Worshipping at Northstar Community Church

I took a vacation day yesterday and decided to worship at Northstar Community Church.  A special thanks to Rochelle Le Tourneau for leading worship at Chain of Lakes.  She is the chair of the Church Development Team in our Presbytery.  The sermon that she shared can be found here: http://blip.tv/chain-of-lakes-church/new-church-development-6582399

 

Northstar Community Church is a new church that is affiliated with the Assemblis of God.  They have worshipped in an AMC theatre in Coon Rapids, though starting next Sunday they will worship at Coon Rapids High School.  I found out about the church through a mailer that a friend of mine received.  When talking with Kristel Peters, the Music Director, at Chain of Lakes about where I should worship, she encouraged me to go to Northstar.  The web site for the church is here: http://www.northstarcommunity.org/

 

It was not hard to find the church.  They had a number of signs posted off the Foley exit from Highway 10.  I was greeted warmly at the door and saw they had a welcome area set up.  They had a table with coffee and donuts in the area before I walked into the theatre.

 

When I walked into the theatre a “count-down” clock was on the screen.  There were about fifty people in the theatre when I came, but a lot of people kept coming.  I would guess at least 150 people were in the theatre at worship.  The congregation was a mix of ages. 

 

The service began with four songs led by their Praise Band.  The band was very ably led by Jon Carlos Velez on the guitar; other instruments were a bass guitar, keyboard, drums, and vocalist.  We stood and sang for close to 25 minutes.  Many people in the congregation were comfortable in raising their hands in worship.  During the singing time Jon Carlos prayed for us.

 

After the singing, a man who is in training to be a church planter shared announcements.  John Velsor, the lead pastor, shared some of the outreach efforts the church is doing as they transition to Coon Rapids High School.  The group has passed out a few thousand door hangers on Saturday about their move.

 

John preached for about thirty minutes.  He was finishing a series called Angry Birds.  He talked about Job and explored why Job didn’t get angry with God when Job suffered.  He challenged the congregation to ask if their faith is based on only being blessed by God.  He said that all of us have to see our life in a larger context than just this life.  He used a very long rope; he had painted a tiny part of the rope red and said that our life on earth is just that section.  With an eternal perspective the time we spend on earth is very small. 

 

The church obviously has experienced excellent growth in numbers of people.  I could see their passion for outreach.  John shared that they had 477 people crammed into the theatre on Easter.

 

Blessings to Northstar as they continue their journey to Coon Rapids High School.