Congregational Letter

This is the text of the letter mailed out to the entire congregation today.
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Greetings in Christ!

These are truly exciting days in the life of BridgePoint Church. Those in attendance last Sunday (February 25th) know that we are exploring the possibility of joining forces with Washington Evangelical Free Church in Valparaiso. That means that this next Sunday (March 4th) will be our final Sunday at Simatovich Elementary School!

As Pastor Scott explained on Sunday, this opportunity emerged unexpectedly, and we believe it to be “a God thing”. It has been very encouraging to see and hear the excitement of the people of BridgePoint about this possibility. Allow us to recap the process to date and to project the plans for the future.

Back in the fall, the Pastoral Leadership Team (PLT) determined that, in order to achieve our vision of becoming a regional center of life transformation, BPC needed to purchase a facility in Valparaiso as a temporary all-purpose facility and long-term ministry center. This was the “Next Step” initiative, and it culminated in the choice of the Valparaiso YMCA as the best option.

This led us to the “Step by Step” stewardship campaign with the goal of raising funds to purchase the “Y” (or another facility, should the Lord lead elsewhere). Since its kickoff in January, we have been exploring what it means to be faithful stewards of all that God has entrusted to us.

All along we have said that if the Lord should provide another option, we would eagerly pursue it.

Over the past couple weeks, we have been exploring the option of merging with Washington EFC. The pastoral leadership teams of both churches have discussed at length the pros and cons of such an endeavor. We foresee many challenges and do not expect that the two congregations becoming one would be a simple or easy undertaking. Yet the leaders of both churches agreed that becoming one seemed to be what would be best for the Kingdom of God and for the welfare of both churches.

We think that Washington EFC and BridgePoint should join forces because, together, we can have maximum impact for the Kingdom of God. Washington is well-situated with facilities on the northeast corner of Routes 2 and 49 (bypass) in Valparaiso (Washington Township). Washington has endured difficulties in recent years and is currently without a permanent pastor. They really want to grow and to have solid pastoral leadership.

BridgePoint has been blessed with such pastoral leadership and has both quantity and quality of people that could be a great blessing to Washington EFC. So, why not explore the possibility of joining forces in order to make a greater impact in our communities for the Kingdom?

That is precisely what we will be doing as we begin worshipping together on Sunday, March 11th. Services will be held at 9:00 a.m. and 10:30 a.m., as usual (although it’s switch-the-clock Sunday (daylight savings) so it’ll feel an hour earlier!). All BPC programs will continue meeting as normally scheduled (children, youth and adult) while we meet at Washington’s facility. We will provide maps to and from the facility this Sunday (also at www.bridgepointchurch.info).

After a trial period, both congregations will vote (date to be determined) on whether they want the two churches to become one. If one or both churches vote “no”, BridgePoint would resume its original plan of worshipping at the “Y” in Valpo. If both churches vote “yes”, we would all continue to worship together as one at Washington’s current facility.

It is possible that the churches, once merged as one, would purchase the “Y” as a ministry center, but that decision would be left to the new congregation. BridgePoint maintains its vision to become a regional church; this vision is in no way compromised by this potential merger. In fact, this merger could accelerate the achievement of our regional vision as we join forces to transform lives for Christ.

The “Step by Step” stewardship campaign continues, though at a slower pace, as we turn our focus toward this potential merger. The “Treasure Principle” stewardship class will continue to meet as scheduled. The banquet (originally planned for April 22nd) will be postponed till after our congregations have voted on the merger.

We could not be more excited about the possibilities. We could not be more confident that God is in control and that He will guide us, once again, step by step. We sense that the Lord is in this. We think that the people of Washington and BridgePoint will see this as a “win-win” situation of mutual benefit. We hope and pray that the two churches will become one to the glory of God, for maximum kingdom impact in this region and beyond.

Please join us in praying fervently and daily for this effort. We hope to see you for one final worship service this Sunday at Simatovich, and then on the 11th at Washington’s facility for our first combined worship service.

Gratefully yours in Christ,

The Pastoral Leadership Team of BridgePoint Church
(Dwight Barnes, Jeff Cagwin, Danny Cannon, Dan Foreman, Jim Little and Scott Lothery)

P.S. The people of Washington are very excited to welcome us on March 11th. Let’s all go out of our way to get to know these brothers and sisters in Christ who are graciously hosting us.