November 9, 2008 - BridgePoint Bible Church

Church: BridgePoint Bible Church

Date Visited: November 9, 2008

Pastor: Tom Douthit

Debbie's First Impression: Very relaxing and spiritual. The artwork on the walls is very peaceful!

Butch's First Impression: WOW!!!!! We were actually greeted in parking lot!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Were you greeted? YES! Tom Mooney met us before we even go to the door. He recognized we were visitors and made sure he answered all our questions. He was a huge help and really made a big difference.

Were the people friendly? Yes, all of the folks we met were EXTRA nice.

Did you feel comfortable and welcome? Very!

Was the facility easy to find? Yes, it is right off of the Katy Freeway with a HUGE beautiful sign.

Parking: We were running late so we both parked in the street across from the church but there was plenty of “visitor” parking for us in the lot.

Dress Code: Casual

Was it easy to find your way around? Yes, good flow of the building.

Was there easy access to information? Yes, there is an information desk as soon as you walk in the door (after the bathrooms).

Flow/Time of Service: There was a song, then words of welcome by the minister, then 2 more songs prayers, 2 more songs, the sermon and then another song. Lots of great music!

Prayer time: LOTS of prayer time today. It was International Prayer Sunday for the Persecuted Church so there was a special time set aside for the congregation to stand and offer prayers. They were very interesting and heart felt prayers that were seriously weighing on the minds of this congregation – many about Iran and Iraq.

Bible Teachings: YES! Thank goodness since “Bible” is actually in the name of the church. We learned a lot today about Esther. Great sermon notes and a Bible is a must at this church during the lesson.

Holy Spirit: Very present! The worship experience was enhanced with lighting and shading of the windows. A very spiritual feel to the service.

Band: Great band of keyboard (grand piano actually), 2 guitars and a drummer but this week the drummer played a Cajon (a drum that you sit on). They were very good. I felt like the worship leader was holding back. He is young and clearly full of life but a little reserved in worship today.

Music: We knew and loved all the songs sung today. Great music! There were all ages of people in this service and everyone sang all the songs. Everyone enjoyed the music.

Vocalists: The vocalists were very good but not very enthusiastic. I smiled at the woman and she smiled back, but that was about it. I know they have a choir but we didn’t see them today.

Coffee and Food: We saw some coffee.

Bookstore: We didn’t see one but we didn’t walk around much today (we were late).

Bathrooms: Great bathrooms!

Exit Greeting: Tom found us again as we were exiting the worship center. He wanted to see how we liked it and if we had any questions. He is an incredible asset to that church!

Debbie's Opinion: I really enjoyed my worship experience here today. Tom Douthit is a great teacher and I left the service with a much deeper knowledge of the Bible than I had come with. I would love to go back in a few weeks and check it out again. I could see fitting in here. All ages and races were worshipping together – a true community of believers.

Butch's Opinion: I really, really enjoyed worshiping at BridgePoint. From the time we were greeted in the parking lot by Tom Mooney until we left the church I felt welcomed and at home. It was awesome seeing every spectrum of age and race worshiping together with love and enthusiasm. You can feel the Spirit of Love and Peace here and the presence of Christ was everywhere. The music was great and everyone in the congregation participates in the singing. Really Cool!!!!! That has to be sooooooooo inspiring for the Praise Team. Tom Douthit is obviously a very gifted and blessed student of the Bible and scripture. His sermon/lesson on “Taking Risks” from the Book of Esther was thought provoking and inspiring. Even being a lifelong student of scripture, I can see learning a great deal from Dave and his teachings and sermons. I am looking forward to returning to BridgePoint, and like Debbie, I could see fitting in here.

Follow up: Kathy called both of us (can’t remember her last name) on Monday night to see how we enjoyed the service. I enjoyed my conversation with her and at the end she even asked me if there was anything she could pray with me about. How cool is that?! I can’t wait to meet “Kathy” next time we go to BridgePoint. I think following up with visitors in some way is critical to learning what the church is doing right/wrong. Thanks Kathy!