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Many Stories ... One Author
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Behind every person coming to Christ is a story written by one Author.
Though every story may have similarities, each one is different because the Author is creative.
The following is from an interview with Dave Johnson (lead planter), Mike Houle (associate minister),
and Jen Ash (discipleship minister) at Colonial Point Christian Church, South Windsor, Connecticut.
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Colonial Point Christian Church recently appointed a new elder whose family's story exemplifies what we believe Colonial Point to be all about. David Philips became a believer in 1985. At that time his wife, Maria, and their children had no interest in spiritual things. Maria was even openly hostile towards David because of his faith.
One day David heard about Colonial Point and started attending. Eventually Maria came with him, and she remembers this as the first favorable church experience of her life. Since then Maria has committed her life to Christ, been baptized, and done some amazing things in ministry -- particularly in the area of outreach. For instance, when we began working with a local girls' home, Maria (a beautician) offered to cut the girls' hair at the home on a regular basis. Several months later another girls' home called, asking if there would be any way that Maria could come and do the same for them. Not only is she serving, but she is now taking her non-Christian coworkers with her in order to change their minds about the church and introduce them to Christ through serving others.
The Philips' son, Jason, was baptized on the same day as his mother. He recently graduated from the University of Connecticut (UConn) and is a tremendous young man -- a leader of leaders. What really changed his heart towards Christ was his involvement in one of our first mission trips to Mexico. Today, he is one of our most active youth leaders at Colonial Point. Jason wants to take what he has in Christ and share it so others can have it as well. While attending UConn, Jason and his friend attended a local event called "Jesus Fest." Copies of Rick Warren's book, "The Purpose Driven Life," were given out and Jason asked his friend if he would be interested in reading it together. Over the course of a few days, Jason recruited another three or four guys and told them that he would buy them the book if they would read it with them. This group met together for the next forty days, sometimes talking until 2:00 a.m. about the ideas and principles suggested in the book. From this experience, Jason understands the importance of not only being mentored and discipled, but also his need to be doing the same for others.
Melissa is the Philips' daughter, whom we had the privilege of baptizing (along with her husband, Bill) this past spring. She is their oldest child and became quite rebellious through her college years. When she began to see the difference in her mom and brother, Melissa began asking a lot of questions. It really sparked an interest and desire in her. She is a music teacher, and immediately after she and Bill took that commitment step into Christ, they began leading out in Colonial Point's children's ministry.
The Philips' story is one that has taken five years to tell to this point. We can only imagine what the next five years will bring just from the fruit of this family alone. At Colonial Point we see a pattern of serving others really impacting individuals for Christ. The thread that runs through these stories is being intimately involved in reaching out to others.
For more information about Colonial Point, go to www.colonialpoint.com.
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