When Cross Creek residents Dean and Heidi Reule began Cypress Point Community Church in 1998, the married couple saw that residents of the burgeoning New Tampa area would need houses of worship as well as places to work, shop and play.ย As Hetti, who is the churchโs childrenโs pastor, explains it, the insight was more inspired than reasoned.
โThere was not much in the area at the time and the Lord was very clear about wanting a nondenominational Christian church in the area,โ Hetti says.
Dean, who is the lead pastor of Cypress Point, agrees that the decision to start a church came from a deep conviction of its righteousness.
โIt was that mysterious sense of vocation,โ he said. โI just had the sense that this was Godโs plan for my life.โ
Cypress Pointโs genesis was a small group of spiritually like-hearted families who gathered together in a living room for Bible study and prayer. As the church grew in size, venues such as theย Hunterโs Green Model & Visitor Center and the Muvico Starlight 20 movie theater on Highwoods Preserve Pkwy. accommodated the growing congregation. Today, more than 700 worshippers attend services weekly in their own 30,000-sq.-ft. building on Morris Bridge Rd., just north of Cross Creek Blvd.
In addition to having a spacious sanctuary of its own in which to hold religious services, Cypress Point also has grown in terms of its impact on the local community, and beyond. โWeโre a church that really tries to be on mission. We try to minister to the whole range of human needs,โ says Pastor Dean, who has a Ph.D. in Religious Studies from Florida State University in Tallahassee. โItโs what you do with the message thatโs important to us.โ
Among the services focusing membersโ efforts to serve others are a Care Center, which provides groceries to 48 families each month and outreach ministries serving members of the military and firefighting communities.
Pastor Dean says church members deliver food to local fire stations to demonstrate their appreciation to the first responders staffing them. Support for the military community ranges from visiting veterans in hospitals and nursing homes to helping the families of deployed active duty forces when daily life presents challenges.
โOur military support mission is recognition of how many people in New Tampa that are active duty or retired military persons,โ Dean says. โSomebody deploys and, on the home front, thereโs a family of somebody who serves, and itโs nice to have a church family to help with practical matters and child care.โ
The Military Support Outreach ministry also assists homeless veterans and sends care packages to troops stationed overseas.
In addition to community outreach, Cypress Point offers classes, workshops and topical Life Groups that provide members with Bible-based life skills and fellowship. Topics range from strengthening marriages to family protection classes that teach how to respond in an active shooter situation.
Like many churches, Cypress Point engages with communities outside its local area with missions to other states that refurbish homes and perform other acts of charity.
Thereโs also a global reach to Cypress Pointโs missions. Mission teams travel to Thailand and Laos to assist youth at risk of exploitation there. Through construction projects and economic development programs, Cypress Point supports Christians who are a religious minority in those countries and often live and practice their faith on the margins of society, says Dean.
โWe focus on serving the persecuted, underserved churches in Southeast Asia.โ
Helping To Fight Fear
Just as the leadership of Cypress Point Community Church supports Christian communities facing persecution overseas, it also is dedicated to fighting religious intolerance in its own neighborhood (as Dean remarked in a recent service) by, โbuilding bridges of love and respect with our Muslim neighbors.โย
Cypress Point is next door to the Islamic Society of New Tampaโs Daarus-Salaam Mosque and the two groups occasionally get together for picnics and open house events.
That neighborly approach appeals to Cypress Point member Leon Jonas.
โPastor Dean, he preaches love,โ the Cross Creek resident says. โYouโve got to know your neighbor. Once you get to know people, youโre not so cold toward them.โ
Leon and his wife Zoey (who volunteers with the worship arts and prayer teams) have been members since 2013.ย According to Zoey, being a part of Cypress Pointโs church family means more than showing up on Sunday mornings. โYou have to participate to make things happen,โ she says.
Another appealing aspect of Cypress Point Community Church, according to some of its members, is its family-friendly atmosphere.
Bobbie Benson says discovering the church nine years ago following a divorce helped her and her three children get through a difficult transition in their lives.
โI felt accepted right away,โ the Tampa Palms resident says. โAfter my divorce, (the church family) gave me a lot of support and gave my children stability. Thereโs a place for everybody here.โ
Doing More To Serve Families
In particular, Cypress Point emphasizes being a place for children. There are age-appropriate Bible studies and activities that engage the churchโs youth.
Tampa Palms resident Jill Barber is the worship arts pastor and sings in the worship band. She says attending Cypress Point has been especially beneficial to her five children.
โItโs a great place for my children to grow up in,โ Jill says. โIt has changed their lives by loving God and serving others.โ
Involving young people in service to others is one way Cypress Point delivers its educational message, according to Sunday School teacher Rachid Mehdaova, who lives in Live Oak Preserve.
โThey do a mission once a year,โ Rachid says. โThis year, the mission was local, working with Habitat for Humanity and going to multiple projects.โ
Youth Pastor Earl Henning has been a part of Cypress Point for 16 years and has witnessed its growth. He says much of the churchโs future expansion will be oriented toward its youngest members.
โWe are in the process of building a 10,000-sq.-ft. youth center with a gym, basketball court, rec center and cafรฉ,โ Henning says, adding that the church hopes to eventually begin a special-needs youth program.
Serving Cypress Pointโs youngest members is central to its mission, Pastor Dean says.
โWe partner with families to help the mom, the dad, the guardian to build spiritually strong children.โ
Cypress Point Community Church is located at 15820 Morris Bridge Rd. Sunday services are held at 9:30 and 11 a.m. For more information, call 986-9100 or visit CPCConline.com.