FAQs

We restarted the church in 1989 after it had struggled for years and had been closed. We continued under the former name of Open Bible Church for several years. We then decided that our name should fit our vision and the ministry of our church. We looked at and discussed many different names and after nearly a year of prayer and discussion, we chose Turning Point Community Church.

We chose Turning Point because most of us had discovered our need for Christ at a specific time. We concluded that this was the Turning Point of our lives and a Turning Point is specifically what we want to help others find.

In 2014 we changed our name to Turning Point CITI Church in order to align our name with our CITI vision.

Jesus Christ came to offer what He called, “abundant life”, to all people. At Turning Point we don’t believe that church life is just for good people or privileged people but for all people. We believe that God loves and cares for all people and we are committed to welcoming all people among us. We want to help people from all walks of life, all age groups, all occupations, and all sorts of pasts to find the fulfillment of the abundant life that the Christ we serve offers to all humanity.

We like to say we are “For  People Like You”. We say this because we are just normal , every day, non-religious people. We have families, dreams, and mortgages. We share some common hopes and fears. We are passionately looking for that  something more in life.

Here at Turning Point we believe we have found that something more in our faith and through the community we share together.

We are real people, searching for a real faith, in a real God in our life’s turning points. Therefore, we can honestly say that Turning Point is “For People Like You”. At Turning Point you’re Family.

At Turning Point we have discovered that every human being is on a faith journey. We are all trying to fill a huge spiritual void in our life. This search for the answer to the question, “what is the meaning of life?”, drives us all. We have also discovered that when a person accepts Christ and begins the believing journey, that journey progresses one step at a  time.

At Turning Point you will find people at many different levels of their faith journey. For each of us the next step is the most important step we will ever take so we are committed to helping each other take our next step successfully. We call this the “Next Step” challenge and while we may be at different levels we are on the same journey and determined to take the next step together.

Is TPCC a Safe Place to Experience God?

Yes, because . . .

Our Freedom in Worship Will Never Surrender to Fanaticism.

We are open and expressive, but differentiate between the “sound of praise” and the “noise of the people.” We worship as a choir in chorus, not as soloists in competition. We worship in spirit with liberty, but at the same time, in concert under leadership. TPCC is a safe place to worship; we desire neither prideful formalism nor personal fanaticism.

Our Openness to One Another Will Never Exploit Anyone.

Ours is a fellowship that fosters communication and interaction, recognizing that true fellowship is not possible without authentic and transparent sharing. What is shared in prayer is sacred with us, and we hold this trust in loving confidentiality. TPCC is a safe place for fellowship; our love for you is unconditional, non-manipulative, and it covers weakness and sin with strength and forgiveness.

Our Welcoming the Ministry of The Holy Spirit Will Never Violate Scripture.

We ask the Holy Spirit to be present here, and to distribute gifts among us according to His will. We believe that ALL the gifts of the Holy Spirit are resident in the Church and every believer is urged to discover, develop, and deploy the gifts that God has given to them. In order to allow the Holy Spirit to minister effectively; we insist upon graciousness in ministry, submissiveness in spirit and order in operation.

Our adherence to Scripture Will not Translate into Narrow Mindedness.

We embrace all Scripture as being the inspired Word of God and receive it as being the one and only manual by which we live spiritual lives in the secular society. We respect those whose understanding of certain theological concepts differ from ours and we affirm those who love Jesus Christ though their philosophical viewpoints may not correspond with ours.TPCC is a safe place to learn the Scripture; we are not into judging, denouncing, or excluding, but rather presenting the faith we embrace with gentleness and respect.

The purpose of the church, regardless of which one, is very simple. Jesus said, “All authority in heaven and on earth is given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age”. (Matt 28:18-20 NIV)

We have shortened this to “Reaching to Teach and  and Teaching to Reach”. This is the reason we exist. We flesh this philosophy out in our purpose statement.

We exist to connect the needs of people to the promises of God, to impact our culture through restoring the family and to transform individuals by living God LOUD.

Connecting the needs of People to the Promises of God

The bible says that every promise God has ever made is fulfilled in Jesus Christ.(2 Corinthians 1:20) God has made promises concerning every area of our lives. He has  marvelous plans to bless and prosper us and not to do us harm. (Jeremiah 29:11) Most people in our postmodern culture are unaware that these promises even exist and therefore are missing incredible blessings.

It is our passionate desire to identify the most heartfelt needs of our culture and  connect them to God through these incredible promises. We look forward to helping you discover your God designed destiny and helping you take your first and next steps towards achieving it.

