HOLT – Does God ever begin again? Consider Noah and the flood, the generation of Israel raised in the wilderness, David the second king of Israel, the church in Ephesus that had abandoned its first love. These are a few of many examples of God calling his people to begin again. Even the gospel call of repentance is a call to begin again. None of this means that God has failed; rather, it is the very means by which God fulfills his purposes for his people and for his world.
This is why I have a passion to see churches revitalized. The people of God, in order to remain faithful to God, often have to begin again. Sometimes he starts a brand new thing, such as through church planting. But oftentimes God brings renewal to something started long ago. This is the work of church revitalization, and specifically of church replanting.
That is what we are seeing God do in Holt, MI. I am honored and grateful to be a part of it, and this is how we are seeing God begin again.
At Chapel Pointe, we are passionate about kingdom expansion. For us, this happens in many ways, from supporting missionaries and sending missionaries to coaching and strengthening churches. But we have especially seen the kingdom expand over the past year as we have begun launching campuses, and one of those new campuses is in Holt which is just south of Lansing.
But this campus is not a totally new endeavor. It is a work of renewal, a replanting of a church that has long had a gospel influence in this area. We were connected with this church last year. While we began with encouraging, coaching, and consulting, it became clear that this congregation needed and wanted more support.
Most importantly, we shared a heartbeat to reach to the lost and to see the kingdom expand in this community. So this congregation is now part of Chapel Pointe, and we are replanting this church as one of our campuses. The goal of all of this is that God would multiply transformed followers of Jesus in this community.
This has become my prayer for myself and for our church in this season: "Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you?" (Psalm 85:6).
Would you join with me in prayer for God to renew my heart and your heart, the hearts of our people, and hearts of our churches? Would you pray with me that a deep joy in God would send us out to boldly share the message of the gospel?
At Chapel Pointe, we like to say that transformation is a continual process, not a one time event. God is always transforming us, growing us, reviving us. And when that happens not just in me but in a whole congregation, a church is revived. And a revived church is one that not only rejoices in God, but calls others to rejoice in him as well.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Andrew Bolkcom is the campus pastor at Chapel Pointe’s Holt campus. He has been married to his wife for nearly 10 years, and they have two boys who are three and one.