Sunday, August 29, 2010

Core Values

Every so often we load up in the car and head to Bartlesville for the Kiddie Park.  If you have never been it is sort of like a carnival for little kids and most rides only cost a quarter!  We can go and ride rides for 3 hours on less than $5!  A fun night out with my wife and children, throw in dinner and it all cost less than $20, that is value!  But, there is more to value than a monetary amount.

We all have values.  Whether we realize it or not we all place value on certain things in life.  It is said that you can discern what a person values by simply watching where they spend their time and money.  It is necessary then that we as individuals determine what is valuable to us as that will guide who we are and what we do.  At Launch Point Church, we have a set of core values.  Now, it is important to distinguish the difference between core values and a statement of faith.  Statements of faith are  belief systems based on one's interpretation of scripture and subsequent understanding of who God is.  Core values are often similar because they are ideas that come from scripture, but rather than trying to be comprehensive, core values are more narrow and will be different for different people at different times.  In other words, you can tell from our trip to Bartlesville that I value time with my family and saving money.  These are two things that I can find in scripture, but they would be important to me even if they were not in scripture.

Over the next few days I will be posting and discussing the core values of Launch Point Church.  They are as follows: Love, Serve, Give, Grow, Truth, Family, and Excellence.


Love
God's love is the central theme of the Bible.  We were created to be in a love relationship with God.  It is His love that causes Him to pursue us even though we rebel.  Jesus commands us to love God and love people.  It is His love that fuels us to love Him and love each other.  His love will give us the desire to uphold every other core value.  Love is foundational.  Love is essential.  God is Love!(Matt. 22:37-39)(John 13:34-35)(1John 4:7-21)


It is our prayer at Launch Point is that we would be satruated with God's love!

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Launch Point Church


Our official blog has arrived.  I hope to use this blog and a means of charting the journey we have begun that is, and will be Launch Point Church.  This will be a place to learn about LP, who we are and what we do.  Also, we will direct all of our prayer partners to this blog to keep them informed as God answers prayers and as we add new needs.  Finally, we will have devotional thoughts to challenge, and encourage each other as we walk together on our journey with Christ.

"The people who know their God will display strength and take action." Daniel 11:32 This is one of the many verses in the Bible that have become our battle cry.  At Launch Point we want to be a church that is alive, active and displaying the strength in life that comes from knowing the sovereign God whom we serve.

Over the next few days and weeks I will begin posting what has become the foundation of our church.  The vision, core values, statement of faith and practice and time line are all things God has revealed to us.  We want to clearly communicate that to everyone as we begin to seek out both believers and non-believers to become a part of our family at Launch Point Church 

Just today, over a cup of coffee, God revealed His providential care for our church and my family.  It is God who is in control of this church and it is His active work that draws people to join Him.  All I went looking for was some caffeine but as usual God had something far greater in mind!

We are praying for more such Divine encounters.  Please commit to pray with us for sponsoring churches, encounters with the lost, and the courage to place everything in His hands.  After all, that's where everything is already!  God bless you and your family!

Pastor Dave