Beginning Again | Pastor Jon Neitzell

Devotional

Day 1: Cookies, Coffee, and the Glue of Community

When division threatened the church’s unity, a simple idea changed everything: cookies and coffee after services forced people to linger. What began as a practical solution became sacred space where relationships healed. Shared meals and conversations rebuilt trust. Kids stayed longer, parents connected, and strangers became family. This humble act proved that unity isn’t built through programs but through shared moments around tables. [42:08]

“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. All who believed were together and had all things in common.” (Acts 2:42–44, ESV)

Reflection: Where could a small, intentional act of hospitality—a shared meal, a lingering conversation—mend fractures in your relationships or community?

Day 2: Bricks, Sweat, and the Labor of Legacy

The church building rose not through hired contractors but through calloused hands: electricians wiring lights, painters brushing walls, and a pastor-layering bricks. Night after night, they worked after full-time jobs, fueled by casseroles and a shared vision. Their sweat equity became a testament to costly devotion. This wasn’t just construction—it was worship with hammers and saws, a legacy etched in mortar. [39:26]

“So we built the wall. And all the wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a mind to work.” (Nehemiah 4:6, ESV)

Reflection: What skill, resource, or “sweat equity” has God placed in your hands to build up His kingdom in your current season?

Day 3: Sidelines, Prophets, and the Cost of Quitting

A frustrated pastor nearly walked away until a prophet’s football analogy struck deep: “If you quit the field when the Coach needs you, you’ll miss the play.” Staying put during confusion required raw trust. The call wasn’t to understand the game plan but to remain suited up, eyes on the One who ordains timing. Quitting would’ve forfeited a future only God saw. [45:11]

“Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.” (1 Corinthians 15:58, ESV)

Reflection: Where is frustration tempting you to “take off your uniform” instead of staying ready for God’s unexpected assignments?

Day 4: Highway Exits and God’s Disruptive Provision

For 22 years, road construction plans threatened the church’s location—until a forced sale became divine provision. What felt like loss birthed a 14-acre campus with classrooms and a gym. God’s faithfulness often looks like disruption: closing one door to fling open another. The church learned that His promises aren’t limited to buildings but expand through obedient surrender. [01:10:12]

“Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” (Isaiah 43:19, ESV)

Reflection: What current “roadblock” might God be using to redirect you toward greater abundance than you’ve imagined?

Day 5: People, Not Pews—The Church’s True Foundation

Through splits, transitions, and uncertain Sundays, the faithful remnant stayed simply because “God hadn’t told them to leave.” Their stubborn loyalty became the church’s backbone. Buildings change, but the church endures as living stones—those who choose grit over gossip, prayer over exit strategies. The real sanctuary isn’t brick and mortar but hearts knit by covenant. [01:13:28]

“You yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 2:5, ESV)

Reflection: Who in your life models “living stone” faithfulness—staying planted when others walk away? How can you encourage them today?

Sermon Summary

God keeps planting a church on purpose. The first call sets a presence on the west side of the Saint Croix, and the early banner reads, love God, love people. The next season names the way forward as building relationships through discipleship to advance the kingdom of God. Relationship is not coffee talk for its own sake. Relationship is discipleship that strengthens a body and moves the gospel out. The present banner reaches deeper still, to love how he loves. That will take years to grow into, but the aim is clear.

Prayer keeps steering the story. Dan and Claudia pray, listen, and act. Land gets found, a house gets built, and sweat equity turns into a sanctuary. Brick by brick, dinner by dinner, people give their evenings and their skills, and the debt falls fast. Then turmoil hits. The call shifts to holding the body together. Small groups and a cookie table sound simple, but they become stitches that close a wound. People linger. Kids get fed. Conversations start. Trust returns slowly, and unity holds.

The Spirit keeps speaking into the hard moments. A prophet says, life is like a football game. Do not leave the field. Do not quit. Eighteen months to the day, the door that made no sense swings open and the assignment lands. That word keeps a calling alive long enough to see fruit. Leaders step in. Communication strengthens. There is always a pastor on duty. Children’s ministry becomes seasoned and multiplying. Worship leadership consolidates and matures. The people who stayed when it would have been easier to go become anchors and future builders.

Providence keeps turning obstacles into provision. A highway plan threatens access, then becomes the hinge for a move no one could have financed alone. Years of stop and start end in a settlement, and suddenly six acres and 13,000 square feet turn into fourteen acres and 34,000 square feet, with classrooms, a gym, and room to grow. The church is not this building. The church is people. But space matters when love learns to stretch. Crossing Pointe Church will carry the same values and the same building blocks, only more room to do them. The gratitude is for those who stayed, for those who went on to serve elsewhere, and for the God whose provision is endless.

