The last couple of months have been very interesting in the Pressley house. Over the last four years we have been in Newcastle attempting to start The AnchorPoint Church. The past four years have been an amazing challenge. We have had the privilege of becoming friends with some great people, and we have served the community of Newcastle. However, the church has not been able to reach a point of self sustainability. About two months ago the leadership of our church decided to dissolve our church and on Sunday we held our last public service. It was a great celebration of what God had done in the lives of people through our community of faith.
It would be easy to think that The AnchorPoint was a failure. Obviously if we could have it our way The AnchorPoint would be a growing church. That hasn't happened, so the first place we go is to failure. But God doesn't operate that way. God doesn't dwell in the land of success or failure. He looks at faithfulness. The people of The AnchorPoint have been faithful.
Over the last four years 19 people have begun a relationship with God by becoming a follower of Jesus. People with little faith have grown strong in their faith. People who have never given themselves away have lived sacrificial lives. We really have changed the way people in Newcastle think about church. The AnchorPoint has given over $300,000 to sponsor 15 other church starts. God is great and there is just too many great things he has done to list.
This transition has a lot of things up in the air for us. What is next is the question of the day. While we don't know the details we do have some options out there. We are confident that God will bring us to where we need to be, but for the moment I feel a lot like Abraham. "Go to the land that I will show you." What an adventure! We'll keep you posted.
3 comments:
Anchor Point is a long way from a failure. Anchor Point (and its mother ship Anchor - Seattle) are the core of everything that God has done through Seattle Church Planting (about 80 churches locally and scores helped elsewhere)...dozens of interns have been trained and deployed, many of whom are in full-time ministry...hundreds of lives impacted...could be thousands.
Reminds me of my own experience. A couple of years ago I toured Fort Wayne, Indiana with my dad, where he had been a church planter. One of the churches he planted only lasted a couple of years. (The other 7 are still going.) However, when we found where that church used to meet, my dad had a flood of memories about people who were a part of that church plant.
He told me about families whose lives were changed, a worship leader who started his ministry there (who later became an international recording artist), multiple missionaries sent from that church, and I reminded him of a little boy who became a Christian there...me.
I asked him, "Dad, so was the church a failure."
"No, I guess not," was his reply.
Anchor Point a failure...not even close.
Gary
Thanks for your faithfulness in a challenging situation and in a challenging place! Keep us posted on your latest adventures!
Josh gets to actually name the pup and Heath just gets to suggest names. So far, Josh doesn't like any of Heath's suggested names, but the name Josh does like is 'Mr. Wiener Pants'. Ugh. Somebody come up with a good name, please?!
Post a Comment