Tory Farina

5 Year Anniversary Video...

Five Year Video from Courtney Feia on Vimeo.

5 Year Anniversary Reflections Pt. 1...

This week is the weekend!

Five years ago today Elizabeth and I were almost on an IV of Pepto as we anxiously put the final touches on the church we were about to open. We had sent out 25,000 mail pieces, bought thousands of dollars worth of equipment and rented a facility that seated 10 times our launch team attendance.

It was exciting! We were confident that people would show up, but there was still a nagging question in the back of my mind: "What if no one showed up?"

As I was nervously letting the Lord know my concerns about attendance, money, and logistics, he spoke these words to my heart: "If you point people to Jesus and work to make him famous in your city, I will take care of everything else. People will come, money will be provided, and you will have no needs."

That is what the last five years has been about. All of the setting up and tearing down of these past 263 Sundays has occurred to prepare the way for the coming King, to proclaim His good news, to help people find their place, develop their faith, and live their potential until he arrives.

The Lord has been faithful! People showed up. After three months, our budget was sufficiently being met. We have had an amazing team of bi-vocational and part-time staff. We have seen people with a variety of backgrounds call High Point their home. From people with no church experience to disenfranchised church experience to bountiful church experience, many have come to High Point and experienced God in a meaningful way. Out of nothing, God has established a great church.

I am expecting the next five years will be even greater than the last five.

Weekend Reflections...

• This weekend something deep happened. I’m not sure what it was, but it feels like we crossed a barrier. Every so often this happens, and I eventually find out what that barrier was. 
• The band was stellar as usual. Kyle Rex is a ROCK STAR! I thought he was going to smash his guitar at the end. 
• Joe Anderson did an outstanding job! His story is remarkable and it draws people to the Lord. 
• We have had so many visitors that we can’t handle the crowd at the welcome center. They changed some things up in the lobby today. I am not sure if we’ll do it that way going forward, but we are going to have to make some changes to accommodate growth. I am weird... I love change. I’d set up the lobby different each week if the volunteers wouldn’t hate me for it. 
• Elizabeth gave an incredible report today. She talked about how we are so grateful to the Lord for her healing that we decided to give a thank offering as a family. It was a significant gift for us but it’s not the money that matters. It was a heart issue for us. God has been challenging us to give more than we ever have. I love it. 
• I just found out another lady in the church is pregnant. On my last unofficial count that makes 8 ladies in their first trimester. We are about to have a huge boom in our nursery this year. 
• Alyssa Whitmire our kids director is taking the whole place to the next level. I peeked in this morning and was very pleased to see so many kids worshiping God with actions and singing. It was not that long ago when we had no kids coming in the 6-11 ages. She wants to start using the older kids and teenagers to help staff and lead her kids in small groups. What an awesome way to make future Connection Group Leaders. 
• Brian Kirchner (our deacon) blessed us with such kind words and challenged the church to love on us pastors. Thank You! 
• I started Mike Vick today on my wife’s recommendation. When I told her he got hurt and cost me a win she said, “Well that’s what you get for taking my advice in football.” How right she is.
• For those keeping score at home. I am now 3-1 in the High Point League and 2-2 in the Mike Vick League. If I would have played Rivers I would be 3-1. “I’ll get you next time Gadget!” 
• We are going to need a bigger refrigerator. O is bringing twice the art of other kids on Sunday because she attends both services. Lots of drawings. I asked if she wanted to stay home for one service. She said, “No daddy I want to be at church with my friends. She is kind of social.” 
• I am so excited to start the next series. The Life of Joseph is a great case study on Betrayal.

Betrayal Bumper from Courtney Feia on Vimeo.

Mind Dump...

I want to get something out to you about what is happening in my life. Here is a quick mind dump to share with you.

·          Pastor Drew did an outstanding job teaching on the “Rich Young Ruler.”  The best line of the talk was his definition of RICH: “having more than you need.” We can all fit into that mindset in America.

·          Drew challenged us to look for things that might not be totally surrendered to Jesus. Areas where we may be out of alignment with his callings for our lives. This is an important thing to do every so often. The stuff of life can grow like a weed and eventually choke God’s best from our garden if we are not careful.

·          Sunday’s mailer dropped early... We are trying a new way of doing our mailer and it came a week before it was supposed to. I was a little frustrated. It’s kind of like when people come to your house an hour before they were supposed to. You are getting ready for them and the food is being prepared, but you are still in your cleaning clothes and the table isn’t set. Basically we have a few plans that were going to be implemented next week for the new arrivals. They were also sent before a major holiday, which isn’t ideal, but everything is ok.

·          We will to try to an add on Facebook to rekindle people’s memories about the mailer. So if you see them, hit the “Like” button and help us out.

·          Visitor flow was great. I met a lot of new people. I love hearing people’s stories. There was a group of guys from Sierra Leon and a lady who is a guardian for people in an assisted living home. So cool!

    ·      Welcome to the team. Alyssa Whitmire is joining the High Point Team as the Director of Children’s Ministry. Add her as a friend Facebook and watch for great things to come out of our Kids Department.

·          Next week is the beginning of “People of the Second Chance.” I am so excited for it to begin! The Lord is going to do powerful things in people’s lives.

