ABOUT LIFEPOINT CHURCH HARRISBURG PA
OUR VISION
Together we are a community of believers. What does that mean, the word community? We believe that together in fellowship we grow closer to God and one another. The bible speaks about iron sharpening iron. We believe that together we grow stronger.
We strive to be a church without walls. Jesus calls for us to go outside the walls to reach the lost and the broken. It is there that the lost will be found. Most churches find it is comfortable to stay within the walls, but we make it an effort to be like the church from the book of Acts, to see our city changed.
We highly value our relationships with one another. We look to grow through fellowship, through our groups, and through Sunday mornings; ultimately growing closer to God. We value the word of God, and the leadership of the Holy Spirit. We look to extend grace to all of the lost and broken, and lead those with no hope to the hope of Jesus Christ.
WHAT WE BELIEVE
We believe that there is one true, holy God, eternally existing in three persons - the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - each of whom possesses equally all the attributes of deity. God created everything out of nothing and by His sovereign power continues to sustain all things. By His providence, He is operating throughout history to fulfill His redemptive purposes.
Genesis 1:1,26,27; Psalm 90:2; Matthew 28:19; II Corinthians 13:14
We believe that the Bible, composed of the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments, is entirely originated with God and that it was given through the instrumentality of chosen men. It was written by human authors under the supernatural guidance of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, Scripture speaks at the same time with the authority of God, while also reflecting the backgrounds, styles, and vocabulary of the human authors. The Scriptures are inspired by God and are without error. They are the unique, full, and final authority on all matters of faith and practice, and there are no other writings similarly inspired by God.
II Tim. 1:13, 3:16; II Peter 1:20,21; Psalm 119:105, 160, 12:6; Prov. 30:5
Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God. He is fully human and can identify with our needs and struggles, yet fully God and therefore able to save us from sin. He is equal to the Father. He lived a sinless life of perfect obedience to the will of the Father and voluntarily offered Himself as the sacrifice for the sins of all people by dying on the cross. After three days, He arose from the dead and thereby demonstrated His power over sin and death. He ascended into heaven and will return again someday to earth, personally and visibly, in order to consummate history and the eternal plan of God.
Matt. 1:22,23; Isaiah 9:6; John 1:1-5, 14:10-30; Col. 2:9; Heb. 4:14,15; I Cor. 15:3,4; Romans 1:3,4; Acts 1:9-11; I Tim. 6:14,15; Titus 2:13
The central purpose of God’s revelation is to call humanity into fellowship with Himself. All people were originally created to have fellowship with God, but, having defied and rebelled against Him in choosing their own, independent ways, they have, therefore, been alienated from God. This fall into sin has resulted in the corruption of the human nature and the need for saving grace. Salvation is the free gift of grace available to all people. It is not earned through a life of good works, religious involvement, or self-improvement. Only by trusting in Christ and personally appropriating this gift through faith can one find forgiveness from sin and eternal life.
God wishes all to be saved and is grieved when people go against His will and reject Him. He has, however, sovereignly chosen to give every person a free will and will not force anyone to believe in Him or follow Him. When God has begun a saving work in a person’s heart and as they follow the Scriptural admonitions to abide in Christ and persevere in their faith, God gives them the assurance of His presence and power.
Romans 6:23; Ephesians 2:8,9; John 1:12, 14:16, 15:1-6; Titus 3:5; Galatians 3:26; Romans 5:1; II Timothy 1:12; Hebrews 7:25; II Peter 2: 20-22; Hebrews 6:4-6, 10:26,27; Revelation 2:7,11,17,26, 3:5, 11,12,21
The essential accompaniment of a genuine saving relationship with Jesus Christ is a life of holiness and obedience. The Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, indwells everyone who accepts Jesus Christ into their lives. We are then shaped by the Holy Spirit to live lives of growing godly character. This character development is a gradual process and will not be completed in this life, yet our consistent progress should be evident to those around us.
The Holy Spirit shows us the areas of our lives that hinder our relationship with Him or with other people, and He gives the direction and power we need to move towards positive change in our lives. He helps us exchange hurtful habits for helpful habits and makes us more like Christ. The result of allowing God to shape our lives and develop within us a growing godly character is greater joy, freedom, peace, and fulfillment.
