By Hamilton Richardson
Elmore/Autauga News
PRATTVILLE – Sometimes the best things take time and patience and for one growing congregation in Prattville, that time and patience, as well as an attitude of trust, has led them to a brand-new facility in the Preferred Community.
Centerpoint Fellowship Church, which has recently moved into its new facility off McQueen Smith Road in Prattville, has been waiting with baited breath for their chance to do just that, said Senior Pastor John Schmidt.
“Everything about our new facility came about in God’s way and timing,” the pastor explained. “Our elders began sensing that God was leading us to build a permanent facility in January of 2018, but it took us nearly a year to find the right property.”
Schmidt said that even after they identified the property, it took another year to be able to work out a contract to purchase the land.
“That’s when Covid hit,” Schmidt went on to say, “and everything basically shut down.”
He said that at the time, it didn’t seem like raising money was a good idea for a group of people who couldn’t even worship on Sundays.
“After much prayer, we all agreed that the Lord had guided every step of our planning and we can trust his timing,” he said. “So, we proceeded with our construction plans and broke ground in September 2020. God inspired our people to keep giving in spite of the Covid shutdown and construction continued in spite of supply chain issues and worker shortages. We were able to move into the facility in mid-January and we are certain God orchestrated it all perfectly.”
Centerpoint, which has grown by leaps and bounds, started out small about 13 years ago and at that time, Schmidt wasn’t even involved yet.
“In the fall of 2009, a handful of men began to meet at the Cracker Barrel restaurant in Prattville for Bible Study and accountability,” explained the Senior Pastor. “It wasn’t long before that group of men grew into a few dozen people gathering for Sunday morning worship in one of their living rooms. This group wanted deeper and more authentic relationships, more engaging and meaningful worship, and a greater understanding of God’s purpose for their lives.”
Not long after, the new church outgrew the living room in which they’d been meeting, and they began to gather for worship at the Marriott Conference Center.
“Shortly after the church began worshipping at the hotel conference center, the church called me to be their pastor,” recalled Schmidt. “They had been using DVDs of my sermons for their services. I was an associate pastor at Frazer Memorial United Methodist Church at the time, so it was a genuine step of faith for me to leave Frazer to join them, but it was clear God had something amazing in store for all of us. God gave us a vision to be a church that would expand and multiply by releasing ordinary people to do ministry, wherever God led.”
The church’s mission is pretty simple, Schmidt added.
“Centerpoint’s mission is to help people live Christ-centered lives by loving God, loving others, and making disciples,” he explained. “We want to focus on people’s relationship with God, others, and with those who need Jesus. That is why we frequently say it is all about relationships. We try to keep it simple at Centerpoint so we don’t get distracted or busy with too many activities. We don’t want complications to keep people from Jesus.”
For more about Centerpoint Fellowship Church, go online to www.centeringlives.com
or visit their new facility at 1200 McQueen Smith Road South in Prattville.
