Empty Seats and New Opportunities

Written by Lawrence Yoo As you know, we have the blessing and privilege of commissioning and sending out Eastpoint Church at the end of July. This is both an incredible blessing and a sacrificial gift. One of the beautiful things about all of this change, however, is that it creates opportunities for others to step up and fill in these new gaps. This is a great time to search your heart and see where God might lead you. God has gifted you in a unique way and we need you. We are all an important part of the vision for the next stage of God Waypoint Church. 

So, as you are praying, I’ve identified three areas of focus for the next few years. 

One of these is the next generation. We have a proportionally large number of children for the size of our church. Connected to our children and youth ministries, we also have our special needs/buddy ministry and foster care ministry. When we planted, we didn’t know that special needs ministry and foster care would be a major part of the life and ministry of our church, but God had a plan and a special role for us to play. Children are a blessing, but they are also a responsibility. God can both bless our children and use our children to be a light in the community and to the nations. 

Secondly, from the very beginning God has called us to be a church on mission: to reach the triangle and nations. We praise God for allowing us to send Eric Weiner and be a part of Garden City Church in Malaysia, and sending Eastpoint, and we look forward to where God will lead us next. In order for us to continue to grow in church planting, we will need new “seeds.” There will soon be new empty seats and parking spots. We pray God will fill them with our unchurched neighbors in South Durham and East Chapel Hill, and use us as we invite those in our spheres.  

Lastly, God is not just calling us to service but taking us on a journey into deeper relationship with Him. We introduced many of the spiritual disciplines in our sermon series during lent, and our hope is that we will continue to be with Jesus and become like him, growing in our faith and falling more in love with the triune God. We want our members to be in healthy community groups where they can be known and loved (and we want to pour into our community group leaders). We want them to take advantage of opportunities to pray and be prayed for through our prayer ministry, and love God with their minds through Waypoint Academy classes and Bible studies. 

What is our church going to look like over the next few years? We pray we will look like the kingdom, blessing our community, and helping to transform our area. We have an amazing staff team, but it is going to take all of us. This is your church and we want you to take hold of this incredible calling and the joy that comes from doing it together.