We're Moving

May/02/2010 Filed in: Church News

A few weeks ago Milestone came across an offer we couldn’t refuse: a great price on a permanent place to call our own while we continue to grow as a church and serve our community.

We’ve been incredibly blessed since our humble beginnings in August of 2008. We’ve seen our community really take shape in the last year and we’re excited about the opportunities a permanent home affords us. In the coming months we’ll be making a bigger push than ever to reach into the community, to help those cannot help themselves, and to continue furthering the Kingdom of Jesus Christ right here in Springfield. That has always been, and always will be, our only priority.

We invite you to be a part of our community at our new location: 5335 S Campbell Ave in Springfield, just south of the James River Freeway.

Shalom,
Josh Crain
Teaching Pastor
Milestone Church

Tags: Milestone Church, Springfield, Missouri

Why We Chose the Name "Milestone"

August/28/2008 Filed in: Church

When I first became pastor of our church I knew there were a lot of challenges ahead of us: finding a location, a time to meet, reimagining of how we do ministry, etc. One of the tasks that I was really looking forward to, however, was coming up with a name for the church. I figured that it would be somewhat simple and relatively exciting.

I was wrong.

It was a nightmare.

For over a month we asked for suggestions, ideas, and prayer. We had a great response and quite a few solid suggestions. But we also faced some formidable challenges.

One thing we noticed is that many church names sound more like country clubs than communities on a mission: Scenic Drive Church (no, I'm not making that up), Ridgecrest, Glendale, Parkview, etc., etc. It's not that these are inherently bad names; they just seem more like places you'd go to play 18 holes than commune with Christ and live life with fellow believers.

And this was part of our challenge: to come up with a name that actually symbolized where we were as a church. I think we finally did just that.

In Genesis 35, God assures Jacob that the promises made to Abraham and Isaac will continue to be carried out through him. God promises that an entire community of nations will come from Jacob and He even gives Jacob a new name: Israel.

Sound familiar?

Jacob is so incredibly honored by the Lord’s promise that he builds a stone pillar on the very spot where God spoke to him. As it turns out, this wasn’t an uncommon practice in Jacob’s day; Noah, Moses, and Joshua all set up similar stone altars or pillars and they all had a similar meaning: God has spoken and nothing will ever be the same.

Today we don’t have much use for stone pillars. Altars are a thing of the past because of Christ’s offering on the cross. We do, however, have a term in the English language for describing life-changing events: the kind of events where God calls a group of His people to form a church and reach out to their community in a different way.

We are Milestone Church. God has spoken and nothing will ever be the same.

Tags: Milestone Church, name