“The match was the first of it’s kind in the area – not a scramble or best ball tournament – but a real Ryder Cup style match. It was a blast” said Ayres, LifePoint’s team captain. The score after the first round of matches ended with a tie at two points per team. However, the St. Peter’s crew rolled to a decisive victory during the final week’s matches, most of which were played in a singles format. They hoisted the cup after winning with a total of 7.5 points to just 4.5 for LifePoint. The Congregational Cup trophy will reside at the St. Peter’s facility in Lake Mary until next year’s replay of the event.

When asked about the victory St. Peter’s team captain Wes Sharp said, “We’re glad to have won but the real winners are the children. We hope to play again next year and maybe even increase the team size to raise more money for the kids.” Wes is also the presiding worship leader for the St. Peter’s congregation.

In all, about $2,000 was raised, all of which will go to help the efforts of Families in Transition, a program establish to serve the educational needs of homeless students in Seminole County. For more information about Families in Transition see the foundation website at www.seminolehomelesskids.org.

It’s because of this busy schedule of activities that I want to remind us again about the importance of prayer at LifePoint. As a leadership team of staff and elders, we are making sure that as a congregation we don’t forget about this very important part of the Christian life. As a matter of fact, I’m reminded that it was when Jesus was at his busiest that he took time to seek God in prayer. We need this prayer on every level within the congregation. We expect to reserve more time in the Sunday morning service for congregation needs and prayer, as well as regularly opportunities for congregational members to receive prayer during the month at regular intervals.

I hope that you will remember to pray for the church and congregation whenever you can. I know that God has so much planned for our people, but there are a lot of obstacles as well. Pray for the church finances – that God would work through His people to continue to tithe and give regularly. Pray for our future location – we know that God has something amazing picked out for us already! And please pray for the staff and elders of LifePoint – that God would keep each of strong and energized to serve the congregation boldly.

Lastly, how can we pray for you? Always know that we are willing to pray for you, no matter the circumstance. If you have a prayer need you may call our prayer line at 407-327-6467 option 3, or send an email to prayers@lifepointchurch.com. You may also send us a prayer request at www.lifepointchurch.com

Praying for you,

Phil Ayres

Each member of the team is a LifePoint partner, and each has dedicated their time, energy, and finances to find a 24/7 facility for the congregation to call home. Progress so far includes a geographical study of the congregation to help identify reasonable boundaries for the search. The team is also working with a commercial real estate professional who specializes in facilities for churches. Empty retail stores and unused warehouse space are the most likely options when it comes to finding a place, however, we are not ruling out any opportunity that God may bring our way.

The CVT will give a monthly update on the first Sunday of the month during Sunday’s worship service. Stay tuned for more exciting details and please, please continue to pray for their efforts.

It’s a special year not only because of what we are expecting God to do in the future, but also because of what He’s done in our past. That’s right, on January 22 we will celebrate our 10th year as a church in Lake Mary. God has been so faithful over the past decade and we can’t wait to see what he has in store for us over the next 10 years.

For now, the upcoming year is shaping up to be a great expression of faithfulness in our community. We will continue to stock the Lake Mary Elementary Food pantry and provide meals at Grace & Grits. We will continue to work with the Lake Mary Police Department’s Senior Intervention Group to provide assistance to the elderly. And we will continue to be faithful to teaching the Bible and worshipping Christ passionately each week during our Sunday morning service.

One of my hopes for 2012 is to put a greater emphasis on prayer at LifePoint. At our recent Elders retreat in October we felt led by God to make more room for prayer during our Sunday morning service and to also pray as a congregation on a regular basis. The early church considered group prayer to be one of the four essentials functions of the church and so we are also going to make that one of our top priorities for the new year. If you have any prayer needs please send an email to prayers@lifepointchurch.com or call our office.

We are also refocusing our efforts to find a permanent facility for our church family. Starting again in January, the Campus Vision Team will meet monthly to pray and seek God’s will for our new home. If it’s God will, we hope to secure a facility that can be our own – a 24/7 location to worship weekly and to serve the community. We know that this won’t be easy or cheap, but we continue to move in this direction as we believe the God has prompted us to go forward with this plan. Stay tuned for regular updates the first Sunday of each month during Sunday morning worship.