Impacting our culture through restoring the family

The bible reveals that God designed and ordained the family. (Genesis  chapter 1-3)  The bible  reveals that successful societies build families by God’s design. (Psalms 127) The bible  reveals that men and women find the ultimate joy of their destiny inside the bonds of healthy marriages. (Ephesians 5:22-33) The bible further reveals that children need loving authoritative boundaries to SHAPE their lives for their destiny. (Ephesians 6:1-4)

We look forward to helping you  discover the God given design of your family and working together with you to facilitate a full and complete restoration

Transforming Individuals by Living God LOUD

We have come to fully appreciate that the church is made up of  individuals. Each one uniquely fashioned and  purposely gifted and specifically added to the body of Christ. (Romans chapter12; 1 Corinthians chapter 12; Ephesians chapter 4)

At Turning Point we diligently strive to help every person find their niche in the body. We believe this motivates them toward their destiny and releases the creativity of the Holy Spirit in their lives.

We call this living God LOUD.

Living  Our  Unique  Destiny

We look forward to walking with you on your journey and helping you discover your unique purpose and achieving  your spiritual destiny.

Integrating faith into every aspect of our life 

Far too many times faith is compartmentalized as an “at church” only proposition. It would be great if we could get all of our needs and issues to cooperate and wait until we were at church, but we all know life doesn’t work that way. We have discovered that faith is most productive and beneficial when it is employed at the point we need it the most.

We look forward to helping you discover how to naturally and authentically integrate your faith into every aspect of your life so you can enjoy the benefits of its power when you need it most.

Admit to yourself and to God that you are a sinner and that you need forgiveness.

Believe that Jesus died to forgive your sin and rose again to insure that you can have a new life.

Confess to God that you are a sinner, ask for forgiveness, and receive the gift of abundant life.

After you accept Christ into your life you need to find another believer to confess to or tell about this decision. You also need to seek to get involved in a local group of believers and continue on your journey and take the next step.

Believers grow as they determine to follow Christ with real faith and understand that it is not automatic. Believers grow in many ways but there are at least five definable categories.

The Instruction Manual

Everyone understands the importance of an owner’s manual for the correct operation and maintenance of the things that simplify our life.

The bible is the instruction manual for the proper maintenance and peak performance of the human soul. Therefore every believer who desires to grow and make successful next steps must read the instruction manual for themselves.

Plugged In

There was an actual story of a computer tech who lost their job after a lady called in because her computer was not working. The tech worked with her for nearly an hour without any favorable results. Nearly in total frustration the tech decided to start from the very beginning. He asked, “is the machine turned on?”, the lady replied, “yes”. He then asked , “is the machine plugged in?”, the lady replied, “yes”. After another 20 minutes he asked the lady to unhook all the wires on the back of the computer in a last ditch effort to resolve the issue. The lady replied that she didn’t think she would be able to because her electricity had been off for nearly two hours and she wouldn’t be able to see. The tech then told the lady that when the lights come back on, box up the computer, and return it to the store where she bought it and tell customer service that she wanted a refund because she was too stupid to own a computer.

Being plugged into God is the life source of any believer no matter how new they are or how long they have walked with Him. As a new believer it is important to begin on the right foot concerning prayer. If you start off right, this discipline will serve you well and keep you plugged into God even through difficult times.

Many struggle here because they want to get all their answers from someone else. They end up like the lady in this story; no matter who tells you what to do it doesn’t work because your unplugged.

Hanging Out

When God created the world He would say this about whatever He created, ” it is good”. When He created man though He said, ” it is not  good for man to be alone”. God then made a helper for the man. As believers we can not successfully walk with Lord alone. We need others to help us, encourage us and hold us accountable. That is what the body of believers is for. It is called fellowship and is an important part of our growth and maturity.

Going Public

In marketing they say there is nothing as good as a satisfied customer to promote your product. While this is true I believe their is another psychology at work here as well. When we buy something or find something that we believe is useful or worthwhile we love to share it with those we care about or hang out with. This valuable sharing is what validates our relationships.

The same is true when we find a cure for what aches in our soul and we become believers. If it is real and we value it, then we feel compelled to share it with those we care about. There is no way we can just keep it to ourselves. We need to be careful not to be too pushy but we need to validate our relationship with God by sharing it with those we care about.

Standing Up

To continue on the marketing theme that we are all familiar with; when a person makes a switch to a new brand, the old brand does not just lie down and quit but works hard to win the customer back.

When we become a believer and turn away from certain things that no longer hold us captive, those things work to capture our attention once again. The difference is that this is not just a brand switch but a life switch. To return to our old way of thinking and living is be taken captive by that which left us so empty before. Don’t be fooled by the big promises and the so called bonuses for re-signing with your old life. In the end you will pay dearly.

This battle between the old and the new is called spiritual warfare and is a normal part of the believer’s life. In Ephesians 6:10-18, the believer is issued armor for this warfare so that they can stand victoriously.

