Rick Steele
Executive Pastor
Scott Merriner
Pastor of Vision & Preaching
Life in Christ For Every Alaskan means we are called to ministry in rural Alaskan communities. Our presence in Kotzebue and Marshall are exciting first steps! However, the past 100 years of gospel work in Alaska makes clear that financially sustaining ministry efforts off the road system is a major challenge. ChangePoint’s Rural Alaska Ministry Endowment fund will provide stable, sustainable revenue for long-term, life-changing ministry across Alaska!
Our current working capital account is lower that we would like given the scope of our ministries. Foundations will put us in a healthier financial position and allow us to move quickly when God brings ministry opportunities.
The first reason to be part of Foundations is to help see more people come to know and follow Christ! Over the years, God has used capital campaigns to dramatically expand our ministries. We believe God will do that again through Foundations, making it possible for us to reach tens of thousands more people with the good news of Jesus!
We are raising our family in the church that raised us! We both have memories of Sunday school at the Sentry Drive campus. We remember the capital campaign to purchase the seafood plant
– writing prayers in Sharpie on the concrete floor with the rest of the congregation as the building was dedicated to the Lord. Shayla was baptized in the auditorium shortly after we moved in.
We attended youth group together in middle and high school. Our friend groups were different, but we were at all the same events and share many of the same memories (retreats at Victory Bible Camp and Camp Maranatha, crazy games at Valley of the Moon park, etc.). We went on the inaugural mission trip to Costa Rica in 2009 and were in a gospel-presentation skit together in which Ben played the part of Shayla’s lover and then left her broken-hearted!
Though we attended college in different states, Ben expressed interest in Shayla at a ChangePoint evening service the summer after our freshman year. After almost two years of long-distance dating, we got married in the ChangePoint auditorium. After 8 years away for Ben’s medical training, we finally moved back to Alaska with our two children and stepped right back into life at ChangePoint. All of our kids have been dedicated to the Lord at ChangePoint and it is amazing to at last be “home,” getting to raise them up in the community that raised us!
So many people at ChangePoint have invested in our lives. “Grown-ups” who mentored us as kids/teens have turned into friends, and some are now investing in the lives of our kids. We are excited about all that the Lord has for our church family in the years to come. Let’s keep ChangePoint going strong for the next generation… for our kids!
– writing prayers in Sharpie on the concrete floor with the rest of the congregation as the building was dedicated to the Lord. Shayla was baptized in the auditorium shortly after we moved in.
We attended youth group together in middle and high school. Our friend groups were different, but we were at all the same events and share many of the same memories (retreats at Victory Bible Camp and Camp Maranatha, crazy games at Valley of the Moon park, etc.). We went on the inaugural mission trip to Costa Rica in 2009 and were in a gospel-presentation skit together in which Ben played the part of Shayla’s lover and then left her broken-hearted!
Though we attended college in different states, Ben expressed interest in Shayla at a ChangePoint evening service the summer after our freshman year. After almost two years of long-distance dating, we got married in the ChangePoint auditorium. After 8 years away for Ben’s medical training, we finally moved back to Alaska with our two children and stepped right back into life at ChangePoint. All of our kids have been dedicated to the Lord at ChangePoint and it is amazing to at last be “home,” getting to raise them up in the community that raised us!
So many people at ChangePoint have invested in our lives. “Grown-ups” who mentored us as kids/teens have turned into friends, and some are now investing in the lives of our kids. We are excited about all that the Lord has for our church family in the years to come. Let’s keep ChangePoint going strong for the next generation… for our kids!
Our Changepoint story begins with my dad, a pastor in India. Back in June 2015, Josh and I were 22-year-old college graduates, and found ourselves moving to Alaska—definitely not a place either of us had imagined as our next step. As we began the search for a church, my dad was attending a pastors' conference in the Lower 48. His roommate at the conference happened to be from Alaska and, upon hearing about our move, strongly recommended we visit ChangePoint, calling it a Bible-believing church worth checking out.
My dad, understandably anxious about my move to Alaska, flew up the week after the conference. That Sunday, we attended our first service at Changepoint. Afterward, we had a casual conversation with Dan Jarrell about the church and its core beliefs—and the rest is history.
Over the past 10 years, Changepoint has become so much more than a church with a huge building, contemporary worship, and a cool kids program to us; it's our home church. Scott Merriner married us at Hilltop Chalet—a fun story in itself. We've found lifelong friends here, our children have been dedicated here and get to grow up surrounded by loving, adopted grandparents from the congregation. We've found our amazing life group here as well.
