God is doing great things in Knoxville and we want you to be a part of it! We’re asking every person who calls The Point their church home to give a special year-end gift and to live an ongoing lifestyle of generosity through a new or increased commitment to support the mission of The Point.

In 2010, The Point set out with one mission: To connect the disconnected to a growing and reproducing relationship with Christ. In the 11+ years since, we’ve pursued this mission in a variety of ways. Following the difficulties of 2020, we desired to connect the disconnected through cultivating community in and through The Point by fostering friendship, sustaining the future, and serving our city.

In 2021, we renovated the Taproom and purchased furniture for the courtyard and sanctuary, creating spaces in our church building to connect with others and foster friendships. These spaces hosted Bible studies, bridal and birthday parties, bonfires, and even a ladies' brunch. They also served as a place for Second Sunday Food Trucks and coffee before our Sunday gathering.

Beyond space for friendship, our building provides the opportunity to partner with our community in self-sustaining ways, generating income for our mission while connecting with other people and organizations. So far, our building has been used by two other churches, the Community Coalition Against Human Trafficking (CCAHT), and most excitingly, for the launch of West Fifth Studios, a workspace and creative community for local artists. Combined, these endeavors helped us pay 45% of our rent in 2021, enabling us to spend less on a space to gather and more on going out to serve our city.

As such, we continued to serve our city through active participation in BrewFest and the Big Kahuna Wing Festival, as well as through Bar Church at Schulz Bräu Brewing Co. We weekly walked the neighborhood to collect trash, partnered with KARM and their transitional program (BEREA), and gave $26,500 directly to other non-profits making a difference. As lovers of coffee, we switched to beans purchased from Likewise, a local coffee shop whose proceeds 100% support the work of Raising A Voice, a local organization serving vulnerable and at-risk women in our Knoxville community.

While it is nice to gather weekly for worship or occasionally for meals (like Second Sunday Food Trucks) meaningful friendship happens best in regular, daily living. With our 2021 shift toward geographically based Connect Groups, we intend to continue to foster real and lasting friendships in the very neighborhood you live in. Helping you (and your neighbor) connect with these groups will be a big focus in the upcoming year.

Self-sustaining rental income opportunities enable us to spend less energy paying the simple bills (like lights and toilet paper) and more energy and resources towards serving our city and connecting people currently living without the love of God. As we move into 2022, we aim to sustain our future in two ways: Investing in infrastructure improvements and increasing our culture of generosity.

From the initial launch, West Fifth Studios has both been full and had a waiting list of interested artists eager to join the community. To serve these artists, we intend to add studio space for 5 more artists, as well as a ceramic studio, classroom, and locker space for co-working memberships. This will require upgrades to the HVAC and internet, as well as general renovations of flooring and paint.

In addition to improving our infrastructure, we aim to increase our culture of generosity in 2022. Many people view generosity as occasional, spontaneous giving to specific causes, projects, or events. This is personally rewarding and most certainly beneficial. We believe, however, that a consistent habit of giving holds the most power to change one’s life over time. As such, we encourage every person who calls The Point home to prayerfully consider both a specific gift towards our Cultivate Community effort and an increased regular gift to help support all the work we do in and for our city.

All of our efforts to connect the disconnected carry minimal value if they do not move us, as God’s children, into our city to love and serve others. We will continue to use our building to serve the CCAHT, as well as adding a partnership with the YWCA and their efforts to support women leaving domestic violence. Right outside of our building, we hope to find ways to serve those living in and around our church’s neighborhood. Beyond these things, we will continue to go places people do not expect the hope of Christ, such as BrewFest, the Wing Festival, Bar Church, and hopefully Big Ears Music. We may even see a couple of block parties to foster friendships and connect neighbors to one another.

Together, we can make a great difference in our neighborhoods, workplaces, and across our city. Join us by making your gift or setting up your monthly giving below.