We thank the Lord for all those who joined us in our recent Prayer Meeting at our Lake home. It was truly a blessed time! We were joined by about 45 people who spent time together, enjoying good food, fellowship and fun on the water- and then had a rich worship and prayer time. The topic of this week's session was WHERE. Sue and I have been praying and seeking the Lord about this question for the past 7 months now...we believe that the Lord is confirming in our hearts that we seek to plant a church in Morristown. We have researched, prayed, talked with various people, visited various communities. These are the factors that have led us to focus more on Morristown:
-It is outside of the 12 mile radius that was given to us from the May 11th meeting at Hillside
-Because of my involvement in the "Concerts of Prayer" movement in NYC, our hearts are being drawn back toward New York City. Therefore, our hearts are being drawn east rather than west.
-Morristown is the county seat, and a place of major influence and opportunity for our entire county
-There are over 100,000 people within a 5 mile radius of the town center ("The Green")
-There is more ethnic diversity in this town than many other towns in Morris County
-Morristown also has a long influential history, dating back to the time of the revolutionary period of our nation. George Washington's headquarters were in Morristown during the major turning point of the Revolutionary War (Winters of 1777 and 1779-1780).
-Although there are many churches in the town of Morristown (about 30), there is a significant need for a vibrant evangelical church in the town of Morristown at this time. Other mission churches have met the challenge in that area as well-but, only a few.
-Morristown is a small city, rather than a large town, and thus is more likely to accept a ministry that is more "progressive" (a "church without walls?").
-Morristown has a number of vital ministries that impact the entire county, including Market St. Mission, First Choice Women's center, a branch of Habitat for Humanity, Salvation Army, Prison Ministries, etc. These ministries provide opportunities for service for people from our church to be involved in.
-We are engaged in discussions with the General Manager of "Clearview Cinemas" about meeting in the Clearview Cinema in Headquarters plaza for worship (please pray about this!). This setting is well-know to people throughout the town and throughout the county.
-We have met a pastor and his wife, David and June Griffith (they were at our last prayer gathering), who have expressed interest in our church planting efforts. David had resigned from his parish ministry in New Brunswick over a month ago, before he even knew that we were in prayer about our church plant. He felt a strong leading from the Lord to be involved in some way in church planting in the town in which he grew up, Morristown. I liken David to the "man in Macedonia" in Acts 16:6-10, who called upon Paul to "come on over and help us". He also has a network of people who have indicated interest in our church planting efforts.
Pray that the Lord would confirm HIS plans for us. We are always willing to be moved and corrected, but the strong leading that we feel seems to be genuinely from the Lord to move into Morristown.
Thursday, July 27, 2006
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
Brooklyn Tabernacle
Sue & I want to thank God for our experience in worship at the well-known inner city church, Brooklyn Tabernacle. This vital church is not only known for its choir (The Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir), but especially for its commitment to prayer as the foundation for this entire ministry. The pastor's (Jim Cymbala's) book, "Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire" outlines this strategy and emphasis. Sue and I felt that we were ministered to in a very real way. During the service, we heard from two missionaries. One woman and her husband were ministering to both Israelis and Palestinians in northern Israel. Many of the believers there- both Jewish and Arab- had to meet in secret, since their lives were in danger because of their conversion to Christianity. Then, another pastor spoke about his work among the poor in Peru- literally reaching millions of people through medical missions. Boy, did we feel like wimps whenever we talk about how we have "suffered" for the gospel in the US. We haven't felt 1/10th of the pressure that these people felt every day. But, the Lord is with them, and blessing their ministry in these critical days. Then, during the prayer time, the church dedicated the work of over 120 volunteers who were preparing to work this week at a summer day camp for abused and neglected inner city kids! Pray that their efforts will be a success. There were two altar calls during the morning worship service- one even before the message was preached! The place was "electric" with the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, so that dozens of people (including Sue and me) went forward just as an act of submission to the Lord, and an appeal to Him for His will and purpose for our lives to be lived out in us. The message that was shared was on the Holy Spirit, and although it was a basic message from passages of scripture that we were familiar with, yet there was an anointing on the message that made it very real and very personal for us. When Pastor Cymbala called people forward for a second time that day- this time, "for those who feel called to a new and very different type of ministry", we jumped out of our seats and went forward, and dedicated ourselves again to be used whenever and wherever the Lord wanted us. The atmosphere of prayer, and the sweetness of the presence of the Holy Spirit made this vital church one of the most exciting inner-city churches we have visited.
Some of you had expressed that you wanted to attend the prayer meeting at Brooklyn Tabernacle- please send an e-mail back to me if you would like to join us. We will probably go on a Tuesday evening (the prayer meeting begins at 7:00PM) in September or October. Come and join us, if you can, and prepare to be blessed.
Some of you had expressed that you wanted to attend the prayer meeting at Brooklyn Tabernacle- please send an e-mail back to me if you would like to join us. We will probably go on a Tuesday evening (the prayer meeting begins at 7:00PM) in September or October. Come and join us, if you can, and prepare to be blessed.
