A few years ago a young man, after having a restless night through which he sought the heart of God, stood up in a church meeting and said to the Pastor that he felt that God was telling him that the church they were part of needed to be a “house of prayer”. The battle that the church was fighting in order to forge it in the direction of reaching outsiders, was a battle that would only be won through prayer. It was a battle that would cost a lot of money and would only work if God changed people’s hearts.
This week I was reminded of that when a group of people from North Point Community Church sacrificed hugely to come to Southpoint church simply to pray/connect for one week. This they did.
On Sunday following the week of prayer someone commented that there was an “anointing” about the service — which simply means there was something special happening between the communicator and the listeners — God’s message was hitting home in unusual ways! It was true! The response and show of hands at the end of the sermon indicated that a battle was won in the hearts of men and women. We had prayed with the North Point group for this to happen and it did!
Another thing we prayed for was for the GIVING in the church to be increased. He did that as well! The last week of March was a huge week financially.
They also prayed for Metro Kids (MK) and Camp Sonshine. This week MK had a bumper crowd (1200 kids) and God supplied Camp Sonshine, through North Point and Southpoint, a much needed Wendy House for the kids before winter.
To the North Point Global X team…thank you. Thank you to Traci, Brian, Bri, Scott, Darryl, Brad, Mary, Mara, Dana, Emily and Shawnie for praying and connecting with us, as well as honouring the volunteers.
To Southpoint people – thank you for joining in! God is answering our prayers. God is winning the battle of Southpoint, God is winning the battle of the church as He wins the battle for the souls of men and women! Who would imagine that a group of people would sacrifice their vacation, their money, and their comforts to travel 10,000 miles to another part of the world, just to PRAY? Seems ludicrous! Except if you know that our Heavenly Father hears and answers prayers and through this brings about what we cannot do. Let North Point people travel here again to PRAY, let Southpoint always be a “House of Prayer”. Why? That pastor I previously mentioned was me, and that young restless man was Nathanael, my son!
John Hastings
It’s never too late
One of my best moments on Sunday was when a lady who has only recently begun attending Southpoint Church, came up to thank me for the sandwiches we served before the Guest Services Training event. She is very excited about getting involved in serving and also expressed her appreciation at being able to do so! She specifically wanted to tell me how much she enjoys the music that our band plays every week. You see, I had told a story in the training time about another 60+ lady who has attended and served at our church for a long time. She didn’t particularly enjoy the music until God dramatically worked to show her that the music was not about her, but about the younger friends she invited who came and ended up loving the music. So my new friend wanted me to know that even though she was in her 60s she didn’t think it was possible to sing the praises of God too loudly! And that watching the young 20 somethings on stage playing their hearts out and worshipping God was an inspiration to her. My favourite was when she said, “I’ve been away from the Lord for a long time – well over 30 years, but I’ve realized that it is never too late to come back to the Lord!”
When I sent the above to confirm the facts and get permission to share it, my friend said I must also include this:
Thanks for the story of ‘me’, but will appreciate it if you also make mention of the little guys, who, two weeks back were in the very front row of the church singing their hearts out and of the one in particular who was ‘keeping time with the drummer’. He was so in the ‘thick of it’, it touched me deeply enough to bring tears to my eyes. These little guys could easily have been wishing they were outside somewhere kicking a ball around, or participating in some other form of sport rather than attending church. If this indeed was their secret wish, then it certainly did not manifest itself in their body language. In this modern day and age with its attendant distractions and temptations, it is so heartening to observe the joy our young people derive from attending church.
Permission granted to tell the story.
I am praising God because He can bring healing and hope to individuals of any age. I am so privileged to be able to serve with Him with such a great team of staff and volunteers at Southpoint Church.