>>November Two Years Later...

It is hard to believe it has been two years this month since a group of people started meeting in preparation to launch the NorthStar Church. On a personal note, has been a wonderful two years of my life. I am so thankful for all the ones the Lord has used to bring about NorthStar Church. So many people have given and continue to give so much of their time and resources in order that NorthStar becomes the church God wants her to become. We give God the glory and the praise for what He has done. It is incredible how God continues changing lives and adding to His church. We have so many reasons to give thanks this season but to mention one, I am thankful for NorthStar.

>>The Right Focus

Focusing with the right perspective. That sounds easy enough but sometimes it is not as easy as it sounds. Keeping our eyes on Christ is where fulfillment truly lies but how do we find ourselves looking to other things instead? There is a pull on our lives toward the busy schedules, responsibilities and challenges this life offers. This does not necessarily mean that these are evil things. In fact, hopefully they are important things in our lives rather than burdens. You may add to this list as you wish. All of the things that pull us or compete for our time must be synced with the necessary relationship with God. No schedule, ambition, or desire should take the place of our walk with Christ. Often the things that take our time are good things. The question is, “are they the best things?”. It is when we keep our relationship with God in check that we can function properly and focus with the proper perspective.
Speaking of focusing with the right perspective, one of the things that we are focusing on here at NSC is people. We want to love the things that God loves and God loves people. It is our focus and desire at NSC to show God’s love to people. We want to show His love in such a way that people exchange ordinary living for the extraordinary through the power of Jesus Christ. As you read this, think of someone who needs His love. As you face the challenges and demands of a busy week, be sure to keep Christ in His rightful place in your life and share His love with others. He has what we need and He has what others need.

>>Sweet

I keep telling people who ask about NSC, a subject I love to talk about, God is making a difference in the lives of the people who attend NorthStar. I am quick to tell them we are not taking ANY credit for the good stuff that is happening here. It is all about Him. It is all about what God is doing. Those of us leading, attending, watching, serving, and worshiping are just a by-product of the supernatural work God is performing in this place. I am humbled by the way God continues to add to His kingdom, change lives for His glory, give hope to the hopeless, encouragement to the discouraged, future to the future-less, joy to the joyless, and salvation to the lost. NorthStar is a place where we seek to express God's love in such a way that people will exchange ordinary living for the extraordinary by the power of Jesus Christ. We are Real People at a relevant church who connect people to a growing relationship with Christ and others to fulfill their life purpose. Just checking us out? Come on and see what it is about. Been coming for a while? Plunge on in and get involved. Though we are far from perfect, it is encouraging to hear from one of our attenders who simply said: " Sweet !"

>>Upside Down

What difference can one or two people make in changing the world for the better? Have you ever said: “I am just one person. What I do will not really make that much difference.”? When considering an election, we usually hear people say, “Every vote counts.” In church, we often say how important every person is in the body. The real deal is we can make a difference. In the early days of Christianity, we see some of the believers being accused and abused for doing what was right before God. They were persecuted for telling people about Christ. Their message of hope and forgiveness somehow threatened the religious leaders of the day. One place, in the Bible, they were making such a difference in the way people thought and lived, they the were branded as ones who were turning the world upside down. Notice what the Bible says about these guys.

5 But the Jews became jealous, and when they had brought together some scoundrels from the marketplace and formed a mob, they set the city in an uproar. Attacking Jason's house, they searched for them to bring them out to the public assembly. 6 When they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city officials, shouting, "These men who have turned the world upside down have come here too, Acts 17:5-6 (HCSB)

Wow! How awesome is that? Wouldn't it be something if that could be said about us here at NSC? In many ways ,we are making a difference in our community and region. I see so many willing people stepping up to the plate saying, “ I am willing to do whatever it takes to share the good news of Jesus Christ with the world.” With our words, attitude, willingness, activity, prayer, worship, fellowship, maturity, ministry, and missions, we share the love of Christ with the world. When it is all said and done, we want the world to know that we loved them with the love of Christ and we want Christ to say to us, “well done.”

23"His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'" Matthew 25:23 (NIV)

Keep on turning the world upside down!

>>Our Passion

Doing whatever it takes to please and honor God should be our life goal. God created us for His pleasure. He created us because He loves us. Sometimes we are so busy trying to please everyone else, we forget we are to please God. It is so rewarding to find that when we please God, other relationships begin to fall into place. In other words, when we get our relationship with God where it needs to be, our relationships with others take on new shape and meaning. We certainly want to please Him. Hopefully, on this journey called life, we learn to love what God loves. God loves people. Isn't it interesting, everywhere Jesus went, He was loving people. Sometimes He would reprove them and at other times He would admonish them, but He always loved them with unconditional love. It is easy to get so busy doing good things that we fail to do the best things. We can serve on teams, lead others, and even actively attend church and still forget to reach out to those who do not have a personal relationship with God. I have been guilty of this very problem. As a pastor, I must make sure I keep my focus on the reason I am doing what I am doing. He has called all of us, as believers, to carry out the work of the ministry. Weare to love what Jesus loves, and Jesus loves the church. I love NorthStar Church. I love doing His work and sharing the good news. I am thankful for all those who have come beside me to share in the work. I am thankful for a loving church family who truly has a vision to reach people for Christ. My challenge for today is to make a difference with your life.

