Category Archives: Through a Glass Darkly

Editor’s Note:

This week for our Tuesday blog, Encourage One Another, we offer the last installment in the Five Things I Love About Northpoint series (at least for a while). We conclude with Steve Dahlgren, Northpoint’s Director of Worship Ministries.

We’ll be back in the near future with another Encourage One Another article.

Steve Dahlgren

Director of Worship Ministries

Hello Church Family,

Here are the five things I love about Northpoint:

1. An enduring commitment to the body of believers
It seems to me that as Chris and I have assimilated into the community of Northpoint, it hasn’t happened by chance. Our ease of “on-boarding” was certainly interrupted at the relational level by a worldwide and local pandemic. Even so, we’ve found an ongoing welcome wagon that was quick to load us up and bring us into the fold. Cards, notes, texts, and emails have been flowing our direction, and this seems to be the Northpoint way—bringing the new in, getting to know them, finding out about them, making them part of the family, and finding ways to include them in working out the ministry that God has given His local church.

2. A passion for God’s Word and its application to our lives
Each and every week, I have the opportunity to spend time planning the elements of the upcoming Sunday’s worship service. The highlight to me is reviewing the Scripture that Pastor Tony and others will use as the basis for the service. As I then spend time praying about and coordinating the music and the order or such, I’m overwhelmed at how God answers prayers, how He works in advance to unify the living and breathing message of His Word each and every Sunday. I love the growth that I’m finding in my own spiritual walk as I listen to and ponder the truth of the message each week as I attempt to become stronger in my faith, more passionate toward the things of Christ, more diligent to love others as He loves, and shake off the cobwebs of complacency that invade my weary heart. I know that I will hear truth from the Word. I know that God’s Word is honored and revered. I know that the end goal is for us to be changed in the process into people who reflect, represent, and repeat His Word to the world.

3. An excellence that honors God in the facilities
When I visit the facilities at Northpoint, I’m reminded that there’s an ongoing thread of desire to honor God with excellence. I see attention to detail at every turn—an amazing facility to worship God that, in itself, points to the peace, strength, wideness of His mercy, and the simpleness and completeness of the gospel message. In short, Northpoint has been blessed beyond measure with the physical accommodations to undistractedly worship Him while at the same time quietly influencing us to remember His attributes, His character, and the things that He loves and desires from His people. Whether in a worship service, prayer meeting, men’s prayer breakfast, women’s Bible study, youth event, or vocal or band rehearsal, God has richly blessed us to carry out His mission. I’m grateful that through the years, people have turned the resources that God’s faithfulness has allowed into an offering that will impact generations to come into all that we know and enjoy and are blessed by at Northpoint.

4. A long history as a worshiping church
I’ve had the privilege of knowing some of the former worship leaders quite well from Northpoint over the past couple of decades. Each one was unique in their efforts, and each seemingly found a way to bring a congregation together in worship each week to the foot of the cross, to give Him glory and honor through different modes of psalms, hymns, and gospel songs. While worship trends come and go, modern eventually becomes traditional, and traditional swings around in front of us again every so often, and classics remain a constant, I know that at the forefront of it all is the ultimate desire to help God’s people connect with Him, offering our heart’s affection, our mind’s attention, and our will’s submission to our most-deserving and worthy God.

5. An amazing group of leaders, support staff, and Elders
I’ve been overwhelmed at the caliber and quality of the leadership at Northpoint. The Elders, pastoral staff, support staff, and everyone else who has a role in leading His people are top-notch in every way. As I’ve had more and more chances to interact with each, I’ve been so blessed by the unity of purpose that I sense, by the desire to work together, while at the same time each firmly tending to the hopes and desires and call that each senses for their own area of ministry. It’s really quite a wonderful mix of servant-hearted leaders, all moving forward, as a united group, as we all sense His heart for the purpose, mission, and vision of what He wants Northpoint to be as a church.

A final thought …
People often ask me how it’s going at Northpoint, and some offer gratefulness that we have come on staff. The truth of the matter is that we feel incredibly blessed to be at Northpoint. Each week, I thank God for this amazing opportunity to worship, grow in my faith, and just be part of the family at Northpoint. It feels like family. It feels like home. Thank you!

In Christ,

Steve Dahlgren
Northpoint’s Director of Worship Ministries