The
evening of May 21, 2011 came and went without the much-anticipated “second
coming” event taking place. It had been confidently predicted by Harold
Camping from Oakland, CA right down to the exact time of 6 p.m. Several
hours later and half-way across the nation, the congregation of Christpoint
Church in Joplin, MO gathered for Sunday morning worship. Pastor Josh
Pennington made a reference to the deadline that now was well overdue, and
appropriately preached on the Judgment Day without an inkling of a thought that
by 6:00 that evening a life-altering event of its own would take place in their
church and community. Christpoint Church sits on the corner of 23rd and Annie Baxter in Joplin with a rich history in the Pentecostal Church of God. Rev. and Mrs. W.C. Marcus felt led of the Lord to begin the church in a vacant building on this corner in 1934. It had been a dancehall upstairs and a barbershop below, but this location would never be the same once it was secured for $8 a month as a place of worship. Its growing congregation began making structural changes, which included removing the second floor and eventually widening the building.
The 23rd and Annie Baxter church continued to thrive as great men of God followed Rev. Marcus as pastor, including Revs. Earl Sage, Earl Jeffcott, J.A. Matthews, E. Reynolds, Gene Woods, Paul Shipley, Mrs. K.R. Camp, Jewell Hunt, L.D. Keithley, R.L. Clark and Ferrell Semler.
In 1964 they purchased a lot for an educational annex, and in January 1965 Rev. Paul Dilts moved his family from Bartow, Florida to become pastor. Examination of the old building indicated the urgent need for new construction. Miraculously, God provided enough to get started, and faith carried the congregation through to completion of a new sanctuary and relocation of the annex. A formal dedication service for this new beginning took place on June 27, 1971.
Brother Dilts resigned in 1974 to answer the call to the mission field of Guatemala and Central America. The pastors that would follow him were Revs. T.J. Thomas, Edward Harrell, Charles Bledsoe, Don Shute, Doug Lewis, Don DeClue, Marvin Turner and Wayman Ming Jr., who moved the congregation to a larger facility where it became Joplin Family Worship Center, now located on East 7th Street.
This historic corner was for sale in 1994 and drew interest from former members who sought the Lord about the purchase of the property. Through much prayer, faith, and perseverance, the location once again became theirs in January 1995 with the now 20-year-veteran missionaries Paul and Marjorie Dilts returning as pastors.
When the Dilts retired, Rev. and Mrs. Dan Saunders became pastors in 2002. Meanwhile, that same year a young man named Josh Pennington began a pastorate at New Beginnings Worship Center in Cynthiana, Kentucky. He pastored there while attending Asbury Seminary in Wilmore with no idea what God was preparing him for. But he knew each step was ordained and would take him on a divine path of destiny.
After graduating from Asbury, he resigned his church and took a teaching position at Messenger College in Joplin, MO in January of 2010. During his first month in town he was driving around the city exploring Pentecostal Church of God churches for consideration as a home church. The divine path he had embarked upon years before led him to Annie Baxter St. where he turned the corner at 23rd. In that moment he heard the voice of the Lord speak to him and say, “You will pastor this church.” He immediately dismissed it, knowing they had a pastor. “I would never want someone’s position,” he said without stopping to analyze the word he had heard. He just knew that his heart was to walk in peace and let God continue to order his steps.
Several months later the church came open and Bro. Pennington called the district bishop, then one of the board members, and they scheduled him to preach. He had indeed heard from God, but the word wasn’t fulfilled until later that year when he was elected as pastor in September 2010.
In January of 2011 the congregation of the church known throughout the organization as “23rd and Annie Baxter” officially re-named themselves “Christpoint Church.” They restructured their children’s education program, and began a fundraiser to remodel the nursery and children’s facilities. The congregation was growing at a steady pace, as did the excitement and anticipation. It was obvious that God was building His church as Pastor Josh reinforced the importance of prayer. Christpoint Church began to set time aside to focus on prayer, and prayer would be the foundation that built a wall of protection around them in their moment of need.
The morning of May 22, 2011 was a far more average day than Harold Camping predicted it would be. The congregation of Christpoint Church gathered together in worship totally unaware that their moment of need would soon arrive. Pastor Josh picked up the worship leader, Shawn, at 5:15 for the evening music rehearsal in preparation for the 6:00 service. He also had a planning meeting to attend for an upcoming church event.
By 5:30 there were 17 people in the building. Cindy Christians was in the meeting with Pastor Josh when her son, Jonah, suddenly bolted through the door. “He said there was a tornado heading our way,” Cindy explained, “but we didn’t take him seriously. When he persisted, we decided to go with him to look—and there it was!” They all quickly huddled together in a corridor between the sanctuary and fellowship hall clinging to each other. “At one point I felt the force of the tornado begin pulling us out,” Pastor Josh described. “All we could do was pray.” As glass and debris flew around them, a force of another kind played a game of tug-of-war with their lives, and in their hour of need—God won!
