When Melanie Sanders began attending Connection Point Church (CPC) in Jackson, Missouri, four years ago, she was immediately impressed by the leadership, authenticity, humility and intentionality of the pastor and staff.
“I’ve been going to church since I was born, and I’ve never seen a love for God and a passion for the church like this,” states Sanders. “There’s a level of discernable care that’s given to each person who walks through the doors. And it’s not just about getting people in the door, but getting them to know God more deeply.”
As a result of these blossoming relationships, the church has experienced explosive growth. In the first quarter of 2024, they baptized more than 100 new believers.
CPC began as a house church in July 1959, and has slowly grown through the years. Although numbers at one point had reached 600, weekly attendance was half that in 2011. Everyone knew it was time to make some transitions to better reach the local community. Chris Vaught became lead pastor, and, in 2012, changed the name from First General Baptist Church to Connection Point Church and updated the style of the church to become more modern and outreach-oriented.
“We started teaching our people how to be evangelistic in their own circles of influence as this, in turn, leads people to Jesus,” affirm Vaught.
Those who attend CPC are called “partners” rather than “members,” and they ask their partners to participate in practical community outreach. For instance, partners run concession stands at the local high school so that parents don’t have to miss watching their children’s sporting events. Doing such things provides great opportunities to have gospel conversations with those in the community.
Between 2012 and 2018, the church grew from 300 to 800—bringing growing pains and six additions to the church building. Still, they needed more space, so, in November 2019, they opened their new campus on a 28-acre property. The church grew to 1,400 in a span of four months, and then COVID-19 hit in March 2020.
Vaught felt that God blessed them because just before COVID-19, he had hired someone well-versed in videography to improve CPC’s media outreach. The church was far ahead of the curve when transitioning to online services.
“We ran 800–1,000 views a weekend before COVID-19, then jumped to 4,000 during the shutdown,” explains Vaught. “Even today, we fluctuate between 3,000 and 4,000 online views here out of Jackson, which is a town of 15,000 people. That’s pretty amazing.”
The pandemic shut them down for three months, but when they returned to worship something unique happened: The average age of the church demographic dropped by 10 years.
“A bunch of young families came here asking for answers to eternal questions,” recounts Vaught. “COVID-19 and the political climate rocked their world, and they were looking for hope.”
Following the pandemic, many people were fearful and unsure of who to put their faith in. Moreover, they wanted to know how to raise their families with stability in a chaotic world. CPC helped calm their minds and embrace Christ.
“When our world is shaking, heaven is stable,” Vaught acknowledges. “As a follower of Jesus, you have a new peace, a new joy, a new source of strength, a new worldview and a new way to manage your family, your relationships and your finances.”
CPC prides itself on creating an atmosphere of authenticity.
“You can be a real Christian with real questions and real issues, and you can come together in worship and have hope on the weekends,” explains Vaught, who encourages church partners to reach their circles of influence.
The church is intentional to help people develop relationships with Christ and others, and grow in their faith. Then, they can be sent out to their families, friends and communities to become partners in the ministry of the gospel. Every ministry and outreach they engage in is strategic.
“We spend 70% of our energy going after the one who isn’t attending church and 30% of our energy on discipling and mobilizing the partners we have,” he adds. “We’re trying to reach the unchurched of the community by speaking to their needs.”