Shelby Next | Northpoint Church

“Shelby Next”
By Pastor Scott Williams

Hello Church Family,

One of the key responsibilities of the shepherds of the church is knowing who is, and who is not, part of the flock God has entrusted to them. It says in 1 Peter 5:2: “shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly.” The church leadership should be eagerly exercising oversight over those who are among them, keeping watch of those who God has graciously led to be a part of their congregation. The responsibility to enable people to grow in the knowledge of the Lord and to be spurred on toward love and good deeds begins with the leadership actually knowing who the individual sheep are that God has entrusted to them.

Here at Northpoint, one of the aspects of that oversight is not only knowing who is under our care, but also making sure we have the best and most accurate ways of communicating with those in our flock. When a church is small, this is something that is a bit simpler, but as churches grow and people come and go, this becomes a bigger challenge. And too, times have changed. Gone are the days where you could get ahold of anyone in a family by simply knowing their street address or their home phone number (one number for the whole family!) We used to reach out to someone by calling them on their home phone, by sending a letter, or, if can you imagine, by going to their house. Now, we have so many ways to connect and communicate with each other: we email, text message, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Marco Polo, Group Me, to name a few. Each week, it seems like there’s a new way to connect and communicate with those we know. At Northpoint, we have to be constantly looking and evaluating how we communicate with those in our church family.

That’s why, over the past many months, our staff has been working hard at improving and upgrading the Northpoint database that manages contact information for members/attendees. Our new system is called Shelby Next. As we have been moving into this new program, we’ve found that some of the contact information we have on file for many of you is inaccurate, incomplete, and in some cases, missing. Perhaps you’ve moved, abandoned your home phone, got a new cell number, or changed email providers.

Given that, we need your help to update our rolls. Here are a few ways you can do so:

1. Stop by the Information Center in the Foyer on Sundays during February to have a friendly staff member update your profile.

2. Call the Church Office at 951.734.1335 at your convenience.

Not in our system at all? We would love to help you change that. On the other hand, maybe you’re already included, but would rather not be. We can fix that, too.

As it stands now, our best way to connect with you is via the broad-brush approach of the all-church email, Facebook, or your Sunday resource folder. All help at getting the word out to a large audience, but in a streamlined format. Shelby Next will, however, allow us to target specific groups, and with more detailed information. We’ll be able to, for example, send updates to our families with nursery-age kids to let them know of our MOP’s ministry or to parents of junior higher informing them of an upcoming meeting. The new system will also allow us to send targeted text messages, create a unified database, and aid in registering for events and ministries online. (If you signed your student up for our recent winter camps, or if you’ve registered for the upcoming Women’s Conference, you’ve already used our new Shelby Next!)

Given the necessity to stay connected, it’s really important that we have accurate and complete information on you and your family.

So, help us to help you get in touch with your Northpoint family!

In Him,

Pastor Scott