The tornado was a catastrophic EF5 multiple-vortex tornado with winds more than 200 mph that struck the Joplin community at approximately 5:41 that afternoon. It reached a maximum width in excess of 1 mile during its path through the southern part of the city. It rapidly intensified and tracked eastward across the city, and then continued eastward across Interstate 44 tipping over 18-wheel trucks as if they were toys. Then it traveled into rural portions of Jasper County and Newton County.
The death toll would end up being 161. Four of the casualties were part of Christpoint Church. It was recorded as the deadliest tornado in America since 1947. There were more than 1,000 injured as well, with hundreds of businesses affected and thousands of jobs lost.
Within a span of minutes, the 23rd & Annie Baxter church that had been a fixture in our organization for years was uninhabitable. It suffered shattered windows, stripped exterior with objects embedded in the roof. The rain-wrapped tornado had soaked the inside, while the high winds sent objects into the walls, creating holes and dents throughout.
Cars were strewn about in the rubble-filled parking lot, but the sight and sounds beyond that lot were nothing less than shocking. What had been a house-filled neighborhood now lay in heaps of unrecognizable rubble. People were wandering through the streets in a daze calling out for survivors, while trees, telephone poles, and wires blocked their pathways. And what had always been blocked from view by homes and buildings was St. Johns Hospital three blocks away looking as if it was sitting in a war zone. Sirens and car horns could be heard throughout the area as alarms were set off by the violent winds tossing vehicles around.
An ordinary Sunday at Christpoint Church had now become a defining moment for its congregation and the community around it. Miraculously there were only minor injuries to the 17 who were in the building. Messenger College graciously offered their chapel facilities as a temporary home for the Christpoint family to worship in as their focus shifted to the desperate needs of those left homeless from the tornado.
The following weeks would require Pastor Josh and his congregation to bear down and begin the rebuilding process. It was not a coincidence that a seasoned contractor, David Yates, and his wife Patti, had become a part of the church months before the tornado. With his experience and skill they were able to get a plan and move forward with a determination to once again worship at 23rd and Annie Baxter.
During this process the church continued to see growth, and revival broke out in their midst. The building began to slowly take shape as the lives of those who made Christpoint their home were strengthened and renewed. It soon became apparent that victory had been birthed through tragedy. Everyone began to work together like a well-oiled machine, many sacrificing their Saturdays and evenings to grab a hammer or a paintbrush. It was only a matter of time before Christpoint Church would celebrate a new beginning of its own with anticipation of what God had in store for their future.
The day of October 7, 2012 at 3:00 in the afternoon would be a Celebration Service in honor of their amazing accomplishment. In that Sunday morning service the atmosphere was much different as the congregation gathered in their new facilities. The growth was apparent as the sanctuary was full to capacity. There were guests and special speakers scheduled for the exciting event later in the day, but first there was some business to tend to. Pastor Josh felt led of the Lord to call his congregation to a solemn assembly.
It was with great reverence and humility that the members of Christpoint Church bowed their heads in repentance for anything that may have stood between them as a cooperate body and moving forward with the favor of God. They had a time of reflection, followed by prayers of repentance and thankfulness for where God had brought them. Then they prayed they would be mindful of every action taken as they join hands and march on toward a prosperous future.
The afternoon service did not disappoint as area pastors and friends came to share the joy at seeing a fully-remodeled building, with a coffee shop and children’s wing that was more elaborate than formerly planned. And the entire project was completed without acquiring any debt!
The service opened with worship led by Shawn Taylor and the praise team. The general secretary of the Pentecostal Church of God, Rev. Loyd Naten, was joined by the World Missions director, Rev. Virgil Kincaid, and the district bishop, Rev. Bob McGee, who all shared words of encouragement for the occasion.
Plaques were given to two former pastors who were present, Revs. Paul and Marjorie Dilts and Rev. and Mrs.Dan Saunders. “Our church has a great heritage,” Pastor Josh acknowledged. “Great men and women have gone before us.” Because of those who blazed a trail on that corner and sowed seeds that are now springing forth, the church is reaping a harvest.
The service ended by giving appreciation to David Yates and many others who worked tirelessly to make it possible to gather as a church family once again on the corner of 23rd and Annie Baxter. A time of food and fellowship followed as the congregation and guests rejoiced in what God had done.
On the first Sunday of November, Christpoint Church will be adding a second service on Sunday mornings as a direct result of the growth that has exploded since the day of the tornado. The congregation has grown in more ways than numbers. They have formed an appreciation for one another and a deep awareness of the sustaining power of God.
Pastor Josh Pennington is eagerly looking ahead to what God has in store for the future at 23rd and Annie Baxter where they anxiously watch for the true second coming of the Lord. Because . . . "It is the dream of Christpoint Church to be a vibrant, Pentecostal, multi-ethnic community of believers who pursue God with passion, seeking to serve His church and point the world to Him."
www.christpoint.net
No comments:
Post a Comment