“I remember saying, ‘You can do whatever you want, dude. I ain’t gonna change.’ Little did I know, God’s more powerful than I am.”
Justin Petrali didn’t come to youth camp looking for Jesus; he came to cause trouble. But after a disruptive week, capped by a radical encounter during a prayer service, Justin experienced deliverance, gave his life to Christ, and began a journey that would eventually lead him and his wife, Tara, to plant Connection Pointe Church in Buffalo, Minnesota.
Just weeks after his salvation, Justin joined Master’s Commission, a discipleship and ministry training program. “Three months in, the director, Mark Brewer, brought me into his home and discipled me. It was just a total God thing,” he said. Between completing the program and joining the staff, Justin led teams and was part of the Master’s Commission for 13 years. During that time, he met Tara, who had also come to Christ as a teenager when friends invited her to the Minnesota Youth Convention.
After years in ministry, including seasons in Maryland and Texas, the couple felt a tug toward church planting. Tara, who grew up in Brainerd, reached out to her former youth pastor, Doug Vagle, for insight. That conversation led to a staff position for Justin at The Waters Church in Sartell. Though the Petralis had vowed never to plant again or return to Minnesota, prayer and fasting shifted their hearts.
“We told everybody… we’re not planting a church, and we’re not living in Minnesota,” Justin said. “Then came seven days of water fasting.”
The Petralis’ second church plant, Connection Pointe Church, launched in 2020, just as the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Traditional interest parties and preview services were off the table. Justin recalled, “We started with outdoor gatherings of 26 people, many of them kids and visiting family. But we just kept going.” They formed a partnership with a struggling Lutheran church in town, and with persistence and prayer, eventually purchased their building.
Now in their own space on 20 acres, the church is growing and dreaming of future expansion. But their focus isn’t on numbers; it’s on presence. “We’re not about checking the boxes,” Tara said. “We want people in His presence. That’s where transformation happens.”
Connection Pointe is a presence-driven church, emphasizing Spirit-filled discipleship, prayer, healing, and deliverance. Justin reminds the church of John 15:5: “Apart from Me, you can do nothing.” They teach that every believer is a “living stone” (1 Peter 2:5) and is called to be part of a spiritual house of worship. Their vision is to cultivate a spiritual house where worship is the priority, saints are equipped, and lives are changed. “We didn’t plan this,” Justin said. “But it’s exactly what God planned.”
