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? :)