First Worship Service- EVER!

Yesterday, June 17th-Father's Day, was a HUGE day for Connection Church NYC. We have been praying and planning for months about our first worship service. I remember a few months ago wondering about details like: Where is the church going to meet? Who will lead the music? Who will help with the kids? Who will run the sound, projector, and lights? Who will greet people when they show up? And probably the biggest question I had was: Who will show up?

Since moving to NYC only a few months ago, God has providentially given us everything we needed. We have a beautiful space in which to worship, and we have met many new friends (connections) in our community. Several of our new friends jumped at the opportunity to help us create a worship service. We thank God for each one of them, and we thank God for the many more friends that He will bring our way!

Are you wondering how our first service went? Would you like to hear the highlights? :)

It was FANTASTIC! We had 70 people in attendance for the first service, and it was a PERFECT day to skip church. The weather was mid-70s, sunny, light breeze, Father's Day, and the U.S. Open was on television. Plus, there are endless ways to have fun in this city on a Sunday afternoon. It was so amazing outside that even I was tempted to skip church! (no, not really)

To have that many people come to the our first service is a great start. We also heard many compliments on the quality of worship that Connection Church NYC provided. Here are a few highlights!

Kyle Herring flew up from Georgia to lead our music. He is believes that God is leading him to NYC to plant Connection Church NYC with us. Larry and I also believe God is leading him to join our team. While it is not official just yet, don't be surprised if we announce a new addition in the next few days! He led us to worship Jesus through song and did an amazing job. He rehearsed with Edson (bass player), Kenny (vocal), and Nick (cajon) on Saturday and they sounded like they'd been together for years on Sunday! The music was amazing.

We had a mission team from Immanuel Baptist Church in Little Rock, AR who helped us in so many ways. Members from their team helped with our projector slides, our kids ministry, greeting, offering, and just about everything you can imagine. They were such a blessing and this was only their first day of work in NYC! We have them all week long.

Several people shared how they loved the worship service and can't wait for the next one to happen in July. And check this out--This was the first worship service in a church for some of our people, too! Isn't that amazing?! This is the first time they ever came to a Christian worship service! Praise GOD! This is why we are here! We want to introduce Jesus to those who don't know Him yet, and see their lives filled with the life, hope, freedom, and joy that comes from God's Holy Spirit living within them! Hallelujah!

Thank you for your prayers and support. If God is leading you to join us by giving financially, then you can give online by clicking- here- and follow the instructions. You can help us reach out into our community even MORE this summer.

We have a lot of work to do this summer to continue gaining favor with the people of Astoria. According to Pastor Paul from Trinity Lutheran Church, which is the church we rent from, there are many people who are asking questions about this new church, Connection Church. Join with us in prayer and support, and let's make sure we stick around for many years and continue to do our part in sharing the gospel with people all over the world.

Remember, when we reach NYC, we reach the world!

Writing Our Story

What a wild ride this has been!

God has provided so much in these first few months. It’s been one year since I wrote Larry and asked him to pray about planting a church in New York City that would reach the world! We celebrated this anniversary by sharing the vision of Connection Church with five churches looking to partner with NYC ministries.

God has provided us with several church partners and many individual partners since our journey began, and he is continuing to write our story of his faithfulness. Our first summer in NYC is just around the corner. Our schedule is filled with mission teams coming to serve with us, and God continues to open doors for ministry. We have found a place to hold our services, had over 100 people come to our Easter Egg Hunt, and have established countless relationships within our community. God is getting ready to change this community for Christ’s sake, and he’s using Connection Church!
 

We want you to partner with us as we continue to follow God’s leading.

The more people we have giving, praying, and serving at this point gives us a holy momentum that the gates of hell cannot withstand. We want you to be part of the story that God is writing in New York. The Bible is filled with stories of the people of God and what they did with what God gave them. Some stories are good, and some are not. Praise God that NOW is the time our stories are being written.

Headed home from church last Sunday in the rain

You can be part of our story, and we can be part of yours. You can give a one-time financial gift to fuel the work God is doing in NYC. You can also give on a monthly basis and become a vital partner of this ministry and receive monthly updates on what God is continuing to do. Some partners give hundreds of dollars a month and some give $25. Every gift allows us to work together to see the world changed for the glory of Jesus, because when we reach New York City, we reach the world!

Blessings to you and glory to God!


Daniel McGhee, Lead Pastor               

*To give online click here or make checks payable to: "Connection Church" and mail to:

Connection Church

c/o Memorial Drive Baptist Church

325 Piney Point Rd

Houston, TX 77024

The Story Continues When...

