LifePointe Church

What’s Up With these Values, Purpose, Mission?

Rob Westbrook — Mon, 04 Dec 2006 06:28:28 +0000

If you’ve looked around here very long, you’ve seen LifePointe’s Core Values, Purpose, and Mission. You may have wondered, what’s going on with all this stuff? Why have all of these things defined? What’s this got to do with a new church?

There’s a verse in the Bible that many Christ-followers are familiar with. It’s Proverbs 29:18. This is what that verse says:

“Where there is no vision, the people perish.”

That comes from the King James Version of the Bible. Here’s that verse from some other translations of the Bible:

“If people can’t see what God is doing, they stumble all over themselves.” – The Message

“Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint.” – New International Version

“When people do not accept divine guidance, they run wild.” – New Living Translation

What this verse tells us is that we need God’s vision, God’s revelation, God’s guidance for LifePointe, or we’ll be in real trouble getting this church off the ground from the get-go. What we need is to align ourselves with God’s reasons for LifePointe so that He can use us for those reasons. God has revealed His vision in the Bible. We’ve studied the Bible and believe that our purpose, vision, and core values are the purpose, vision, and values God has for LifePointe.

So what’s the difference between purpose, vision, and core values?

Think of is this way. Our purpose is why LifePointe will exist. We will exist to make disciples that impact our community for the glory of God. Our purpose is to see people come into a relationship with Jesus Christ, teach them what Jesus taught, so that they will impact the whole community for Jesus. When this happens, God gets the glory. That’s our purpose. That’s why we will exist. There’s nothing more or less for us to do.

Our vision is the outcome of us fulfilling our purpose. If we do what God wants us to do, thousands in our community and county will have a relationship with Jesus. They will be part of the family of God and LifePointe. They will have real, life-changing relationships with Jesus and those who make up LifePointe. They will experience life-change in their families, friends, and all other relationships. They will experience life, and that life to its fullest.

Our core values are the parameters for our purpose and vision. These are the things that we value in fulfilling our purpose and will lead us to realizing our vision. Our core values are the DNA of LifePointe. Just like your DNA determines who you are, our core values determine who we will be as a church. They define who we are as a church.

Hopefully, this sheds a little light on what all this purpose, vision, and values are all about. If you have a comment, or want to know more, leave a comment on this article.

What is a “Missional” Church?

Rob Westbrook — Fri, 01 Dec 2006 18:39:08 +0000

You may have noticed on our welcome page that LifePointe is described as “a potential new, exciting, missional church in Amory, Mississippi.” You know what new is. You know what exciting is. But what about that word missional? What do we mean when we say LifePointe will be a missional church?

Missional has been defined as “relating to or connected with a religious mission; missionary.” Missional has to do with how the church (the people who make up the church, not the building or location) relates to the community they are in. It is a missionary attitude. A missional church looks at the community through the eyes of a missionary. They ask the questions of a missionary. What is going on in this community? What is the culture like in this community? Who are the people who make up this community? Taking all the answers into account, the church then approaches the community with the gospel of Jesus Christ in a way that is culturally relevant to that community. The gospel message is not changed. Just the methods.

For more information, check out these references:

Acts 16:11-15 – Paul adjusts to the community of Philippi

Acts 17:16-34 – Paul takes in the culture of Athens and uses this information at the Areopagus

Now, as we look at Amory and Monroe County through the eyes of a missionary, what are the answers to the questions? How can we best present Jesus to this community? How can LifePointe be missional in Amory, Mississippi?

Do We Really Need Another Church?

Rob Westbrook — Sun, 26 Nov 2006 20:15:39 +0000

According to the website The Association of Religion Data Archives, there are over 14,000 people who are not connected to any church of any denomination. This means at least 14,000 people – our family, friends, neighbors, and co-workers – face eternity forever separated from God. It has been said that “the single most effective evangelistic methodology under heaven is planting new churches.”* LifePointe will focus on reaching those 14,000 people for Christ and seeing their lives changed by Christ.
* Peter C. Wagner, Church Planting for a Greater Harvest (Ventura, CA: Regal, 1991) 11.

Won’t A New Church Hurt the Existing Churches?

Rob Westbrook — Sun, 26 Nov 2006 20:09:26 +0000

Not at all. The churches of Jesus Christ are not in competition with one another. We are working together for one kingdom: God’s Kingdom. With 14,000 people in our county who have no connection to any church of any kind, it will take all of our churches, and new churches, to reach those people with the good news of Jesus.

How Can I Get Involved in LifePointe Church?

Rob Westbrook — Sun, 26 Nov 2006 20:08:07 +0000

Pray. Pray and ask God how He might want you to participate in this new church start. We first and foremost need people who will partner with us to pray for LifePointe Church and those involved in its infancy. We also need people for all areas of our launch team who will get involved in both the planning and launch stages. We need individuals and churches who will partner with us both in prayer and in financial support.

Who is Leading the Start of LifePointe Church?

Rob Westbrook — Sun, 26 Nov 2006 20:06:46 +0000

Rob Westbrook is the lead pastor and planter of LifePointe Church. Rob is a native of Monroe County, where he attended Becker Elementary School and graduated from Hatley High School. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, where he also has completed 46 hours toward a Master of Divinity degree. He served as senior pastor of a Southern Baptist church in southwest Mississippi from 1999-2006. He is married to Teresa, a native of Tupelo, and they have one daughter, Lauren, who is a junior at Hatley High School.

How Can I Get More Information about LifePointe Church?

Rob Westbrook — Sun, 26 Nov 2006 20:04:51 +0000

How Can I Get More Information about LifePointe Church?

For more information about LifePointe Church and how you can become involved in the early stages of the church, send an email to:

info[at]lifepointeonline.org or brorobw[at]yahoo.com

Please, don’t hesitate to contact us. We will be happy to share our phone number with you via email so that you can talk to us personally.