Titus 2:11-14; I Thess. 5:23; Eph. 2:10, 4:22-24ff; Col. 2:6,7; Matt. 5:48
People were created to live forever. We will either exist eternally separated from God by sin or eternally with God through forgiveness and salvation. Death seals the eternal destiny of each person. After death, there will be a resurrection of the body so that each person can stand before the judgment seat of Christ.
Here, the eternal destiny of each individual will be determined. Unbelievers will be separated from God into condemnation. This is hell. Believers will be received into eternal communion with God and will be rewarded for the good works they have done in the name of Christ.
John 2:25,3:16, 5:11-13; Rom. 6:23; Rev. 20:15; Matt. 1:8; 2:44,46; Luke 16:19-31
When a person is united with Jesus Christ by faith, they become members of His body, the church. There is one true universal church comprised of all who acknowledge Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. The Scripture directs all believers to gather together to devote themselves to worship, prayer, the teaching of God’s Word, observing communion and baptism, fellowship, service to the body through the use of one’s talents and gifts, and outreach to the world.
Under the care of the church leadership, the church’s members are to work together in love and unity, intent on the one ultimate purpose of glorifying Christ.
Acts 2:42-47; I Cor. 12-14; Ephesians 4:1-16; Romans 12:4-8
OUR VALUES
Below are some of the values that we share in ministry and as a church family!
We believe that anointed teaching is vital for the transformation of individuals
and the Church.
Romans 12:17; James 1:23-25; Romans 10:17; Hebrews 4:12; 1 Cor. 2:13
“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17
We believe that people matter to God and should matter to the church.
Luke 15; Matthew 18:14; Luke 19:10; Matthew 28:18-20; I Kings 11:4; 2 Cor. 8:7;
2 Thess. 1:3; 1 Thess. 5: 23,24; 1 Thess. 2:19,20
“But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who belonged to their sect complained to his disciples, ‘Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners'; Jesus answered them, ‘It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.’ Luke 5:30-32
We believe that the church should be culturally relevant and doctrinally pure.
Philippians 2:5-11; Acts 15:19; Acts 17:16-34
“Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.” 1 Corinthians 9:19-23
We believe that worship and prayer are foundational to the life of the believer
and the Church.
Colossians 3: 16; Mark 12:29-31; Psalm 100; Luke 18: 1-8; James 5:13-16;
Philippians; Matthew 7:7-11 “I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the LORD.”
Psalm 40:1-3
We believe that the church is a family that should provide strength, comfort,
fellowship, encouragement, and inspiration.
1 Thess. 2:8; 1 Corinthians 13; Nehemiah 3; 1 Corinthians 12:12-13
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:34-35
We believe that life change happens best in small groups.
Luke 6:12,13; John 13; Matthew 17:1-3; Acts 1:1-3
“All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being
saved.” Acts 2:44-47
We believe that excellence and creativity honor God and inspire people.
Malachi 1:6-14; Proverbs 27:17; Genesis 1 “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” Colossians 3:17
We believe that the church should be led by leadership gifts and mobilized by
ministry gifts.
Nehemiah 1 & 2; Acts 6:2-5; Ephesians 4: 7-16; 1 Corinthians 12, 14
“If it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.” Romans 12:8
We believe that leadership development is integral to the health and expansion
of the church and God’s kingdom.
Exodus 18; Matthew 4: 18-22; Acts 1:1-3
“You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others.” 2 Timothy 2:1-2
We believe that full devotion to Christ is normal for every believer.
2 Timothy 1:6,7; 2 Peter 3:18; Colossians 3: 1-4
“His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.” 2 Peter 1:3-4
WE LOVE EVERYONE
Here are a few ways we show that love.
No matter who you are, how old you are, kids, no kids, married, single, or even if your family is a bit of a mess right now; we want you to feel connected. Got kids? Great, we will love them and take care of them while you enjoy high quality service content. No kids? Single? We are confident that you will find belonging and purpose in one of our groups or ministries. Give it a shot; you have nothing to lose and so much to gain.
From it's inception, LifePoint church has been striving to be a safe place for people to come and learn about, and experience faith together. That is still the church we endevor to be for you and your family.
We’re glad you’re considering LifePoint Church. Regardless of your religious and/or spiritual background we want you to feel welcome. So please relax, grab a cup of coffee, and enjoy the service.
A casual, come as you are atmosphere. No need to dress up; most people wear jeans including our staff.
