In 1998, God placed upon the heart of our Pastor Jay Bruner, and his wife Regina, to plant a church in the heart of Dallas Fort Worth. It was a church for the unchurched or out of a church. Those who had given up on God, or knew little, to nothing about Him. This church was to become an “Oasis in the middle of the Metroplex” with the desire to serve and demonstrate God's love to those desperately in need of Him. They dreamed of creating a safe place that was appealing yet functional, and a place that people would find peaceful and comforting. A place that would include a theater that all would find welcoming whereby all that entered could discover and engage God through His Son Jesus Christ.
That future church would also include neighborhoods where children would feel at home, student life areas where teens would come and feel secure, welcomed, accepted, and loved, and a place where the entire family could come, engage with others, and grow in a personal relationship with the God that loves them. It would also be a place where people would build lifelong eternal relationships not only with God yet with one another, learning how to love one another, serve one another, pray for one another, care for one another, and for the world beyond its doors.
It would also be a place where learning God’s will and way for their lives would move them to find and fulfill God’s purpose for their lives, a place that would not only transform lives but also become a place that would send people out to transform the world in which they live. They dreamed of Center Point Church being a community church that engaged and transformed its community instead of merely enjoying its benefits.
They also dreamed of Center Point Church being a church-planting church. In the first ten years, they dreamed of starting ten other churches in the U.S. as well as one international church.
They dreamed that within the first ten years of their existence they would be reaching and touching 1,500 people within their community with the hopes of seeing 50% of those touched becoming, what Pastor Jay calls, 360Q fully devoted Christ-followers. Using the discipleship model of Jesus for those who are lost to come and see, come and be, come and do, and then go out into the world and do likewise. To come and learn to be a fully devoted follower, then learn to go and make more followers.
Now more than 20 years later, Center Point Church has now touched over 8,403 family units. It has helped plant 17 churches in America, India, and Canada. It has helped start planting movements in the U.S., Brazil, India, and Canada. It has pursued mission trips and movements throughout the U.S., Canada, Brazil, and India.
Locally, the church has led the way in transforming the schools in the four surrounding cities by creating “Refresh” a back-to-school party with a purpose. Center Point Church has taken on the challenge of children who are living in financially difficult situations. In the process, as Pastor Jay puts it, “Center Point has rallied The Big C” by enlisting 26 churches to partner in engaging the schools. In its latest efforts, through the work of 618 volunteers from 26 churches, more than 3000 children and their families were aided with school supplies, haircuts, physical exams, and eyeglasses as they returned to school. Additionally, over 3,000 Bibles in many different languages were dispersed.
Yet now the time has come to dream more. Now the body of Center Point Church dreams of building onto the “Oasis”.
They now dream that the “Oasis” will include: an auditorium that could house more than 800 adults at any given worship gathering. It will include a large learning center for children, youth, and adults providing for teaching and training in the basics of Christian life and specifically family life. It is to include more classroom space for teaching venues to meet the demand of a growing desire in our community for teaching on marriage, parenting, financial peace, health, and purpose in life. It is also to include comfortable areas where members of the body and community can come and congregate in a relaxed and safe living environment. As Pastor Jay calls it “that third place”, work/home/another safe, clean, wholesome environment in the community to come and hang out with friends.
Pastor Jay and the leadership of Center Point Church dream of maintaining and growing a strong culture where families can come and be encouraged in their relationship with Christ, without being criticized or shamed.
In short, at Center Point Church we dream of continuing to be a New Testament community church that reproduces itself as members grow in faith, love, and action. We dream of growing the main campus into a church that sees 2,500 regular attending members. We also dream of continuing to reproduce ourselves by planting 10 more churches (with the same DNA) over the next 15 years. We also dream of becoming a bigger influence in our city by getting even more involved with the needs of our community through our schools and city government. We dream of transforming neighborhoods that have been neglected by partnering with our city and local businesses to rebuild them. We also dream of taking on and defeating child abuse and neglect through strategic partnerships with the schools and city services. It is our dream by 2028 the city in which we live that there will have no reports of CPS abuse cases. Yes, we dream big, yet if your dream does not scare you then you’re not dreaming big enough!
