20th Anniversary Celebration
“The Reason TPC is Here”

Matt 28:16-20 “Then the eleven disciples left for Galilee, going to the mountain where Jesus had said they would find him. 17 There they met him and worshiped him—but some of them weren’t sure it really was Jesus! 18 He told his disciples, ‘I have been given all authority in heaven and earth. 19 Therefore go and make disciples in all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and then teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you; and be sure of this—that I am with you always, even to the end of the world (age).’”
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If you were to ask the person on the street, “Why is the church important?” you would get a wide range of answers.

Some would laugh at the question, because for them the church is not important at all.
Others might see the church in the same category as museums—They both preserve things from the past.

Others might give a political answer: “Oh, the church is where all the far right Trump voters gather that are trying to take over our country!”

Or, others feel the church helps meet the physical needs of the poor and the emotional needs of the lonely and distraught.

It’s there for the pivotal times of life—like birth, marriage, death, and times of crisis.

And then for many American churchgoers, the church is important because it meets many of their personal needs.

They shop around for a church that makes them feel good each week, giving them that weekly boost that helps them cope with life.

But if you were to go back in time to the first century and ask a short, balding, Jewish man with a beard sitting in prison for preaching the gospel and ask him,

“Paul, we’re asking people the question, ‘Why is the church important?’”

He would say, “I believe the church of Jesus Christ is the most important force in the world today. Its purpose is more important than all the governments and universities of the world combined!”

“God’s church,” he wrote to young Timothy, “is the pillar and foundation of the truth.”—1 Tim. 3:15

And Jesus said the church is “the light of the world” and “the salt of the earth.”—Matt 5:13-14
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As we gather today to celebrate our 20th anniversary as a church, I want to clarify WHY we’re here.

ILLUS: in 1666, a great fire leveled London, including the famous St Paul’s Cathedral.

The world’s most famous architect, Christopher Wren, was commissioned to rebuild the Cathedral.

One day during the rebuilding, Christopher observed three bricklayers on a scaffold, one crouched, one half-standing, and one standing tall, working very hard and fast.

To the first bricklayer, he asked the question, “What are you doing?” to which the bricklayer replied, “I’m working hard to feed my family.”

The second bricklayer, responded, “I’m a builder by trade. I’m building a wall.”

But the third brick layer replied with a gleam in his eye, “I’m a cathedral builder. I’m building a great cathedral to The Almighty.”

The first two knew HOW to do the job, while the third man knew WHY!

For the first bricklayer, building the wall was a job.

For the second bricklayer it was an occupation.

For the third bricklayer, it was a calling.

Understanding his WHY transformed the 3rd man’s attitude and gave a higher meaning to his work.

Likewise, a church that only knows HOW to “do” church will likely not accomplish much for the kingdom God.

But a church that understands WHY it’s there will survive the toughest storms and accomplish eternal things to God’s glory!
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And Turning Point’s WHY is simple—it’s The Greatest Commission we just read about!

In the Great Commission, Jesus gave His church it’s WHY, it’s burning purpose until He returns.

The Greatest Commission is our final marching orders, our road map of direction,
our blueprint for what the church’s focus should ever and always be.

You cannot improve on it.

There is no better vision or grand design than that!

Understanding our WHY has enabled us to navigate…

through all the trials,
valleys,
setbacks,
disappointments,
and attacks the enemy has thrown at us through the years.

Knowing our WHY is how we still stand here today ready for our next level.
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Let’s take a brief look at the Great Commission’s four powerful components.

First, Jesus commanded us to:

I. Go

The very first word in the Great Commission is a call to action:

GO!

It calls for a bold, zealous, aggressive, determined resolve to put feet to our faith and carry the good news of Jesus’s death and resurrection as far and wide as God makes possible.

Jesus clearly expected that evangelism would be a hallmark of His church.

Salvations would characterize the ministry of the people “the gates of hell would not prevail against.”

And that is exactly what happened as soon as the church was born on the Day of Pentecost!

Following the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the fledgling church on the Day of Pentecost, evangelism exploded.

Peter called the vast crowd gathered for Pentecost to “repent,” and the Bible says, “…about three thousand (repented) and were added to their number that day.”—Acts 2:41

Acts 2:47 “And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.”

Acts 4:4 “…many who heard the message believed; so the number of men who believed grew to about five thousand.”

Acts 5:14 “And more than ever believers were added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women,”

Acts 6:1 “Now in these days…the disciples were increasing in number,”

Acts 16:5 “So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and they increased in numbers daily.”
And Paul testified to the Colossians:

Col 1:6 “In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world—just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God’s grace.”

So first, the church is to GO and win souls.
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Then secondly, Jesus said:

II. Make disciples

DISCIPLE: To train, instruct, help someone to progressively learn the Word of God to become a matured, growing learner, a true Christ-follower.

So starting with our children, through youth to young adults, to man church, kingdom women and kingdom men, Turning Point disciples people, not perfectly, but sincerely!

So our purpose is first to “GO” and then “MAKE DISCIPLES,” and thirdly Jesus said:

III. Baptize them

We baptize in water once a month and have never had a month that new believers and people recommitting to the faith weren’t there to take the plunge!
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And finally, Jesus said:

IV. Teach them

Teaching the Bible is a hallmark of Turning Point.

It is a front burner ministry in all of our departments, from the children upward.

And not just in house, our media ministry called “Hardwired” has been blessed to reach not only throughout America but also most of the entire world.

For instance, one of our outreaches, PRAY.COM, keeps daily track of who listens to our messages and from where.

– 5.3 million minutes of Bible teaching have been listened to globally—totaling approximately 83,000 hours!
– 318.5K individuals have actively engaged with our content.
– Broadcast in 186 countries (USA and 185 others), covering 95% of the world’s nations (out of 195).
– Podcast Downloads: 222.2K total downloads from listeners worldwide.
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In closing, as we look to the future our purpose will remain exactly the same—fulfilling the Greatest Commission!