is going to be fun and we are still going to have incredible worship services and children’s ministry experiences. The best news is Explorer K8 has the same layout as Challenger so most of this transition will be seamless.

Our service times are staying the same 9:30am and 11am and we look forward to seeing you. So please come celebrate Father’s Day with us as we continue our series “Fired Up”.

For more info check our website www.crosspointlive.com

SO get ready for Sunday because its a new location but the same God, the same Crosspoint, its going to rock!

In God’s Hands

Pastor Paul

As many people are aware this Thursday is the National Day of Prayer. But many people may not know a lot about it. Here is some information about it and some opportunities you can make to be apart of it.

“The National Day of Prayer is a vital part of our heritage. Since the first call to prayer in 1775, when the Continental Congress asked the colonies to pray for wisdom in forming a nation, the call to prayer has continued through our history, including President Lincoln’s proclamation of a day of “humiliation, fasting, and prayer” in 1863. In 1952, a joint resolution by Congress, signed by President Truman, declared an annual, national day of prayer. In 1988, the law was amended and signed by President Reagan, permanently setting the day as the first Thursday of every May. Each year, the president signs a proclamation, encouraging all Americans to pray on this day. Last year, all 50 state governors plus the governors of several U.S. territories signed similar proclamations.” LINK

In recent days there has been much discussion on the constitutionality of this day of prayer as an national organized event. To be honest I could care less if some people want to challenge this and here is why. As Americans we have the right to worship freely established in the Constitution. But more importantly then a right given by men, we have the free will given by our creator and the privilege to to come to Him in any circumstance for any reason regardless of what anyone says. In fact he created us to be in relationship with Him and a daily communion with Him, and prayer is one of the ways we do this.

He also gave some commands when it comes to prayer 1 Timothy 2:1-3. So not only should we pray for ourselves, but we should also pray for our  national leaders. So what can you do?

First, make pray part of your daily walk with God. Set aside time each morning or evening for uninterrupted prayer time.

Second, prayer for the people in your life.

Third, prayer for the leaders of your city, county, state and country regularly.

So, this Thursday is the day set aside for our nation to come together and pray. I would encourage you to participate, you can go to a city gathering or you can stop and just take a few moments of your day to gather with some friends, coworkers or by yourself, to pray.

In God’s Hands

Pastor Paul

Wow, what a day yesterday.

There was so much that seemed to be going crazy before services started. We had several tech gremilns possess the equipment, several other issues pop up. It let me know God was going to do something big.

We wrapped up our series Undercover Boss. It was a great series looking at the real story of Jesus and how He was the ultimate undercover boss. We looked at faith, forgiveness, love and obedience from Jesus’ perspective and how it was so radically different then what we think.

I wanted to highlight something we covered yesterday and drill down a little deeper. I believe that without obedience all those other topics are worthless. That if we are not going to be instantly obedient to what God is revealing for us to do, then what good is it to learn about love, forgiveness and faith.

1 John 2:3 says “We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands.” That obedience is what sets us apart, that obedience is what marks us as His, that obedience is the evidence that we know God. Let that sink in for a minute. God is calling you and I to instant obedience in several areas of our life that we have been unwilling to follow.

Now is the time to step up and obey, not tomorrow, not next week, not when so and so gets their life right first, not when i get out of this rut…NOW is time.

Obedience to the revelation of the Holy Spirit in your life is the defining mark of a growing, healthy relationship with God.

SO hows your health?

Being apart of the largest life-changing event in the history of Crosspoint Church. We are planning for 1000 people to join us at our 2 Christmas Eve services this Thursday at 5:30pm and 7pm at Challenger K-8 School. This is a chance for us to invite our family, friends, neighbors and coworkers to hear the Good News of Jesus Christ.

We know that every year people stop and reflect on the meaning of Christmas regardless of their faith or belief. The reason they do that is because God has placed with-in each of our hearts a deep longing to know to Him. And at Christmas that longing is undeniably stirred. People all around the world want to know if Jesus really is the Son of God sent to redeem mankind.

And we have a chance to reach out to them and offer the answer they seek. We have the chance to offer them the love and hope of Jesus, just simply by inviting them to join us as we celebrate Jesus’ birth.

So make the most of the time before those services to invite people to worship and celebrate the birth of our Savior.

Our current message series “Whatever it Takes” rocks. You need to be here. Catch up online www.crosspointlive.com and come this weekend.

We talked about investing your life in others. We looked at the life of Barnabas how God used him to impact the Apostle Paul. It was powerful.

Here are few other highlights…

* 1 person accepted Christ, awesome!
* A person i have been praying for came to church and brought his family.
* 2 people recommitted their lives to Christ.
* 3 second time guest families, sweet. I love it when people come for the first time, but when they come a second time it means that something connected with them.
* We kicked off our Christmas Offering, go to www.christmasoffering.com and see all that God is going to do through our generous giving above and beyond our regular tithes and offering.

