10.27.2020 + Encourage One Another + No. 8

Hello, Church!

My name is Teal Baker. I am 23 years old and have been going to Northpoint for almost as long. In this time, I have been fiercely discipled by so many, served with brothers and sisters who I will know for eternity, and received salvation through faith in Jesus and His work on the cross. I have the privilege of serving as a small group leader for the junior and senior girls of high school ministry. I am so blessed to have grown up in a church as loving and gracious as Northpoint!

Here are five things I love about my family.

1. I love the opportunity I have been given to serve.
Serving alongside brothers and sisters in Student Ministries the last five years has been so encouraging. God has allowed us to see the fruit of the work He is doing in our students’ lives, and that is something I will not take for granted. I have seen peacefulness, resilience, and total dependence on the Lord in our students in the face of hardship. God has shown me time and time again that no matter how tired or busy I think I am, serving is the most important and fulfilling thing I could do with my time and energy. Our students have grown me in humility, patience, and joyfulness, and I could not be more grateful for the co-leaders I have served alongside in this pursuit.

2. I love how we are handling change.
Our church’s response to COVID has been very telling. The challenge to protect our members’ physical safety while still fulfilling our spiritual needs is undoubtedly a complicated task. Still, it is one that, in my opinion, has been executed so well. I am proud to belong to a church that is committed to innovation and flexibility in the name of proclaiming the gospel. I am impressed weekly at the amount of work and number of hands involved in making our in-person services as safe as possible. I see our family using their strengths in technology, organization, cleanliness, and in so many other areas to adapt to these new changes.

3. I love our Scripture-inspired sermons.
The emphasis placed on the Word of God on Sunday mornings (and all the other times, too) is something that I formerly took for granted. I never realized how unique this commitment is for a congregation until far too recently. I love that the messages I hear at Northpoint, whether in Student Ministries or main services, require an open Bible. It gives me so much joy to hear and understand Scripture regularly because I know what I believe, why I believe it, and where I learned it. The Bible is our ultimate authority in all decisions, and I believe Northpoint is dedicated to interpreting it in its most authentic form.

4. I love our commitment to discipleship.
As if God had not blessed me enough with believing parents, He has also used leaders and mentors at Northpoint to grow my faith tremendously over the years. For as long as I can remember, I have had at least one member of our body actively seeking me out and asking me the hard questions. This has come to me in the form of small group leaders, pastors, and friends. Northpoint recognizes the need believers have to receive wisdom and guidance from others in a similar or subsequent stage of life, and in my case, this need is fulfilled beautifully. How lucky I am to have a former small group leader who lives on a different continent who I still look to as a model of godly living several years later! I have received encouragement, accountability, conviction, and correction from the most loving and sincere places.

5. I love our dedication to prayer.
The amount of people willing to drop everything to lift members of Northpoint up in prayer is remarkable. Many of us have been taught that the phrase “I’ll pray for you” is not something to take lightly. We know that prayer is a form of constant worship, and when we say we are praying for a fellow brother or sister, we must follow through. I experience this often as friends and mentors follow up with me about a personal struggle weeks or months after I first mentioned it. I receive messages on a weekly basis from someone who encourages me to pray and spend time with God. In 1 Thessalonians 5:17, Paul says to “pray without ceasing,” and this is something many members of our body clearly strive for.

Thank you, church!

Teal Baker