>>Into The Light

As believers, we have been called out of the darkness and the shadows to walk in the light. This happens when a person becomes a Christ follower. It is the moment a person says yes to the offer of God to follow Him. Peter wrote: "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy." (I Peter 2:9-10 NIV) For over a year now, we have seen people coming out of the shadows and into the light. One of the most exciting things that I experience in ministry is seeing people make this decision to follow Christ. This past Sunday we saw adults, students, and children who have made the decision to follow Christ and take the next step of baptism. Awesome! This one word is almost inadequate to describe what we witnessed as these who had already followed Christ took the next step of obedience. Yes, in a cattle trough they were baptized. Want to share this excitement? Continue to share Christ's love with others and witness, before your very eyes, others coming into the light.

>>Appreciative, Humbled, Excited

Those are just three of the many words to describe the awesome move of God at NorthStar Church. This is a move of God, not man. Man could not make this happen. You see why I keep saying: “I am just trying to stay out of the way." It is evident that He is at work here and lives are being changed. Of course staying out of the way does not mean lack of involvement. While we must allow God to show the way, give the directions, and lead us, we must be busy doing the work He is calling us to do. I have seen so many over the past year get plugged in to the awesome work that God has called us to do. In fact, as we move to 2 weekend services on May 13, there will be almost one hundred volunteers doing the work. This is not to mention all the people of NSC constantly inviting people to NSC. I am appreciative for all the servants who often work tirelessly, giving of their time and talents to the Lord. I am humbled by the fact that God chose us to do this work, and I am excited about the direction the church is headed. I envision hundreds and even thousands coming to a place called NorthStar Church to worship, connect, serve, grow, and tell the Good News of Jesus Christ. It has happened before and it will happen again. Thank God, He is still in the life changing business.

>> What A Day

Here is a typical Sunday in my life. April 1, 2007, I woke up somewhere around 5:15 and 5:30 thinking it was actually later than it really was. Do you ever do wake up thinking you are late? (Whew! I had a couple more minutes to snooze.) My phone, which is also my alarm clock, has some problem because of the day light savings time thing. It is weird, on Saturday night it begins thinking that it is on the old time or something. ( the phone company my have been playing a April fools joke on me or something) I usually wake up before it sounds the alarm, so I got up and began getting ready for the day. I am talking, moving very SLOW! After quietly saying good bye to my wife and thinking I will see my family in a few hours, I hop in the car and maneuver around the used car lot of a driveway. (I do not have a used car lot even though I am thinking about selling off some of the cars that seem to find themselves parked there each weekend. (Not really on selling them... but really on having to maneuver around them)

Where was I? Oh yeah...I begin heading out of the driveway while it is still dark, and I make my way to the NSC building. I know we will move one day and have lots of acreage to park cars and a really nice place to worship, but I really like this place. This has been our home for one year! I like it because God put us there. It is quiet as I turn on to the gravel parking lot and ease up to the door. I park near the door until it is time to unlock the gate of the parking lot next door. I go inside with a million things on my mind, and my heart is palpitating at the anticipation of being able to speak to hundreds and thousands of people in just a few hours. (Hundreds for now.)

After making seven pots of coffee, (not all for me) I think about the things I will be sharing in just a few hours. It is really quiet, and I spend some time alone with the Creator of the universe. It’s Awesome. After about an hour and a half, I take my car next door and drive to the end of the parking lot, which is in the next county I’m sure. Then some of the NSC Praise band begins to show up. Some of them actually park their cars near the county line. “There is life out there,” I murmur to myself. Ha.

Things begin to get cranked up as the band begins one last hour of prep. I simply meditate and think about the message I am about to bring. Then I walk around the G.P.S. (worship center) praying for those who will be attending worship. I pray, "Lord bring them in. Help them to wake up, get up, suit up, crank up, and drive up to NSC today to worship you."

At nine o’clock the students show up for Bible study, and somewhere between 9:00 and 9:15 workers and staff start coming around doing the various and needed tasks to get ready for the day. Around ten o’clock people start arriving for worship. They make their way to the coffee and stuff, and some detour at the Compass Center (NSC books and gifts).

Did I mention that God meets me there first thing in the morning? With out Him all we do would be futile. In fact, I can't do it without Him.

The countdown starts, cars continue to pour in, children continue to get checked in, the countdown to worship time goes to 0:00, and then it is time. Here we are to worship the only one who is worthy, Jesus Christ. When He shows up, things really begin to happen. The worship is great, the message is from Him, and lives are changed. The service has concluded, but people are still hanging around. Some are at a meeting. Some are telling us they just had a life changing experience, some are just happy to be around people who are on the same journey they are on. Everyone is hungry! It is 12:30, and people are still hanging around (which is great). There are a few bewildered looking kids hoping to eat at least one more meal. (they are wondering when that will be.) How many were here today and how many met Christ? Just a few of the questions I ask. (I also want to know how many cars were parked here today) Well it is time to head out. Man, I will miss this place, till the next time we get to come together and do it again. WHAT A DAY.

