Southpoint Church » Life Change

Intersect Project Story – Family in Delft

admin — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 12:17:00 +0000

We received this great story recently where one of our community groups decided to be the church and assist a family..

Our Community Group Intersect project…

I became aware of a very needy family over a year ago. There is a mum, dad and 5 kids. The oldest girl, Thandokazi, is a junior leader at Metro Kids Africa in KTC and is on the Metro Kids pen-pal program.

I first got involved with this family about 9 months ago when I noticed Thandokazi’s small brother, Sonwabile, at Sidewalk one week. Sidewalk is a program for underprivileged children that my husband and I spearhead in the townships. Sonwabile had a huge extended stomach. I followed him up and discovered the most awful living circumstances I have seen since being in South Africa. It was so bad that even Asanda, who has grown up in the townships, went home and wept at seeing people living like that.

They lived in a small shack with no water and no toilet near by. But it was the state of it that upset me. It was dirty and had clothes, bedding, pots and pans strewn all over the floor. The mom had no hope – she really was like a living dead person. She was quiet, withdrawn and uninterested in her family. They survive by collecting metal each day. One shopping trolley fetches R50 per day.

We took Sonwabile to Red Cross and that is another story. Briefly, he has AIDS and is now in a children’s home for the care of the chronically ill. I visit him regularly and have now got rights for taking him out for the day. He has really touched my heart and if ever I was close to bringing a child into our lives it’s this little boy. Anyway… This could be a book!!

The family were given a house in Delft by the government so when I visited them I wondered about how we could improve it for them as they had so little – not even a chair to sit on. Our Community Group was looking for an Intersect project so I asked if they would consider painting a house.

Everyone was keen. Ruth was telling a friend who worked at New Media, who had recently moved offices and were keen to donate some furniture. We collected that one morning. That was hard work lifting and loading the furniture. Then this Saturday we went from 10 till 3 and did our Delft makeover!! One member brought a friend who was keen to help even though he is not from our church. So an Intersect Project is a wonderful Invest and Invite opportunity!

Three of our teenagers joined in the project and were amazing. They painted a bedroom on their own. We also brought food and they noticed when we were sorting a cupboard out that this family had not one item of food in the house. Our Group is now talking of doing a monthly food hamper for the family.

This project was a real eye opener for us to see how others are living and made us all appreciate our homes and food when we came home.

Janet Senior

Community Group Intersect Project – Rainbow House

admin — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 17:59:14 +0000

Brenda Hobbs shared this wonderful story of how her Community Group is making an impact with one of our Intersect Partners – Rainbow House. If you dont know anything about our Intersect Project then be sure to check it out after reading the great story below..

Instead of having our usual Wednesday evening, our Community Group met at Rainbow House, a home for up to 12 abandoned children in Goodwood. Afterward, one of our members remarked, “I think we got more out of it than the kids!!”

Our group arrived at 5pm to help with supper while the men provided some needed maintenance to the house and garden. I must say that these are the MOST well-behaved bunch of children on earth. After supper we got to play with them as Ralph had turned off the water to fix the taps and dishwasher. The older girls were very concerned that we weren’t sticking to the schedule and informed me ”we need to bath now!” Ralph did a sterling plumbing job and had the water available soon. Bath time was a pleasure, then the ladies were off to read bedtime stories while some of the men did a great job in the garden!!

The real bottom line we are learning through our experiences at Rainbow House, is that LOVE is spelt T-I-M-E. These children’s primary need is love and we all have a lot to give. They just wanted to be cuddled and held. Allan remarked that when he came inside after his time in the garden, he was a bit overwhelmed, but soon he had them hanging off him reading and telling stories.

Our group loved the experience and have decided to make Rainbow House a regular once a term visit. We are reminded of how much love we experienced as children from our parents and want to be able to help these children experience some of that love.

Matt and Rachel’s Great Date Experience

admin — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 13:55:42 +0000

Matt and Rachel recently tried out the the first Great Date Experience that we launched at MarriedLife Live in August. Here is how their date went…

Matt and I had a great time helping make MarriedLife Live possible. The experience grew and stretched us, both as a couple and as musicians. Sometimes, when we get caught up in the hustle and bustle of a big event, it’s easy to forget that the teaching applies to US as well! At the end of this past pay period, Matt and I looked at our finances and realised that we had stuck well within our budget, so it would be a perfect time to put into practice what we had learned at MarriedLife Live. We were going to have our first Great Date Experience.

