2009. Doesn't that just sound weird? I just got used to writing in 2008 on checks and documents and now, I'm forced to adjust again! But I believe there is great room for optimism at GracePoint because 2008 was such a pivotal year in the history of our church. Think back to how different, how much more grown up, how much more effective we are as a church since the beginning of 2008.
 
Through the course of 2008, we went from a ministry of Grace Chapel to a growing, independent church. In 2008, we incorporated as a church (remember... that was no small feat!); elected an elder board to oversee the church, sent teams to Uganda and Moldova (the latter to distribute all the goods we supplied to orphans); launched our quest to be an irresistible influence for Christ; started a mom's group ministry; built an integration system for guests to move toward making GracePoint their spiritual home; solidified and strengthened 6 Life Communities; hosted hundreds and hundreds of people from our community at the Great Pumpkin Giveaway; and steadily have swelled in Sunday morning attendance in the latter quarter of the year!
 
Whew! That's a lot of work, not just to write out but also to accomplish! God has been so good to us as a church in 2008. He is deserving of our thanks. But he also accomplished all this through you. So thank you to all who served, gave, prayed, and labored at GracePoint in 2008. This would not have been possible without you and your surrendered life to God. Thank you so much for letting me partner with you to do what we did in 2008 through the power of God.
 
So I look to 2009 with anticipation of how God will continue to build our momentum for his kingdom. I look forward to seeing how God will unleash good with no strings attached through us so that we move from being strangers to being neighbors with people in this area. I look forward to seeing how God will forge trust between us and people who are far from God so that we move from being neighbors to being friends with people in this area. I look forward to how God will open doors for us to point people to Christ so that they move from just being friends to being family in Jesus Christ. I look forward to how God will grow us relationally with one another where our bonds tighten and our friendships widen. And I look forward to how God will transform us to love him more deeply.
 
In short, I look forward to 2009 and how God will continue to extend us and stretch us to be people who are increasingly missional, relational, and transformational. That is my prayer for us in 2009, and so join me in asking God to continue his good work from 2008 into 2009 and to build us and to grow us in missional, relational, and transformational ways.
 
Looking forward to 2009 with you,