NYC Newsletter #9

Greetings from NYC, where it was a balmy 63 degrees today!  We have had an exciting first month here in NYC and wanted to try to share a few of the things that God has been doing over our short time here: First, as many of you are already aware, we recently found out that we are expecting our first child!  We are so thankful that the Lord has heard our prayers.  Please pray for Traci as she deals with the physical adjustment to carrying a child as well as the adjustment to life here in NYC.  Pray that the Lord would prepare us to raise this child well for His glory. I have been meeting with and learning from pastors and church planters from all over NYC.  It is absolutely amazing to see what God is doing in this city.  This past Friday evening, we gathered together with over 700 other believers in Manhattan to unite our hearts and voices in worship and to cry out for God's Kingdom to come in New York as it is in heaven.  It was pretty astounding to see hundreds of New Yorkers, many of them in the 20's and 30's, devoting a Friday evening to turn away from the fool's gold that is offered them in this city to seek the immeasurable treasure that is Christ Himself.  One of the other pastors who planned the event captured a shot of us all joining hands in prayer at the end of the night: To follow up on this last point, I am tremendously grateful for the other pastors that I have met here in the city.  I meet with a group of pastors and church leaders to pray every Wednesday at noon.  I have never seen such Kingdom-minded unity and lack of territorialism in all my life.  Please pray for these brothers and the ministries that they lead.  Pray that God would advance the gospel through them and pray that we would continue to be united around that gospel. Specifically, we would ask you to pray that the churches of NYC would have places to meet.  There are over 60 churches presently meeting in public schools in NYC.  If a current court ruling is permitted to stand, all of these churches will be evicted from their meeting spaces on February 12.  Some of these churches have found other meeting spaces, but I talked to a couple of pastors today who are still looking for space.  This is a lengthy discussion that I will probably write more about at another time  However, I would commend to you this article written by my friend John Starke, who pastors All Souls Church on the Upper West Side.  As you pray, pray with confidence, remembering that Jesus Christ has promised to build his church and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it (Mt. 16:18). How can you pray specifically for us over the next month? We continue to feel more and more in need of God's grace each and every day.  And yet, we are confident that our God is All-Powerful, and All-Wise, and All-Good.  Here are some ways that you can pray for us this month: Pray that we continue to develop deep, meaningful relationships with our neighbors.  We continue to meet people in our immediate neighborhood and in the broader community, but we are asking God to give us deeper friendships with people.  Pray that God would give us opportunities to display and declare the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Pray also that we would be faithful to live the kind of lives that cause people to ask a reason for the hope that is within us (1 Pet. 3:15). Pray that we would continue to develop relationships...and possibly partnerships...with other churches and church planters in NYC.  As I mentioned above, one of the things that we love about NYC is the ethos of unity and Kingdom-mindedness that pervades the gospel-preaching churches in this city.  Pray that God would create more and more opportunities for us to work with these other churches for the advancement of the gospel. Pray for "persons of peace."  In Luke 10, Jesus sends his disciples out to proclaim the Kingdom of God.  If a "son of peace" received them, they were to stay and invest in that person, but if not, they were to move on (Lk. 10:6-7).  When Paul proclaimed the gospel in Philippi (Acts 16), we find that the the Holy Spirit led him to both a "daughter of peace" (Lydia) and a "son of peace" (the Philippian jailer).  Both Lydia and the jailer not only became converts, but immediately used their networks of relationships to spread the gospel to others.  Likewise, we are asking the Lord to lead us to men and women of peace, to "open their hearts" to the gospel (Acts 16:14), to use us to invest in them, and to send them out into their spheres of influence for the advancement of the gospel. Pray for a core team.  Most church planters will tell you that a "parachute plant"--going into an area and attempting to plant by yourself is REALLY difficult.  We are beginning to realize why they say that.  The harvest here in Astoria is plentiful, but the laborers are few.  So, please pray that the Lord of the harvest sends laborers into His harvest (Mt. 9:37-38).  Pray specifically for those who believe that God is calling them to join us here, but who are still looking for jobs.  Pray that the Lord would provide the resources for them to relocate to Astoria.  Pray also that the Lord would raise up other believers from churches around the country and from here in NYC to join us to take the gospel to this largely un-churched neighborhood. In addition, please remember to pray for these ongoing requests: Pray for our personal holiness and faithfulness to the gospel Pray that we would have wisdom to know how to lead well   Pray that God might open door for the gospel and that we might proclaim it boldly, as we ought (Col. 4:2-4) Pray that God would provide the necessary financial resources for our ministry expenses Some of you have already given generously, and others have asked about how you can partner with us financially. Currently, our sending church, The Church at Brook Hills, is handling all financial donations.  If God is leading you to give, you can do so by mailing your tax-deductible gift to:             The Church at Brook Hills             Attn: Jean Adams             3145 Brook Highland Parkway             Birmingham, AL 35242 Please make checks payable to The Church at Brook Hillsand designate your gifts by writing “Northeast Church Plant” in the memo line.  If you would like to see our prospective budget, please contact us. Thank you for taking the time to read this e-mail.  We cannot express to you how valuable your prayers are to us. Blessings in Christ, josh and traci "Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, now and forever. Amen" (Eph. 3:20-21)