A friendly church that will welcome you and direct you to wherever you want to go.
If you want to check things out on your own that is ok too- we will not hover. We want you to connect with us at your own pace.
Dynamic worship with a band plays today’s music.
Exciting and inspiring creative content.
Relevant, life oriented, Bible-based messages. There is nothing worse than some pastor droning on about political views or boring us to death with words that have very little clear meaning. Our weekly Life Connection messages deal with real life issues from a biblical and spiritual perspective.
We address such topics as improving our relationships, handling stress,
balancing out life’s demands, finding success and significance and building strong families.
An Amazing Children’s Program. Our children’s ministry- LifePoint Kidz is a top priority. Your children will love the high energy program our great leadership team puts together each week.
A clean, safe, well-staffed nursery.
A different Place, a safe place, an accepting place for you and your family to draw closer to each other, to new friends and to God. We want you to leave each morning knowing that you matter to God and to us.
Connect people to Jesus and one another as we Gather in worship
Connect in meaningful relationships
Serve one another, our community, and our world.
This purpose statement flows out of Jesus' commandments to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, to love our neighbor as ourselves, and to go into the world and proclaim the Good News of God’s love. Our goal is to do these three things- Gather, Connect and Serve- exceptionally well.
LifePoint is:
A Dynamic church- we want you to leave each week renewed, refreshed, closer to God and ready for the week ahead.
A church for the un-churched- we want to be a place where people, who have given up on the church but not on God, can investigate faith and pursue answers to their questions at their own pace.
A church for the whole family- we look forward to and are planning for ministries for children and students all the way to senior adults.
A church for growing- whether you know the Bible well or have little background with the Bible, we are a church where you can grow in your understanding of Jesus and His Word.
A church that serves the community- the church should not be about hammering people with guilt, pressuring people to give money or shackling people with legalism.
Jesus calls His church to serve others and our goal is to serve the community with practical expressions of God’s love.
OUR MOTTO
GATHER
Together we are a community of believers. What does that mean, the word community? We believe that together in fellowship we grow closer to God and one another. The bible speaks about iron sharpening iron. We believe that together we grow stronger. We are a community of believers.
CONNECT
We strive to be a church without walls. Jesus calls for us to go outside the walls to reach the lost and the broken. It is there that the lost will be found. Most churches find it is comfortable to stay within the walls, but we make it an effort to be like the church from the book of Acts, to see our city changed.
SERVE
We highly value our relationships with one another. We look to grow through fellowship, and ultimately growing closer to God. We value the word of God, and the leadership of the Holy Spirit. We look to extend grace to all of the lost and broken, and lead those with no hope to the hope of Jesus Christ.
OUR HISTORY
Originally called Skyline View Brethren in Christ Church, a rich history of caring for people and the community around Skyline view has been passed down to LifePoint Church through good times and bad since 1964. During a particularly rough time, the church facility where LifePoint now meets was shuttered for several years during the early 2000's.
Early in 2006, after much prayer, Lead Pastor Glenn Pfeiffer and his wife Denys felt the Lord confirm a call to step out of their comfort zones and move their family to Harrisburg to start LifePoint Church first at the Friendship Center (currently the Friendship YMCA); then in the former Skyline View BIC building; reopening the doors for services. Since the launch of LifePoint, God has greatly blessed the church with great people and significant growth, where LifePoint has transitioned to offering two services. in a newly completed and renovated, state of the art worship facility.
Glenn and Denys are grateful for the many great people and new friends God has brought into their lives as well as the exciting momentum and enormous potential of LifePoint Church.
OUR CHURCH STAFF
Among the many amazing gracious volunteers and talents we have at our church, this is our core staff at Lifepoint Church
Glenn Pfeiffer
Lead Pastor
Glenn’s formal education includes a bachelor’s degree from Messiah College and a master’s degree from Asbury Theological Seminary in Kentucky.
Glenn also received a scholarship for the Beeson Doctoral Program, and in 1999 earned his Doctorate in Leadership and Communication.
Glenn has served three churches over the years and in early 2006, after much prayer, Glenn and Denys felt the Lord’s calling to step out of their comfort zone and move their family to Harrisburg to start LifePoint Church.
They are grateful for the many great people and new friends God has brought into their lives as well as the exciting growth, momentum, and potential of LifePoint Church