>>Navigating Life's Journey

On March 16, we will have reached the eleven month old stage in the history of NSC. It is hard to believe we are only eleven months old. The best we can track, we have over six hundred people who are attending sometimes. We work constantly to see this number increase and encourage the attendees to come on a more consistent basis. We have approximately two hundred people who have gone through our membership class, and we are averaging over 325 on a regular basis each Sunday. This past Sunday we had 384 people present, and Christmas weekend we had over 500 people attend. Many first time people are attending our services each Sunday, and the Lord continues to add to the church each month at our Discovering NorthStar 101 class and each week as they give their heart to Christ. Terry, you are doing a lot of counting aren't you? Yes! We count people because people count to us. We have just added two staff members on a part time salary basis. While we have four being paid on our staff, we have a total of eight on the leadership staff. We have countless volunteers that ensure that we can do what God has called us to do, and for this we are grateful. The Journey of NorthStar has been and continues to be incredible. Someone asked if we were shooting for a certain number of people. Our passion is people. Our passion is to reach the unreached, disciple them in the faith, plug them into ministry, help them connect with other believers, lead them to authentic worship, and repeat the process. Many months ago, when God placed on my heart the planting of this church, I knew that it was going to be an incredible journey. As others began to join me on this journey, I realized in an even greater way this journey was going to be special. Some have been around since the early days, while others have only been here for a few weeks. There may even be those who are reading this that have yet to attend. We are thankful for every person. Everyone is important to the plan God has for NorthStar. We are navigating this journey together with God as the head. It takes all of us praying, giving, attending, dreaming, implementing, working, cleaning, building, moving, changing, trusting, sacrificing, teaching, believing, reaching, sharing, ministering, fellowshipping, evangelizing, worshiping, and protecting the unity to become the church we need to become. I am glad to be on this journey with you and look forward to each day that God gives us to build and work for His glory. Keep on keeping on, for He has great plans for us. Please remember though we are on this journey together, He is the one that makes it happen.

>>Isn't God Great?

Navigating Life's Journey is awesome. Each week that passes is exciting and fulfilling as we travel this journey of faith together at NorthStar. Isn't it something how each week God ministers to us just at our point of need? Where are you in your walk with Him? How’s the journey? Are you struggling? Are you hanging in there? Are you having a good time? I am thankful for the way God helps me go down this journey called the spiritual life. Someone said ( I think Tony Evans) : “He has us where we are, taking us where He wants us to be. If we are faithful where we are, He is free to take us where He wants us to be.” Each week someone shares with me either in person, by phone, or email how God is moving in their hearts at NorthStar. I am so thankful for NorthStar and the way God is at work. I am thankful for the way God is at work in my own life. Our present is a blessing, and our future is bright as we continue seeking His will and purpose for our lives. We must remember what successes and blessings we receive come from God. I praise God for NorthStar Church. I am so encouraged by the way church growth occurs at NorthStar. When people, excited about what God is doing, begin inviting family, friends, coworkers, and neighbors to worship, the results are immeasurable. This church truly has a passion to reach others for Christ. I am thankful for each person who is a member of NorthStar and for those attending NorthStar. I am thankful for those who have come to Christ and for those who will come to Him. Remember as we Navigate Life’s Journey together, we must do so with God at the controls of our lives.

>>It Makes My Heart Smile

It is really unbelievable how fast the year passed by for us here at NSC. When God enabled us to take the monumental step of launching the first service on April 16, we knew the rest of the year was going to be fast- paced. What an honor to be a part of such a fresh move of God. I have had some incredible years of ministry and have seen some pretty incredible things happen in God's work. However, there is nothing in all my years of ministry that compares to the experience of this work. It is so fulfilling to see God at work and moving in the hearts and lives of people. It makes my heart smile to see people each week pull onto the gravel parking lot of what used to be a trailer manufacturing facility, to attend worship. It makes my heart smile each time a person steps into the (cattle watering trough) baptismal pool to follow Christ in baptism. It makes my heart smile to see how people have such a willingness to be a part of what God is doing. It makes my heart smile as the different ministries are developing at NSC. It makes my heart smile to know that there is a freedom to worship, serve, share, dream, mature, and fellowship together. It makes my heart smile as we envision the next step. It makes my heart smile to see people interested and involved in missions. It makes my heart smile to actually begin to know some of the names of the people attending. It makes my heart smile to see new people each week. It makes my heart smile to have a leadership team committed to the vision God has given us. It makes my heart smile to see so many willing volunteers give so much of themselves to the cause of Christ. It makes my heart smile to know that even though we are not perfect, people are willing to come and feel a part. God has given us a challenge and task to make a difference in this community, county, and region. Our heart smiles because of all the ways God blesses us, and for all these things I am thankful. More than our own satisfaction, I pray that we please God in all that we do this coming year. I am looking forward to what God has in store for us this year, and I feel honored to share this time with those who are a part of NorthStar Church.