Busy week ahead as we finish up Whatever it Takes, plan for the Lord’s Supper on Nov 29 and kick off a brand new series on Dec. 6 “Reach.”

See you Sunday, and bring a friend.

This weekend we had some very good friends come and hang out with us. It is always great to spend time with true friends.

Sunday was a great day. We continued our series “Whatever It Takes.” Our topic was attitude. We drilled down on having a God-centered, People focused attitude instead of a self-centered attitude. If you missed check out website www.crosspointlive.com

Here are few other highlights from Sunday:
* 1 decision for Christ! Rock on, new family member in the Kingdom.
* 11 people recommitted their life to Christ, that is huge.
* 8 first time guest families. I am so thrilled that our people keep inviting their friends and family members.
* 25 people were apart of our Children’s ministry Kidmo training. If you have kids they need to be apart of our children’ ministry. It is exciting, age appropriate learning in a safe environment.

I am so pumped about our current message series. This Sunday we are talking about investing in other people. I can honestly say that I am who I am and that I am where I am because of others seeing in me potential and others seeing me as God saw me, and others making sacrifices to invest in me.

All I will ever accomplish for the Kingdom of God is because of their selfless and often difficult times of investing in a punk teenager from New York with a chip on his shoulder. Thank You.

It was awesome! The Halloweenie Roast was a huge hit! We had 15 homes participate and about 20 small groups.

Our goal was to handout hot dogs and cold sodas/water to parents while the kids went trick a treating. We gave out gift bags to the parents with freebies from local businesses and a Crosspoint invite card.

At the house I was at with our small group we gave over 100 hot dogs, 200 drinks and had over 300 people come by. It was awesome!!!!

On Sunday we kicked off our new message series “Whatever it takes” and despite Halloween Hangover as I call we had good attendance. The series is focused on being committed, and obedient to do whatever it takes for the Gospel.

Here are just a few highlights:

* 2 people accepted Christ!!!!
* 2 recommitted their lives.
* 15 first time guest families.
* 3 people from my Halloweenie Roast Location showed up.
* The offering was awesome! Yes i just celebrated the faithful giving of God’s people!

That just a snapshot of the the highlights for this weekend. Can’t wait to see what God has in store next!

Great weekend for me and my family and at Crosspoint Church.

Erin and I had a great date nite. Husbands make date a priority every week. There is no reason not to do it. She needs it, you need, your kids need to see you do it!

Saturday was relaxing, got some guy time with my buddies, watched Miami get creamed, had dinner with some friends, fought off some sickness.

Sunday was fantastic! Pastor Wayne finished teaching our Maxed Out Series, one the best series we have ever done at Crosspoint. He taught about having a financial plan. If you missed download it www.crosspointlive.com

* 5 people accepted Christ!!!!!!
* 9 first time guest families!
* 6 second time guests, Iike these a lot, it means they came back!
* The sickness bug seems to be moving on, lots of families back, after a few week absence.
* The promo video for our new series “Whatever It Takes” rocks, can’t wait for Sunday. Who are you inviting to join you there?
* I can feel God stirring big things in my heart, seeking clarity and focus, please pray for me.

By the way we have the best volunteers ever at Crosspoint! Over 20 people come and set up each Sunday at 7:00am, over 30 show up at 9:00am to get ready for first service. Over 30 serve at second service and over 20 tear down and reset our stuff for next week. That is over 100 people serving each week to reach, care for and love on people to build God’s Kingdom. From the bottom of my heart Thank you. If you don’t serve at Crosspoint we have a place for you and I promise you it will make an eternal difference.

I just finished reading Visoneering by Andy Stanley. It was a great book and a must read for anyone seeking direction for their life, a career change or leading a minisistry.

The book outlines the 20 building blocks for a vision and engineering it’s reality (hence the title visioneering). So here they are:

1. A vision begins as a concern.

2. A vision does not necessarily require immediate action.

3. Pray for opportunities and plan as f you expect God to answer your prayers.

4. God is using your circumstances to positionand prepare you to accomplish his vision for your life.

5. What God originates, he orchestrates.

6. Walk before you talk; investigate before you initiate.

7. Communicate your vision as a solution to a problem that must be addressed immediately.

8. Cast your vision as a solution to a problem that must be addressed immediately.

9. Don’t expect others to take greater risks or make greater sacrifices than you have.

10. Don’t confuse your plans with God’s vision.

11. Visions are refined-they don’t change; plans are revised-they rarely stay the same.

12. Respond to criticism with prayer, rememberance, and if necessary, a revision of the plan.

13. Visions thrive in an environment of unity; they die in an environment of division.

14. Abandon the vision before you abandon your moral authority.

15. Don’t get distracted.

16. There is divine potential in all you envision to do.

17. The end of a God-ordained vision is God.

18. Maintaining a vision requires adherence to a set of core beliefs and behaviors.

19. Visions require constant attention.

20. Maintaining a vision requires bold leadership.

Andy Stanley does a fantastic job unpacking all of these building blocks and really drives home the keys of the making you God given vision a reality.

You can order the book on amazon.