Key Takeaways

1. Vision matures toward loving like Jesus The banners shift from love God, love people to building relationships through discipleship, and now to love how he loves. Each step presses the church deeper into God’s own way of being with people. Vision is not a slogan, it is a path that trains a community over decades. Maturity looks like love that builds and sends. [35:15]
2. Perseverance submits to God’s timing A sharp word lands in a tired heart, do not quit, and it holds the course through confusion. Timing that reads like delay turns out to be formation that readies a person for the exact door God intends. Eighteen months to the day is not magic, it is mercy meeting obedience. Staying on the field matters when the call comes. [45:11]
3. Ordinary practices heal divided communities Cookies and small groups sound small, but they make space for conversation, trust, and shared care. When a body has been hurt, slow presence beats fast programs. Feeding kids and keeping people lingering becomes a stitch God uses to close a wound. Unity often grows at the coffee table before it sings in the sanctuary. [42:08]
4. God turns obstacles into provision A highway project first looks like loss, then becomes the means for a larger campus and wider ministry. Providence works on long timelines and through county letters as readily as altar calls. When property changes hands, calling expands, not shrinks. Space grows to fit the future God already sees. [70:12]
5. People, not buildings, carry the mission Facilities serve the work, but faithfulness lives in those who stayed, served, and later were sent. The ones who would not leave without God’s word to go became the backbone that held through change. Programs help, but character builds. The mission endures because people keep saying yes. [73:28]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[32:33] - West Side vision is born
[34:50] - Three vision statements over decades
[36:09] - Pioneers Dan and Claudia
[38:53] - Building with sweat equity
[40:34] - Loan paid off quickly
[41:05] - Called to restore unity
[42:08] - Cookies and small groups
[45:11] - “Don’t quit” prophetic word
[46:04] - Eighteen months confirmed
[49:06] - Communications and pastor on duty
[51:09] - Children’s ministry legacy
[53:53] - Worship leadership strengthened
[69:39] - Highway project becomes provision
[71:25] - Holton campus and future values

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
John 13:34-35 (ESV)
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.

Galatians 6:9 (ESV)
And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.

1 Corinthians 1:27-28 (ESV)
But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are.

Observation Questions

The sermon describes three vision statements over time: “Love God, love people,” “Building relationships through discipleship,” and “Love how He loves.” How do these statements reflect a deepening understanding of the church’s purpose? [35:15]
What practical steps did the church take to rebuild unity after experiencing division (e.g., small groups, cookie ministry)? Why were these actions effective? [42:08]
How did the prophetic word “Do not quit” shape the church’s response to challenges, and what specific outcome followed eighteen months later? [45:11]

Interpretation Questions

The sermon emphasizes that “ordinary practices” like sharing cookies or meals healed the community. Why might God use seemingly small, everyday actions to restore trust and unity in a divided group?
The highway project initially threatened the church’s location but later became a means for greater provision. How does this illustrate the biblical principle that God’s plans often surpass human understanding (Proverbs 16:9)? [01:09:39]
The church’s vision evolved from general love to “love how He loves.” What does it look like practically to love others as Jesus loves rather than just loving in a generic way?

Application Questions

Reflect on a time when a challenge or obstacle in your life later revealed God’s provision. How did that experience shape your trust in His timing?
The cookie ministry created space for people to linger and connect. What simple, intentional practice could you start (or strengthen) in your relationships to foster deeper community?
The church’s perseverance was anchored in the phrase “Do not quit.” Where in your life do you feel tempted to “leave the field” instead of trusting God’s timing? What would it look like to stay engaged? [45:11]
The sermon highlights that “people, not buildings, carry the mission.” How can you intentionally invest in someone this week to encourage their growth as a disciple?
The church’s vision to “love how He loves” requires lifelong growth. What specific area of Jesus’ love (e.g., patience, sacrifice, forgiveness) do you feel called to embody more fully right now?

Sermon Clips

And he goes, no. He says, do you understand what I'm saying? And I said, yes, sir. I I know what you're saying. And he goes, don't quit. And I said, okay. And the holy spirit told me, on the drive home that night, he goes, he said, this will all take place within eighteen months. And I marked it on my calendar. And when I preached my first sermon here in October first of of two thousand, it was eighteen months to the day. [00:45:43] (29 seconds)

If if you're standing on the sidelines and you're saying, coach, put me in. Coach, put me in. I wanna I wanna play coach. Coach, put me in. And you get frustrated and because he won't put you in and you leave the field and you take off your equipment and you go home, the minute he turns and he's looking for you to be in that position and you're not there, you're gonna miss him. And he said, do you understand what I'm saying? And I said, yes, sir. [00:45:17] (26 seconds)

cause a church split or anything, and I just didn't make it made no sense. So I was gonna leave. I was gonna quit the ministry. I was gonna move to Idaho. Long story. And I had made that decision in my mind. And I ended up going to a pastor's conference, there was a man there named Robin Roberts who was speaking one evening, and he began to minister about how God had led him through his life and that many times the steps he took in ministry made no sense whatsoever. [00:43:44] (32 seconds)

The between between the cookie ministry, small groups, other adult classes that we were doing, it it began to reunify the church, and and it be it stopped it stopped fading away, and it began to to grow. And it was wonderful. It it took years. It took a couple of years for that to happen and a lot of work. People were were amazing. And that's one of the things that amazes me the most about this church are is the maturity of the people. [00:46:13] (32 seconds)

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