To the Westpoint family.

So grateful for the time worshipping and praying and singing and considering our next steps together yesterday. I apologize again for the lack of time to actually converse about the now and the suggested future. We will, I assure you, in the next few Sundays. If you missed the time this morning, the podcast will be posted probably today or tomorrow. Be looking for it on the home page of WestpointChurch.org or on the Facebook page.

Meanwhile, I wanted to send a note regarding three things. First, to share with you the basic, easy to remember acronym of our focus together as a local church family. Second, just a recap of "The Bottom Line" that was shared yesterday. And third, four stories about folks living sent / making disciples TOGETHER that are a part of our church family. As you have time, please read through all three. I hope it will encourage you as we keep learning and living the ways of Jesus together.

Grateful for how we have been living sent together. Grateful for the call and commitment to go deeper and deeper in living sent TOGETHER, loving each other as well as neighbors and nations, holding each other up as we live out the gracious, Gospel ways of the Kingdom of God.

-jason


WESTPOINT
be Worshippers _ in the daily and on Sundays
get Equipped _ to make disciples and to be family
live Sent _ serving AND sending both locally and globally
grow Together _ via SENT groups and as COWO
POINTing _ neighbors and nations to Jesus


THE BOTTOM LINE:
1. take the initiative to connect with 3 to 5 families in the Westpoint family to be family with, committing to passionately pray for one another and to deeply love each other through thick and thin.

2. study the Scriptures together as a family for more than just greater Biblical knowledge, but rather in order to simply ask the question, "If this is true, how must we individually and together surrender to the Holy Spirit that adjustments might be made in our lives?"

3. then, encourage each other and hold each other accountable to engage the lost in the pathways of our lives, praying for the lost together, being patient in the long-term of the friendship and journey, and proactively loving them first and caring for them in specific ways, welcoming them into relationship with us like they are family, too.


SERVING SASHA
In case you haven't heard, "Safe and Sober Housing Alternative" has found a new home!!! So excited for Cindy Underwood and the women who are a part of that awesome ministry! Well, in the process of cleaning up to prepare to move in, one of our SENT Groups who has adopted them as their one way of serving locally together stepped up to clean and paint and get the home ready for Cindy and another awesome group of volunteers to move stuff in. So grateful for that SENT Group being family together and including SASHA and Cindy in that family.

CARING FOR STUDENTS
Some of you during summer travel may have missed the announcement of Tommy Novak focusing in a new role with our team as the Pastor to Families with Students. He is loving and equipping parents of teens, walking with and making disciples alongside and among teens, and growing with an awesome adult volunteer team committed to loving and serving students and their families. Well, two of those adult volunteers got to step into action recently in a way that definitely moved them out of their comfort zone. Tommy was stuck in an important meeting when he got a text message from a student in a bit of an emotional crisis. Tommy knew he needed to stay where he was at least for another hour or two, and so he asked a couple of the adult volunteers if they could go and be with the student. They did. And they were stretched. But they were also blessed as they cared for, counseled with, and encouraged the teen. It was a beautiful expression of being a family living sent together.

GOLFING ALONE
The story was shared with me about one of our guys who two weeks ago was a bit inspired to go "live sent" on the golf course. He went out by himself, intentionally trying to connect with another player so they would have a twosome, intentionally hoping to begin a new friendship and enter on a journey together of learning love and hope and life together. Remember, this "making disciples" stuff is not a cold-call, overnight kind of thing. And it's not a one-round-of-golf kind of thing, either. In the end, the guy was so glad he did what he did. He made a new friend and hopes to golf together again.

LOVING THE LONELY
Less than two weeks ago, a woman in our community connected with one or two folks in our church family hit a crossroads in her life. Stay consumed with loneliness and addiction or get connected and get help. So far, and it's early in the game so please be praying, but so far she has chosen the latter. One of the ladies in our church family stepped right in and not only "loved first" becoming new friends, but also has loved well spending quality time encouraging the woman in crisis. On top of that, the Wednesday night women's group stepped up, as they have done so many times in the history of our church family, to love on and care for and connect with and walk beside the woman. What an awesome example of family!!!