One of the great aspects of MarriedLife Live was the “Great Date” take-home that we all received at the end of the program. Basically, the Great Date is a tool that couples can use to help facilitate quality time and connection. The Great Date sends couples on an adventure of a date, all while providing conversation starters and thought-provoking questions to keep the night interesting.

If it hadn’t been for the Great Date, our evening out would have had the potential to be a huge letdown. Since I had plenty of ideas on had of where we should eat, I decided to surprise Matt and choose the destination of our dinner. I decided that we should try the Fat Cactus, a Mexican restaurant. Granted, I knew it was not the most romantic place, but Matt and I love some good mexican food. What I didn’t know was that there happened to be a rugby game on at the exact same time we were going out to eat. What I also failed to realise was that this rugby game was South Africa versus New Zealand. Not being from around here, I didn’t fully comprehend the significance of this event, but I quickly began to understand after sitting down at our table for dinner.

If it hadn’t been for the questions and conversation starters with which the Great Date provided us, we would have probably resigned ourselves to the fact that conversation was nearly impossible amidst the cheers and yells in the bar area of the restaurant. It wasn’t until we had ordered that I completely understood that just about everyone in the restaurant except for ill-informed Matt and Rachel were there to watch rugby.

One of the most difficult realities with which we must all learn to grapple is the reality that we will all have unmet expectations. I was expecting a romantic evening surrounded by mexican food. Instead, I was surrounded by rugby, struggling to hear a word of what my husband was saying! So many other times, I would have just allowed my surroundings to ruin my evening, but the Great Date constantly reminded me of WHY I was on this date in the first place. This wasn’t about having my expectations met; it was about something so much bigger than that. It was about strengthening those 6 essentials we learned at MarriedLife Live: cultivate communication, celebrate differences, hurry home, nurture romance, finish together, and trust God. So while the main course wasn’t what I expected, it still ended up being a memorable experience that we both thoroughly enjoyed.

After our main course, we were able to escape the noise by retreating to Canal Walk for cinnamon buns at Cinn-ful. We wrapped up our date by finishing the questions that the booklet provided. I didn’t really learn anything new about Matt or myself as we answered those questions, but answering those questions reminded us why we were together in the first place. Answering these simple questions rekindled the art of conversation within our marriage.

This past week, I can think back on some really helpful, encouraging conversations that I’ve had with Matt. I do credit our renewed ability to be honest and frank with each other back to our Great Date a couple of weeks ago. I think, more than anything, our Great Date was an intentional experience that strengthened our ability to understand each other and communicate well.

I’m looking forward to our second Great Date in September! This time, though, I’ll make sure to schedule it on a day where there is no rugby!

MarriedLife would love to hear your story. Share it with them here.

MarriedLife Live Review

sp_becky — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 12:03:51 +0000

I have never been so proud of being associated with Southpoint Church as I was this past weekend. The way you guys served and performed was just exemplary and worthy of following. I have heard numerous stories of people whose lives have been affected already. Even a bachelor told me it was very instructive and helpful for him. As I thought about what the North Point team had done for us, what stood out for me was that they inspired us to take it to the next level. Yes, there was John and Debbie’s very insightful communication, Jana’s commanding management of production, and Steve and Rod’s support in many ways which brought our production up a notch or two, but you were the teams they were leading and inspiring! As I watched the parking dudes, the Guest services volunteers, the Connections and Involved desks, the sound video and lighting teams, the trio of engaging hosts, the magnificent band, children’s volunteers putting on double duty – everything was up a notch or two. And it’s not about the performance – it’s about the commitment and passion of a bunch of people who believe so strongly in the message they are bringing that they are willing to sacrifice and push themselves to the next level so the message can be clearer, so people are more engaged, so Jesus is lifted up for all to see without the distraction of a poor performance.

Way to go Southpoint, you ROCK!

John

CCFM Interview

morganh — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 12:51:39 +0000

This is from the latest post over on the MarriedLife Stories Blog on marriedlifelive.co.za:

John and Becky got the opportunity to talk a bit about MarriedLife Live recently on CCFM. They also get to share some insights about why every marriage deserves more…

Click below to listen to that interview..
Download audio file (CCFM_MLL_Interview.mp3)

If you have not got your tickets yet or you’re still thinking about getting your tickets, then go here to get them now! You don’t want to miss out!

Oh and did we mention that this event comes with some great coffee AND desert!

