northpark christian church

It’s Here: Ready or Not?

Bob Monts

I’m sure you have noticed and may have even groused about it. The outdoor Christmas decorations are popping up around town. Reformation Day is here today (Nov. 1). That means that the breaks are off, and everyone is now running headlong into the Holiday season. Thanksgiving is knocking at the door and Christmas is about 50 days away.

Here at Northpark it means we are ramping up to serve people in the Montgomery County area, the community of Kingwood, and children around the world. The months of November and December give us as a church an opportunity to allow God to love others through us.

It all starts this coming Saturday (Nov. 5^th) as we gather to fill shoe boxes with gifts and various hygiene supplies for kids around the world. We partner every year with Samaritan’s Purse in a project called Operation Christmas Child. Through this project we are packing up 200 shoe boxes to be sent to kids who otherwise might not have a merry Christmas.

Then on Nov 15^th we head to Mission Northeast, one of our mission partners, to participate in making the supplies for Thanksgiving meals possible. We gather supplies every month that the Mission gives to those who are struggling.

Yes, we are a small church, though we want to grow. We don’t let our size limit us in our mission. We are jumping into service this Holiday season with gusto and abandon. Are you looking for a church that recognizes it is not all about itself? Do you want to be part of a church that shows this through service and making a difference in the community? Then join us for a service. Meet us and Pastor Lonnie and see how easy it is to get connected here.

Taste of Northpark:

A Soup and Empanada Extravaganza

Our church is excited about this coming Sunday (Oct. 23^rd). The reason is that it is our Fall Open House that we are calling A Taste of Northpark. We are inviting our community to join us for 25 varieties of soup, empanadas, deserts, popcorn, and cotton candy. In addition to the food, we are having a carnival, with games for all ages, along with face painting and balloon sculptures. There will be large bounce house and a 60-foot inflatable obstacle course for kids of all ages. But that is not all. We also have live music by the Back Porch Band.

The purpose of the event is related to our mission as a church “To Let God loves us and let God love others through us.” Our church strives to be a welcoming community so that people can be confident that Christian love is real, and its source is God.

So if you are a visitor to our website and you don’t know much about our church or any church, please accept our invitation and join us on the 23^rd from 1-3 pm. There will be plenty of tasty treats, games, music, and prizes. Come meet our family. We are eager to meet yours.

Mission & Message: The Same

Methods: Flexible

How do you understand the title of this particular blog? What does it have to do with Life at Northpark? The truth is that it says a great deal about our church. It says that we have a single mission. Our mission is: Let God love us and let God love others through us. How does mission impact Life at Northpark? It keeps us focused on the main thing. Every time someone comes to visit our church, our goal is that they see our church as a place where the love of God is present and that they feel loved by God as our church family expresses his love. What does this have to do with the title? We have one mission. It does not change week-to-week. It is our goal to live out this mission as consistently as possible. We want to be a place whose mission offers our current attenders and our future attenders, a sense of stability and security.

But what about message? Our message is the same message as the message which dominates the pages of the Bible. That message is expressed in the New Testament book of 1 Corinthians 15:3-4:

3 I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. 4 He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said.

It is this message that informs our mission. It is this message that we seek to communicate, in our worship each Sunday, through our singing, our participation in the Lord’s Supper, and in our preaching. It is the first message that was preached. It was this message that led to the formation of the first church 2,000 years ago and it has not changed. Thus, we have one message that was passed on to us and is consistent with the Scriptures: Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again.

It is a message that clearly demonstrates God loves all of us and it is the message we want you to experience in your interaction with our church. One mission and one message and both are the same and something from which we will not deviate.

So what about methods? The message is rooted in past. Our mission is an expression of this ancient message. But both are still relevant in our moment of history. Thus, our methods for expressing the message and our mission are flexible and open to change. We are a contemporary church using modern methods to express an ancient message. We are ordinary people who are defined by an extraordinary message that spans the centuries. This message has staying power because it meets the greatest need we have. It is a message that communicates we are not alone, nor insignificant. We are loved are by one who seeks to transform us.

Please visit us and see how message, mission, and methods define Life at Northpark.

God doesn’t want to hear declarations.  He wants to see your dedication.

He doesn’t want to hear hollow promises of what you will do, but rather He wants to see what you ARE doing.  He wants to see the benefits that a life dedicated to Him will bring to a community of your fellow man.

The Creator of the universe doesn’t need to hear that you intend to do this thing or that you want to do that thing.  He’s not interest in protestations of “I’ll do better just as soon as _______”.

The first chapter of Isaiah records God’s lament regarding the Israelites: “For what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices … Bring no more vain offerings”. 

Similarly, the prophet Hosea (6:6) records God’s words saying, “For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.”

Jesus’ half-brother James teaches, “But a man may say, ‘You have faith and I have works.’  Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.”  (James 2:18)

It’s easy to see that the action He desires from us is to love him above all else, and to love our neighbor as ourselves (Matthew 22:37-40).  The Creator doesn’t need empty promises of production or sacrifice.  He is the Creator.  He created all we can see or know or do.  It is within His power to accomplish anything He desires.

The bottom line is this:  if you believe in an all-powerful Creator, then you must believe in an all-powerful Creator.  He lacks for nothing.  Nothing is outside his control. 

Northpark Christian Church is a bible-believing church.  We take God at his word.  We are commanded to worship Him, to have faith in Him, and to have love and compassion for our fellow man.  These are our goals.  Our members, discipled in God’s word and enriched by His awesome power and love, are committed to reaching out to our community.  We engage in activities of evangelism, teaching, compassion, and assistance through multiple programs geared to bring the love of Christ to our corner of the universe.

Won’t you join us this Sunday and experience for yourself how totally and completely awesome is the Creator.  We look forward to worshiping with you.

Our guest blogger this week is Karen Ferris. Karen is  part of the Children’s Ministry Team and is the leader of a special project that is part of Life at Northpark. Read on as Karen shares about Operation Christmas Child. This project is an integral part of how our church fulfills its mission to let God love us and let God love others through us.

I cannot tell you how much joy it brings me to talk about Operation Christmas Child. If you did not know, Operation Christmas Child is a ministry of Samaritan’s Purse that distributes shoeboxes filled with goodies to children all over the globe. Orphans in Guatemala, children in West Africa, and even kids in remote islands in the South Pacific. Packing small gifts in a shoebox is just the beginning that awaits these precious little ones. Each child that receives a box will have the Gospel message taught to them in their own language! How awesome is it that we have the amazing opportunity to spread the love of Christ to kids around the world. I remember listening to a young woman tell her story of receiving a shoebox. She lived in an orphanage in Central America and had never been taught about who God or Jesus was. As a child, she was ecstatic about receiving a doll and her very own toothbrush, but even more heartwarming was hearing for the first time that she was loved. Being the hands and feet of God is vitally important, so much so that Jesus said, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone. (Mark 16:15)”

So, I count it an honor and a privilege to serve the youth of the world by putting together shoeboxes with everyone in the church. My heart gets excited thinking about the smiling faces that will receive their gifts offered to them in love.