Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow!

Praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, small and great. Revelation 19:5

In 2019, we focused on stabilizing our membership, budget, elders, and staff. The Lord was faithful! In 2020, we set out to Prepare for Growth. Little did we know we would face a global pandemic by the third month of the year. Admittedly, 2020 was unusual and challenging. In 2021, we sought to get back to regular ministry, but COVID lingered. As we approach 2022, we face a new normal, and we face a new year with clear purpose and increased urgency. Still, it is important to reflect on God’s faithfulness through a second uncertain year. When we count our blessings and consider God’s faithfulness, we will be moved to praise and thanksgiving.

Our Membership
In speaking with many other pastors and church leaders, it became clear that 2021 was a year of transitions for many church members. It was no different for us at High Pointe. Due to the ability to work remotely, some members moved away to be closer to family or to a more desired location. Unfortunately, some lost jobs and were forced to make an unwanted move. Still others, decided to make a change in church membership. They saw this as an opportunity to find a church closer to where they live. Some saw this as an opportunity to reevaluate their church commitments and found a church where they could grow in ways they weren’t able to at High Pointe. Sadly, we also lost a number of members to death. In total, we removed 31 members.

And yet, because our God is both sovereign and good, he remained faithful. Over the last two years, we have seen an influx of young couples and young families. In fact, in 2021, we welcomed 44 new members. Our membership is not growing in dramatic ways, but our Lord continues to draw many new individuals, couples, and families to High Pointe. Praise be to our God! As we seek to Equip the Saints for Ministry in 2022, would you join us in praying that the Lord would continue bringing new members to High Pointe that will join us in our mission to see all peoples become wholehearted followers of Christ?

Our Giving
In 2020, our giving grew by over $100,000.00. It was the first year we have met budget in my 16 years at High Pointe. And when we compared what we received with what we spent (actuals), we had a surplus of over $100,000.00! While we did not expect to see our giving grow by such a large margin in 2021, it continued to grow beyond what we thought or imagined. Not only did we meet our 2021 budget, our preliminary accounting shows that, when we compare actual receipts with expenditures, our surplus from 2021 is more than double what it was last year! And we are still receiving income from 2021. Praise be to our generous God! And thank you, High Pointe, for your faithful generosity!

To acknowledge our thanks to God and to practice faithful stewardship, we will, once again, give 10% of the 2021 surplus to gospel work outside of High Pointe. By doing this, we want to model generous giving to you and encourage our gospel partners. The elders are working on a wise plan for the remainder of the budget surplus. We look forward to communicating that to you soon.

Our Elders and Staff
Finally, we saw the Lord bless us by providing another elder, Anil Levi. Also, your generous giving allowed us to plan for another new staff member, Christopher Parker, who began work this week. Christopher will serve as a pastoral assistant with a special focus on being my personal assistant. Together, our elders and staff want to serve you and encourage you in your walk with the Lord and in our ministry together as a church.

As we look back on 2021, we cannot help but see how the Lord blessed us beyond anything we asked for or could have imagined. Let us rejoice in the Lord’s faithfulness and praise his name! As we enter this new year together, we ask that the Lord continue blessing us so that we may all be equipped by our pastors for the work of ministry, so that we may speak the truth in love with one another that we may look more and more like Jesus.

Love,