Times Square Church- 7-09-06
Website-www.timessquarechurch.org
On Sunday, July 9th, we attended Times Square Church in NYC. What a powerful worship experience! From start to finish, it was impressive. The church is on 51st & 6th Ave in NYC. It is a converted theater, and an annex building right next to the theater, for children's ministries, small groups, offices, etc. The first area that you enter is a large lobby area- a place in which you can get further information, other assistance before the worship service. As you enter into the worship (theater) area, you are impressed with the quality of the decoration and the artwork. It seats about 2,000 people, and it was packed. The first people you meet are the Ushers and Greeters. They wear clearly marked yellow jackets, and they are active throughout the service, greeting people, seating people, AND, keeping the congregation quiet (I discovered as I was one of the talkative ones who was "shushed"!) so that people could come forward for prayer before the service. They carried large signs- "PLEASE KEEP QUIET SO THAT PEOPLE CAN PRAY", and carried them up and down the aisles. People were praying in their seats, they came forward for prayer, they stood, they knelt, they raised their hands, they walked around. When the pastors came out on the stage, they walked the stage and prayed over different parts of the stage area where people would take part in the worship service. I also noticed a prayer gathering underneath the sanctuary, praying for God's anointing on the pastor and worship leaders. You got a feeling of expectation as you realized that this church was "covered" in prayer. Then, the curtain was shut, and the choir and worship team took their places, and when the curtain arose, worship began with great enthusiasm. The entire worship experience was seamless, meaningful, enthusiastic, at times meditative. It had some Messianic Jewish flavor, some Black Gospel flavor, some Latino flavor, some European flavor. The choir, worship leaders and pastoral staff were ethnically diverse (as was the congregation), and the worship matched this diversity. There was a mix of newer choruses, older choruses, hymns sung and performed beautifully, with lots of power. The worship portion lasted almost an hour, but I don't think anyone was looking at their watches. Sue and I found ourselves caught up at times with various emotions- joy, excitement, awe, quietness, tears. We were "prepared" in worship to enter into the "inner sanctuary" with the Lord. The Pastor's message was inspiring and powerful. We heard stories about the church being involved in Ireland and England, as well as Borundi and other parts of Africa. This was genuinely a "world church". The message was on the book of Revelation, and the statement of Jesus in Revelation 1:19- "Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later." or as another translation states it, "...what must take place..." There are things that the Lord has promised that He will do, things that must take place. There is a kingdom that is coming, and it must come. All that we need to do is to believe it, and get on board with what the Lord is doing for His kingdom- or, we may miss it entirely! After the service, there was an altar call, and dozens of people went forward for prayer. The Lord is blessing the Times Square area- even the entire city- through this church!
On Sunday, July 9th, we attended Times Square Church in NYC. What a powerful worship experience! From start to finish, it was impressive. The church is on 51st & 6th Ave in NYC. It is a converted theater, and an annex building right next to the theater, for children's ministries, small groups, offices, etc. The first area that you enter is a large lobby area- a place in which you can get further information, other assistance before the worship service. As you enter into the worship (theater) area, you are impressed with the quality of the decoration and the artwork. It seats about 2,000 people, and it was packed. The first people you meet are the Ushers and Greeters. They wear clearly marked yellow jackets, and they are active throughout the service, greeting people, seating people, AND, keeping the congregation quiet (I discovered as I was one of the talkative ones who was "shushed"!) so that people could come forward for prayer before the service. They carried large signs- "PLEASE KEEP QUIET SO THAT PEOPLE CAN PRAY", and carried them up and down the aisles. People were praying in their seats, they came forward for prayer, they stood, they knelt, they raised their hands, they walked around. When the pastors came out on the stage, they walked the stage and prayed over different parts of the stage area where people would take part in the worship service. I also noticed a prayer gathering underneath the sanctuary, praying for God's anointing on the pastor and worship leaders. You got a feeling of expectation as you realized that this church was "covered" in prayer. Then, the curtain was shut, and the choir and worship team took their places, and when the curtain arose, worship began with great enthusiasm. The entire worship experience was seamless, meaningful, enthusiastic, at times meditative. It had some Messianic Jewish flavor, some Black Gospel flavor, some Latino flavor, some European flavor. The choir, worship leaders and pastoral staff were ethnically diverse (as was the congregation), and the worship matched this diversity. There was a mix of newer choruses, older choruses, hymns sung and performed beautifully, with lots of power. The worship portion lasted almost an hour, but I don't think anyone was looking at their watches. Sue and I found ourselves caught up at times with various emotions- joy, excitement, awe, quietness, tears. We were "prepared" in worship to enter into the "inner sanctuary" with the Lord. The Pastor's message was inspiring and powerful. We heard stories about the church being involved in Ireland and England, as well as Borundi and other parts of Africa. This was genuinely a "world church". The message was on the book of Revelation, and the statement of Jesus in Revelation 1:19- "Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later." or as another translation states it, "...what must take place..." There are things that the Lord has promised that He will do, things that must take place. There is a kingdom that is coming, and it must come. All that we need to do is to believe it, and get on board with what the Lord is doing for His kingdom- or, we may miss it entirely! After the service, there was an altar call, and dozens of people went forward for prayer. The Lord is blessing the Times Square area- even the entire city- through this church!
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