Snapshot
Denomination: Non- Denominational
Weekly Attendance: 2,000
Location: Prattville, AL
The Role: Small Groups Pastor
Meet Centerpoint Fellowship Church:
In the fall of 2009, a handful of men began to meet in a local Cracker Barrel restaurant for Bible Study and accountability. It wasn’t long before that group of men grew into a few dozen people gathering for worship in a living room in Prattville, Alabama. This group of believers were looking for something more than their normal church experience- they wanted to experience authentic relationships, to engage in meaningful worship, and to embrace God’s purpose like never before.
In just a few weeks, this new spiritual family outgrew that living room. A fledgling church, without a name and without a pastor, began to gather in a local hotel conference center. The people knew the church was more than a building, more than a name, and more than a personality. The church was the people of God with the purpose of loving God, loving others, and making disciples of Jesus Christ.
Shortly after the church began worshiping at the hotel conference center, the church called John Schmidt to be their pastor. God had something amazing in store when He joined this new church family together with John’s teaching, passion, and vision. This was a defining moment for what would become Centerpoint Fellowship Church. Together, God focused their vision to be a church that would expand and multiply by releasing “ordinary” people to do more ministry- wherever God led. In fact, the name Centerpoint was chosen to represent this vision of the church in Prattville being a “center,” from which the people and ministries of the church would move outward.
Today Centerpoint has become a family of congregations that continues to follow God’s Word, to develop authentic relationships, and to keep ministry simple so that together we can share the good news of Jesus Christ everywhere we go. Though we meet in multiple locations- living rooms, restaurants, hotel conference centers, YMCA gyms, and traditional church buildings- we strive to share the same spirit of community, worship, and mission as those early home group gatherings. We are still ordinary people trusting that God will use us to impact the world for His glory and, hopefully, to fulfill the Great Commission in our generation.
We still believe the last words of Jesus should be the first concern of His Church, “…go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20)
The Great Commission was not recorded for Jesus’ 12 disciples. It was preserved in Scripture for us. Every Christian is responsible for this call and this purpose for His church. We are not called to simply be disciples- each of us are called to become disciple-makers. For everyone willing to respond to God’s call and purpose, we invite you to join us.