90 Day Tithe Challenge

morganh — Fri, 21 May 2010 13:02:04 +0000

It’s always a bit risky to talk about money in church, because we give the impression that all the church wants you there for, is your money. So the reason we bring it up is because the real issue is not money it is your relationship with GOD and we want everyone to have a great relationship with God. Why does it have a lot do with money? Money is a matter of faith and the heart and both of these are vital ingredients in our relationship with God. We cannot do without them.

Handling money and giving (Tithing) is a matter of:

FAITH – God doesn’t need your money. He owns everything. But we give first because it takes faith to give first and God wants us to trust Him. He tells us in Proverbs 3:9-10
“Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the first fruits of all your crops and then your barns will be filled with overflowing.” We give first and the blessings of God follow. Click here for a story of how this principle has radically changed someone in our church’s life by learning to give first.
HEART – God doesn’t want your money, but He does want your heart, and the Bible tells us that where our treasure is, there our heart will be also. When you are not giving, your heart is not in what God is doing and that makes us sad and it will make you sad too.

So with this in mind we wanted to give an opportunity for everyone at Southpoint to begin tithing – so on Wednesday night at Overdrive, our vision night, we launched the 90 Day Tithe Challenge and this is how it works:

Make the commitment to give 10% of your income to Southpoint Church for 90 days. You may do so online, by envelope available at Guest Services table, or by cheque.
Fill out & sign the card – available for download here or at the Guest Services table on Sunday morning.
Turn in the card with your first contribution in the offering buckets.
Reference your tithe with a ‘90′ before your surname so we can track it effectively e.g. ‘90Smith’.

We commit to you that if you tithe for 90 days and God doesn’t hold true to His promises of blessings, we will refund 100% of your tithe. No questions asked. Our mission as a church is to lead people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ. Part of growing is learning to trust Him with our finances; thus the 90 Day Tithe Challenge.

If you are currently giving less than 10% – continue giving your regular amount with your regular reference. But we challenge you to complete the card and tithe the remaining percentage separately with the ‘90′ reference so that we can track these extra monies.

‘I am the Lord All-Powerful, and I challenge you to put me to the test. Bring the entire ten percent into the storehouse, so there will be food in my house. Then I will open the windows of heaven and flood you with blessing after blessing.’ Malachi 3:10

Giving & Blessing

sp_becky — Fri, 21 May 2010 12:28:22 +0000

Hi John

I’ve been running the business since 1998 and for most of that time cash flow was an issue. It’s not that the business wasn’t doing well, we were generally growing in excess of 15% per year and our assets always exceeded our debts. But we were always short of cash – it was always tied up either in stock or in debtors and the end of the month was always a trying time. We spent a lot of energy balancing who we should pay next.

I tried a number of different solutions. I had be taught early on to avoid sureties – which basically means that you can’t get an overdraft. So I brought in partners – they’ve been great but there’s a limit to which you can keep asking for investment without paying it back. I read a book that showed how to use credit cards to raise capital – and before I knew it I had in excess of R100k in the credit card capital in the business – but the repayments just added to the overheads!

As a family, we have always been pretty regular at giving, but about 5 years ago Joy & I started to implement the principles laid out in the financial teaching (living with margin) received at Southpoint Church in a bigger way – and it showed in our finances. Joy had been challenging me for some time about giving from the business – and eventually I decided to listen & try it. The decision was made more complicated by the fact that some of my partners are not Christians; but we committed to give away at least 1% of our monthly turnover. At the point when I made this decision we were not making a profit. It was a step of faith. It now compares to approximately 10% of our profit.

I don’t know how God does it, but within the year we had paid off all our credit card debt, we were able to pay out our first dividends to shareholders in 10 years, our suppliers are all paid up on time, we sit with cash in the bank in excess of the next months overheads – and we have over R100k in savings!

God had spoken to me about being a conduit – everything we have is His and He is looking for channels to feed His blessing to others. However He can only bless others through us if we keep the conduit open. Water will only flow through a pipe if it’s not blocked. If it’s blocked the water in it will gradually become stagnant & the pipe will rust. And it’s all about trust – having the faith to step out and just do it, even though everything around us screams that it doesn’t make sense. This is God’s economy – to this day I can’t explain how He does it – but He does it.

Simon

It’s never too late

sp_becky — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 08:40:31 +0000

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.

Significance of Prayer

sp_becky — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 08:46:07 +0000

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

Stories of Life Change

Phillip Gibb — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 09:48:51 +0000

More awesome stories of Life Change. The second week in a row. We are so happy to hear how God is working in people’s lives; here is the evidence of that great work.

Kevin September Story and Baptism

Michelle Otieno Story and Baptism