God is leading us to reach out to our partners and potential partners. We are gaining momentum and continuing to gain favor within our community leading up to the launch of the church in September, but we have much work to be done until then. We have partners that have given financially to get us to NYC and some that continue to give to keep us here. We are now praying for more partners to commit to give to Connection Church during this vital point in the process. Every gift, no matter the size, helps the story of Connection Church continue. If we have 5 churches that gave $500 per month and 25 individuals that gave $100 per month, we would meet our needed budget for the next year. Our budget increases over the next two months because of preview services, outreaches to our neighbors, and the influx of mission teams coming in June, July, and August. 

Pastor Daniel rockin' the Yellow Cab

As a cab driver in NYC, I have the opportunity to hear many interesting stories from the different people who sit behind me each day. Some have moved here to "make it big" in theater, banking, law, or business, and some have come here from other countries to have the freedom to change their family's story from oppression to prosperity. With all of the different testimonies I've heard, there seems to be at least one common thread in all of them: a step of faith. They believed that life was going to be better if they took this leap and "went for it" and that gave them the strength to endure the difficult times. Their stories were written differently because of what they believed.

Connection Church also has a story that is being written right now. We have a vision to see a church started that reaches people who do not know God and spreads the Gospel of Jesus Christ all over NYC and the world. Since moving to NYC, both the McGhees and the Mayberrys have seen God open door after door to continually affirm his leading them to the city. God will finish whatever he starts: Be confident of this very thing, that he who began a good work will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ (Phil 1:6). We believe God has started a work in us, in you, and in NYC.

We have many teams of people that are spending money to come to NYC and help us saturate our neighborhood with God's love, but not everyone can come for a week's worth of work. And to be honest, we don't need everyone to fill that particular role in ministry. Some people have the ministry of giving financially, and God wants to use the resources he has given you for kingdom work.

Can you give to the work of Connection Church in NYC? Can you help write the story of this new work being started in one of the most diverse neighborhoods in the world? Will you be one of the key reasons that the people of NYC come to know the Author of their life, the Author of their story?

Your gifts can be given online at: http://connectionnyc.com/online-giving.htm (Make sure to write "ConnectionNYC" in the memo line)
You can also send a check to: Connection Church NYC
                                                c/o Memorial Drive Baptist Church
                                                325 N. Piney Point Rd.
                                                Houston, TX 77024

Student Missions to NYC on Spring Break

When someone mentions "college students" and "spring break," most people have thoughts of the beach, partying, binge drinking, and a week's pass on sexual morality. But for some college students, spring break is an opportunity to go and serve God by serving other people. The past two weeks have been filled with college students who came to New York City to serve alongside churches and church plants. I'd like to share how one particular team was used by God to open up a big door for Connection Church NYC!

We had students from North Carolina, Alabama, and Georgia come serve with us. One of the adult leaders from Alabama interviewed me on camera while I was driving them in my Yellow Cab to the association office in Manhattan (sounds cool, huh?). He asked me to give encouragement and advice to those who were contemplating going on a mission trip themselves. While I gave a couple of different answers, I believe there was one answer that was the most critical, and I'll share it with you. Dear Mission Teams: Be prepared to do whatever you are asked and whatever you can to help the local church/ministers gain favor in their community.

We had a great experience with our teams, and one of our groups was given the task of sweeping the local playground, cleaning the bathrooms (yes they were nasty), and shoveling the dirt from the places where dirt shouldn't be. If you're not careful, you'll dismiss this kind of work as something "not worth" traveling and spending money to do. But this was a project that needed to be done. As members of our community, we (the local ministers) had eyes to see what would be most beneficial to our community at the time, and these students believed us and cleaned that playground with passion. It just so happened that God opened up a door as a result of their "menial" work.

One of our girl students was sweeping and a lady came up to her and asked, "What are you doing?" She replied, "We're cleaning the playground." This lady asked another question, but she seemed to be almost frustrated as she replied, "WHY are you doing this?!" Our student said, "Um... you can talk to Larry. He's a pastor here and we are here to help their church." So the lady went to Larry to seek out answers to her query.

Larry told her that Connection Church is a new church coming to Astoria and wanted to serve our local community however we could. Well, this lady was certainly surprised. As it turns out, she was far from frustrated with our work. In fact, she was almost in a state of shock. This inquisitive woman was not merely a neighbor of ours either, but she worked for the Queens Parks and Recreation Department! Seriously, I couldn't make this stuff up. She thanked Larry and the group for all their work and asked us to get in touch with her whenever we wanted to use a park for future events. She also set us up with her boss, and we have now contacted him. He also told us that if we ever did anything like this again, please don't spend our money on trash bags and cleaning supplies as they would love to buy those things for us. Is that cool or what?

