After being without a pastor for almost three months, board members and congregants of the North Tahoe Community Church have decided to merge with non-denominational LifePoint Church of Minden.
"Our goal is to really see a healthy church in Incline Village," said John Jackson, the founding pastor of LifePoint Church. "We think Incline Village has great potential to be a place of influence around the lake. We want to serve and support the community."
After NTCC pastor and founder Danny Bell moved to Texas in July, church leadership began examining options for the future of the congregation, board member Marti Bynum said. After several congregation members attended a few LifePoint services, church leadership began examining the possibility of merging.
"They were so energized and so alive for God and that's what we want to be," Bynum said.
Pastoral leadership
Beginning this month, Jackson and Executive Pastor Craig Fuller will come to Incline Village to lead services and develop church leadership, Jackson said.
"We want to grow and develop the people who are there," Jackson said.
Ideally, the church would like to have a residential pastor in place by March 2010, Jackson said.
LifePoint Church will also help NTCC create a nonprofit that will become the new church. The nonprofit is necessary for financial reasons, Jackson said.
"We're starting with a clean sheet," he said.
The church's name might also change in the future to include "LifePoint."
"It's a new beginning for the church, so a new name would be feasible," Bynum said.
Once the nonprofit is established a new board of directors composed of NTCC and LifePoint members will form, Bynum said.
Country Club building
There is not a solid timeline for finishing construction on the church's half-built facilities on Country Club Drive and Tahoe Boulevard, Jackson said. However, he said LifePoint will pursue completion rigorously.
"Our desire is to see that building to become the home of the thriving church and a place for the community to gather," Jackson said.
Construction ceased on the building in October 2008 due to a lack of funding. About $2.6 million was donated to the church building as of July 2009. In July NTCC Board Member Bill Childs told the Bonanza that about $3 million more was needed to complete the building.
For now the building has been winterized with a white vinyl protection, said Doug Eddy, a church parishioner and architect on the project.
"It's a vinyl protection that protects it from weather - similar to what they do with boats in the winter," Eddy told the Bonanza in October. "It will preserve the building, and it makes it look a little nicer and cleans up the corner."
Church offerings
NTCC will remain a nondenominational church like LifePoint, Jackson said.
"My hope they will see life application Bible teaching, contemporary upbeat music and a children and youth programs that are fun safe and educational," he said of what LifePoint plans to bring to Incline Village.
LifePoint and NTCC leadership announced the change to the congregation at Sunday's services.
"I think it was a very good decision," said former board member and congregation member Bob Rappaport. "We needed to move forward and get some pastoral leadership in the pulpit. LifePoint seemed the most compatible spiritually and has the integrity to help us move forward with our church."