These five areas promote real and prolonged spiritual growth and are a must for all who want to grow in the Lord. Blessings as you grow in the Lord

While there are many views about the church, the fact remains that the church is God’s idea. We must understand that the church does have it’s problems because it is made up of broken people at many different levels of spiritual repair. In other words they are not perfect nor is it right to believe they should be. The church should be viewed as a spiritual hospital where people are being nurtured to health.

There is an old story of the conversation between the two angels who were with Jesus at the ascension as they looked back and saw the rag tag group that were Jesus followers. One angel looked at Jesus and said, “and if this doesn’t work?” to which Jesus responded, “there is no plan B”.

The church is very close to the heart of God and if a believer wants to live as close to the heart of God as possible then they should become part of a local church. The way to be successful and grow in maturity is not to make attempts to discover every problem in your church, anyone can do that. You don’t even have to be a believer. But if each person in the church would pray to the Lord and ask, “what can I do to make my church better and more pleasing to your heart?”, they would find God in ways they never before imagined; even in the imperfect church.

n addition to the traditional Sunday offering or mailed-in check, giving can now be done electronically via the web, email, or by text message! To get started, make your first donation through our Giving Page to set up your account. After that you’ll be able to configure giving by email and text message. Our electronic donations are powered by a system called Mogiv.

Online Transactions & Reporting

How do I view my giving history?
You can view your giving history by logging in at mogiv.com with the information provided during your first donation on our giving page.

How do I get my giving receipts?
Every time you give, a transaction receipt will be sent via e-mail. You can also log into Mogiv at anytime to view or print receipts and giving history of donations made through Mogiv. We also provide an end of year giving statement which includes all donations whether made electronically through Mogiv or by any other method.

Account Information:

Can I change my Mogiv password?
Yes. Log into your account on Mogive to do that.

Can I change my user ID on Mogiv?
Mogiv does not allow you to change your username once it is created.

Online Giving Functionality:

What if my credit card or bank information changes?
You may change all payment methods from within your Mogiv account by logging in there.

Can I schedule a repeating automatic donation?
Yes! The online system enables you to make either a one-time contribution or set-up a repeating contribution that is scheduled to come out of your bank account at the time of month specified by you.

Can I modify or cancel my scheduled automatic donations?
Yes. Log into your Mogiv account to change or cancel any of your scheduled gifts. You can edit the amount to be given, the card to be used, the scheduled date, or anything else from within your account.

How do I know I’ve set up my gift correctly or that the scheduled gift has been received each month?
When your contribution is processed through our online system, you will receive an email confirming the gift.

Is online giving secure?
Yes. We’ve taken steps to ensure that the giving process is safe and secure from beginning to end. All of your giving data is secured by a number of security measures including your web browser’s SSL encryption.

Mobile Giving Functionality:

How do I make a gift by text message?
To give via text message simply text a numeric dollar amount to tpc@mogiv.com. For example texting the number 25 will initiate a $25 gift and respond with instructions for verifying your gift. All funds given will come from your credit card or checking account (whichever you’ve set up), not your cellular provider.

Do I need to have a smart phone to make a mobile donation?
No, however your first donation will have to be made through the web or by email. This will walk you through the steps of creating your account with Mogiv. Once that is done you may add your mobile number as a contact option in the “Settings” area of your Mogiv profile. After activating your number you can text tpc@mogiv.com from either a smart phone or any older model phone.

How do I make a gift by email?
Send an email to tpc@mogiv.com with a numeric dollar amount as the subject or body of the email. For example, sending an email with the number 25 in the subject line will initiate a gift of $25 and email you back with instructions for verifying your gift.

General Stewardship & Giving Questions:

What is a Tithe? What is an Offering?
In the Bible, a tithe is 10% of one’s income. An offering is when you give above and beyond your tithe, such as supporting other ministries and causes.

What does my gift support?
Your gift enables Turning Point to fulfill its mission and vision to, “Reach our community and disciple believers.” It also supports the operations of the church and its ministries.

Are there any fees involved in online giving?
Turning Point pays a 2.9% processing fee for all credit/debit card gifts and a 1% fee for ACH gifts made. You do not pay any fees.

What is an ACH transaction?
An ACH transaction is an electronic transfer of funds between an originating bank (yours) and a receiving bank (ours).

Can I give to Turning Point by check?
Yes. Please make checks payable to “Turning Point CITI Church”. If mailing to Turning Point, send to:

Turning Point CITI Church
ATTN: Accounting
944 Stony Point Rd.
Dixon,IL 61021

Can I speak with someone about an issue with my online giving to Turning Point?
Yes! Please send us an email. We will respond quickly.

Donating by credit card is offered as a convenience. If using a credit card, we encourage you to use it wisely and to avoid debt service.