This summer we would have contacted this department to get permission to access the parks for outreach events and been just another group wanting to use a facility. But now, we have a personal connection that God has given us by his providence. We had NO IDEA we would get any attention for this act of community service. This was not our motivation either. But when we bathe our work in prayer, look for ways to serve people, and give glory to God then God opens doors for us to do more of the same. He increased our favor through these short term missionaries, and this is only one of many connections that God has given us through their work.

Dear Mission Teams: Whether your task seems big or small, just do it with a passion to show your love for God and for people. He will take our works, big or small, and turn them into great movements. Our teams successfully left the mission field knowing that the favor of the local church was increased. That means they were successful in their work. Instead of spending a week's vacation partying on a beach and glorifying themselves, they used that time to invest in the kingdom of God and glorifying the Son of God.

To God be the glory!

God Leads. We Follow!

One major aspect of following someone is that you will change direction when they change direction. As church planters we are firmly grounded in the gospel of Jesus Christ and will never waver on that. But we are also committed to allowing God to change the course of how the gospel manifests in our community, and God has given us a clear word through prayer and counsel from other pastors and  successful church planters in the city to make some timely adjustments.

Originally, we were planning to have our first monthly service on March 4th, but we have changed to May 13th (Mother's Day) instead. There are many factors that led us to make this decision. First, God opened the door for us to use an absolutely AMAZING space for our future worship services. It's a church building that we could not only start in but continue in for a long time. Get this: it costs less than HALF of what we were budgeting! Hallelujah! 

Sweet Pad, huh?

When I first saw this building on the inside, and before I ever knew the price, I could envision Connection Church meeting here. My heart was stirred as the vision of this building being filled with people praising God and hearing the gospel every week. Isn't it a beautiful building? It's within walking distance of our homes, the subway, and a major street (Steinway) in Astoria. We could not have asked for a better location.

Secondly, instead of spending extra money on those two monthly services, we are using that money to get connected with the people of our community. Our desire is for Connection Church to be a church birthed from the community we live in. In order for this to happen, we must be an integral part of our community first.  We are looking for ways to plug into our community and invest our lives into the lives of our neighbors. Waiting until May for our first service is definitely a God initiated change.

God has answered several prayers for us: I received a MacBook for free. Someone anonymously bought our complete sound system for the church. We also had someone buy our printing station. And we have people and churches who continue to support us on a monthly basis by regularly giving offerings to the church. As we look back on all the answered prayers, we see a continuous path of God's provision. Praise him!

Here are some other updates on a more personal note.

Larry and Lindsey had a son on January 26th and have experienced life in a new city, with their newly adopted son Micah (2) and their newly born son Noah. Their sleep patterns have been altered significantly with a new baby, so keep them lifted up in prayer as they continue to adjust to life with baby Noah. Larry is also working to sell commercial energy as a broker, so if you're in a deregulated market and you have a business or church, you need to let him look at your electrical account and see if he can save your business/church money. You save money, and Larry makes money.

I was in Taxi school in January and took his test to become a NYC Yellow Taxi driver. The process took a few weeks and few hundred dollars, but I just finished my first 3 shifts as a driver and have made a little money and met many different people. I've shared my story of faith in Christ, my family, and the church.  And driving in Manhattan traffic keeps me praying ... constantly! :)

Finally, God has reminded us recently of his power to provide for his work, and we are in awe of his love for us, for you, and the world. Being church planters, we are extremely dependent upon other Christians stepping out on faith and sacrificially giving to see this church get off the ground, so we don't take for granted your faith to give of your resources especially during these times when most everyone is tightening their budgets. Whether you are supporting us through prayer, giving, mission trips, or all three, we are thankful to God for you.

I'll finish with one more picture of the church building. We are excited (in case you didn't notice) about this space. It's awesome to experience God making vision become reality. Now... envision with us this place being filled with people who are lifting up the name of Jesus, being built up in Christ, and being equipped to reach the world for the kingdom of God.

Can you see it? :)

Baby Noah is HERE!

We have much to be grateful for at Connection Church NYC, and our most recent praise to God is the arrival of Larry and Lindsey's son, Noah Kaid Mayberry. He was born on January 26th and has been the talk of the church since then! :)

Please pray for Pastor Larry and Lindsey and their two sons, Micah and Noah, as they continue to adjust to their new life in a new city with a new baby and a new job and a new culture and ... well... you get the idea. Noah's arrival has started off this year perfectly. Holding a newborn baby is such a humbling, exhilarating, wonderful, emotional and amazing experience for a mom and dad.

It is a reminder of God's power to give life as we see this new person breathe their first breath. It is a reminder of our dependency on God, as we experience how dependent this little child is for everything. It's a reminder of God's grace, as He cleans us and feeds us and nurtures us even though we don't do anything to earn it... God wants to provide for us, to love us, to sustain us, and to trust him.