We continue to be inspired by Changepoint’s vision for the next generation, the transparency and integrity of its financial stewards, and the church’s constant encouragement to live in community with others. Our family spends much of the week in secular environments, so being able to start our week worshiping alongside fellow believers, engaging in ministry, watching our kids' faith grow, and digging deeper into the Word with our life group is something we deeply treasure.
My dad, understandably anxious about my move to Alaska, flew up the week after the conference. That Sunday, we attended our first service at Changepoint. Afterward, we had a casual conversation with Dan Jarrell about the church and its core beliefs—and the rest is history.
Over the past 10 years, Changepoint has become so much more than a church with a huge building, contemporary worship, and a cool kids program to us; it's our home church. Scott Merriner married us at Hilltop Chalet—a fun story in itself. We've found lifelong friends here, our children have been dedicated here and get to grow up surrounded by loving, adopted grandparents from the congregation. We've found our amazing life group here as well.
We continue to be inspired by Changepoint’s vision for the next generation, the transparency and integrity of its financial stewards, and the church’s constant encouragement to live in community with others. Our family spends much of the week in secular environments, so being able to start our week worshiping alongside fellow believers, engaging in ministry, watching our kids' faith grow, and digging deeper into the Word with our life group is something we deeply treasure.
We never imagined we would be building our life in a tiny Alaskan village, but it is here that we have met God most deeply. Jacob and I became childhood friends in Ohio, and when his family moved to Alaska we kept in touch as pen pals. Jacob grew up flying with his uncle out to Alaskan villages to do Bible clubs for kids and felt God calling him into missions. After a year of college, Jacob was unsure about his path. He suspended his studies and joined the maintenance team at ChangePoint. When his family moved back to Ohio, we reconnected, began dating, attended different Bible schools, got married, and finished Bible college side by side.
All this while I was fighting for my life with Lyme disease. I had my first seizures on our honeymoon. Thankfully, the Lord brought healing. We began dreaming about where God would lead us. I remember thinking, “I hope it is somewhere warm!” When my mother-in-law mentioned ChangePoint needed people in Marshall, Alaska, I looked at Jacob and said “Ha, that’s not happening!” But the Lord changed my heart, and we spent last July visiting the community. That month in Marshall confirmed that the Lord was leading us to minister here. God helped us raise support much faster than expected, and we moved permanently in February.
We want to be servants and learners. We have been making friends, building relationships, and becoming part of the community. We love the people! We pray that God would sustain them and lengthen their days. We pray for softened hearts, healing in families, and a desire for the Word of God. Marshall is perfectly located to be a lighthouse, a place for the light of Jesus to go out to the surrounding villages. We are so thankful God led ChangePoint and us here!
All this while I was fighting for my life with Lyme disease. I had my first seizures on our honeymoon. Thankfully, the Lord brought healing. We began dreaming about where God would lead us. I remember thinking, “I hope it is somewhere warm!” When my mother-in-law mentioned ChangePoint needed people in Marshall, Alaska, I looked at Jacob and said “Ha, that’s not happening!” But the Lord changed my heart, and we spent last July visiting the community. That month in Marshall confirmed that the Lord was leading us to minister here. God helped us raise support much faster than expected, and we moved permanently in February.
We want to be servants and learners. We have been making friends, building relationships, and becoming part of the community. We love the people! We pray that God would sustain them and lengthen their days. We pray for softened hearts, healing in families, and a desire for the Word of God. Marshall is perfectly located to be a lighthouse, a place for the light of Jesus to go out to the surrounding villages. We are so thankful God led ChangePoint and us here!
Our Foundations campaign is a powerful opportunity for each of us to grow spiritually! Time and again God makes clear in his Word that as we trust and follow him with our finances and possessions, it builds our faith.
As Jesus looked up, he saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. “Truly I tell you,” he said, “this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”
Luke 21:1-4
Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.
1 Timothy 6:17-19
Luke 21:1-4
Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.
1 Timothy 6:17-19
Take the time you need to pray and ask the Lord how He would have you invest over and above your regular giving toward Foundations.
Record your planned giving in the Commitment Card and return it to the church.
We are emphasizing participation and hope to see every person who considers ChangePoint their church home involved in Foundations.
Even a small gift, given regularly, can add up to a substantial donation over time.
The only amount that God can’t multiply is zero.