         God of Second chances. I love this Song by "Carlos Whittaker". We will be singing it each week of this series enjoy it and see what happens when he takes the song to a park to record a video for it.

·          I am excited for football to begin. I like football but I don’t know enough about it, so sometimes I feel lost when they start talking about nickels and dimes. Being in two fantasy football leagues and not knowing most of the players is going to be a lot of fun. I play by the numbers ESPN gives me, so for me the fun isn’t because I am imagining myself on the field. What I am excited about is watching it with Olivia. She is at the age where she wants to do whatever Dad wants to do and maybe that thing might be football. I am going to get her a RODGERS jersey this year.

·          Elizabeth is still having migraines. It has been going on since Memorial Day. Going an entire summer with a massive pressurized headache is really starting to wear on her. Please pray for complete healing and for pain relief.

·          The air is crisp and I love it! I don’t wear shorts unless I have to and short sleeves are even a stretch. Why? Because it doesn’t look sharp (at least not on me). I see the ads of the skinny guys in their Bermuda shorts and think, “Hey, they look good.” Then I realize I will probably meet someone and start talking about church and Jesus and they will look at me and dismiss me because I look sloppy. Jackets, long sleeves, and shoes look much better, and now people won’t be wondering what it feels like to have a fur coat growing on my legs when I talk about church and Jesus.

·          Pray for me this week. We have a leader meeting, a wedding, and an important Sundays service. It’s a lot to pile on top of all the other stuff going on in the Farina house. I also feel as though I am staring a new job. You remember that feeling? As we move to a new level of church and family life so I must move to a new level of leader, husband and father. It's a bit messy but in my weakness the Lord is making himself STRONG! Thanks for praying for me.

 

Wireless Mic Madness...

The day of reckoning is almost upon us check it out here. All but one of our wireless mics will no longer be legal. It's a bummer when you spend hundreds of dollars on a mic that is dead. We are having to replace a bunch of them and are bummed by the expense.

In honor of our expense I'll show you Dolly Parton's 24-karat-gold–plated Shure UR2/KSM-9 wireless mic she used for American Idol. Its a bit out of my league but It sure is pretty!

Mission Moldova...

It was a ton of fun this Sunday to present the Stitts and their mission to help heal the castaways of the sex trade.

Three years ago Patrick came to Elizabeth and me with the dream to go to a the mission field. Patrick and Kalyna are an amazing couple. They are compassionate, intelligent and have a huge heart for people that others might discard. They are the kind of people that you can not help but want to help accomplish their dreams, you fall in love with them the moment you meet them. We shared with him the nuts and bolts of raising money, launching with the right covering and said if you get to 75% we will bring you into High Point to push you the rest of the way. He came to us having raised all but about 90% of his budget. That is a huge achievement for someone who has no network and isn't even from this country. I am very proud of them. I am proud to call them our missionaries.

Check out the need here. You can listen to Patrick's story and heart from Sunday's talk here. Check out their web page at patrickandkalyna.com.  If you would like to give to help them raise the remaining $650 they need a month you can do so here.

Looking for a few good men/women...

Set up/Tear down crew for web promo from Courtney Feia on Vimeo.

Not yet involved in one of HPC's volunteer teams? It takes alot of hands to transform our theater into a church each week. The set up and tear down crew is the perfect avenue for both men and women to make a difference in the lives of other people just by using their hands.

Questions about Prayer?...

I am prepping for a series in the next few months on prayer. I want to get some feed back as to what would be helpful to you for me to address. Hit me up with your questions about the subject and Ill try and deal with whats on your mind and heart. What do you pray about? What do you struggle with? What do you love/hate about prayer?

"When we pray properly, sorrows disappear like snow before the sun..." -Jon Vianney, Cure of ARS

Filled with the Holy Spirit...

I was reading the Christmas story in preparation for this weeks message and came across something powerful!

Luke 1:35 The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.

41 At the sound of Mary’s greeting, Elizabeth’s child leaped within her, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.

Mary, Elizabeth and John were "Filled with the Holy Spirit". Have you ever done a phrase search on "filled with the Holy Spirit"? check it out... here. Their is Power, Direction, Boldness, gifts and Wisdom that come upon you when you are "FIlled with the Spirit of God". This is not a one time experience... again and again through your Christian life and through the NT people would call upon the Holy Spirit and be filled. When people were filled they moved in a Supernatural way that could only be attributed as God moving through them. God using their natural talents and abilities to impact the world for the Kingdom of God.

I love that when we are filled with the Spirit we can be led by the spirit.Jesus, Paul, and many other attribute their comings and goings, heeling's and miracle's to being "Led by the Spirit".

I want to challenge you to take some time over the next few days and weeks and read these passages in their entirety. Maybe even read the whole book of Acts. Ask the Holy Spirit to knock your socks off and fill you with His power in a new and profound way. Look expectantly for evidence of Gods power to reflect the evidence in scripture and when you see it walk in a renewed boldness for the Lord. Fallow the Leading of The Holy Spirit!

Amplify Sunday Nov. 22nd...

Here is the Playlist for Amplify Sunday Nov. 22nd @ Summit Church in St. Paul. We begin at 6pm and are expecting it to be an amazing night.