I'm thankful that God makes the first move toward us. He comes to us when we are unable to help ourselves, and He cleans us, feeds us, and nurtures us. Baby Noah reminds me of God's grace. I am thankful that God sought me out and gave me new life in Christ. I am also glad that He has sought you too. He is reaching out to all people through His Son, Jesus. My hope is that you have trusted your life to the only One who can bring you eternal life.

Now look at these cheeks and smile!

That is a handsome reminder of God's grace! Seriously... if you can look at those chubby cheeks and not smile, then we need to talk. Rejoice in the Lord always... :)

I Project More Answered Prayers

Our heavenly Father is a God of "turn arounds" and "provision." These were two of the many wonderful reminders I heard from the Pastor of City Light church this morning. He spoke of how God worked in their past to pave the way for their church to continue ministering in NYC and around the world. There were several connections from his story and ours of God's faithfulness.

Connection Church NYC has already had many partners step out on faith with us. We have churches and individuals who have given of their resources to see our vision become a reality. Stepping out on faith is hard as it requires stepping out and taking action BEFORE you know the results! But there is nothing more amazing than seeing God come through time and time again.

Earlier this week we recorded a video (soon to be posted) that outlined some new needs our church has before our first service on March 4th. Little did we know that God would answer one of those needs BEFORE anyone ever saw the video!

After our morning worship, Larry and I walked up to the Pastor and shared with him how God really spoke to us during the message. We also wanted to follow up with him and get together during the week as we had previously discussed. We were talking about these things and he asked, "Do you have speakers, equipment, or projectors yet?" We said, "No. We need all of those things." He said, "We just bought a new projector, and you can have our old one if you like. It's the one we've been using here." (WOW!) Just like that... a $700+ projector for Connection Church!

Is this church the same denomination as us? No
Is this church one that has strong relational ties with us from personal connections? No
Is this church rich with tons of money just sitting around? No

This church loves Jesus and wants to help make Him famous! Praise God for people whose hearts have been broken and healed by the gospel. They desire to worship the Lord and exalt Him whenever they can. This is a kingdom minded church body, and we are pleased to be "partners" with them in our city.

Here are some current needs. We still have needs for sound equipment (microphones and speakers and sound board), we need a projector screen, money for promotional materials and advertisements for our first service, as well as people to lead the music for the first service. It's not a matter of "if" we get what we need, it's a matter of "when" God provides it. He always gives us what we need to do what He calls us to do.

I "project" more answered prayers are coming!

Only Two Chairs

Sometimes God works in our lives by giving us a desire and then limiting our choices. Tonight I am at rehearsal with my oldest two daughters and am trying to redeem the two hours of waiting but there's just not much to do. I brought a book to read, "Preaching God's Word," to sharpen my preaching skills (or develop them). As I began to look for a nice chair to sit in I found the only chair on the floor was connected to another chair. In that other chair was a Muslim man praying to his god and facing the east. What was my initial reaction, you ask? I thought, "Why did those crazy chair manufacturers have to join those chairs?" :)

Then I realized the irony of what was about to happen if I wanted to make the most of my time. I was about to sit next to a man praying to a god I don't believe in, and then read a book on how to effectively communicate to people the message of the God who wrote a book (the Bible) that this man doesn't believe in. Would I sit down next to him and study for my God's glory as he prayed for his God's glory?

I decided to sit down. Was it awkward? Yes. At first it was. Then I realized that he was not offended by my presence. I wasn't offended by his either. He wasn't pushing his faith onto me. Nor was I pushing mine on him. And there we sat, together yet separate, in those two chairs with each man praying to his own God.

There is a spiritual battle in this world that often goes unseen. This battle is for the souls of men and women and children. In essence, I see the battle represented by two choices, or two chairs if you will. We can either choose to glorify and worship God, or we can choose to glorify and worship ourselves.

Pray for this man in the other chair. Pray for me in my chair. Pray for the truth of God to be revealed on earth as it is in heaven. God has shown himself faithful, powerful, and loving through the death and resurrection of his Son. Jesus is the Messiah we have been waiting for. Let's engage our Lord and seek his Spirit to empower us and bring good news to people of all nations.

This Muslim man was praying to satisfy a wrathful god. But God's wrath is already satisfied through Jesus. This man also believes that no one can truly know if they are going to heaven, so he does not have the peace of knowing his sins are forgiven.  But this man can have life and peace and forgiveness when he embraces Jesus as his Redeemer.

Pray earnestly.

P.S. I did have the opportunity to speak to this man about my faith, and I also listened to him speak of his faith. While this man didn't have a divine moment of repentance and faith in Jesus Christ, it's very encouraging to know that these conversations of who Christ is CAN happen. I pray God will open more doors of opportunity to sit down and share the testimony of Jesus Christ.