NYC Update #3 [PHOTOS]
30 September, 2010
"The story thus far..."
Here at Hillsong NYC, we have made a conscious decision to enjoy the journey. No doubt we are a vision-casting church, always believing that “The best is yet to come”…but I do think that often we get so caught up in the perceived “destination” that we can lose sight of that fact that perhaps, maybe the actual journey is equally as special and impacting. Often people remember the road trip TO the vacation more than the actual vacation…
I can remember as a kid, piling into a car with my three sisters, various dogs, and my parents and going somewhere. I can’t remember any of the destinations as clearly as I can the rides to get there… the fights with my sisters, the rest stops, the mentally torturous Christian music of the mid-90’s that my generation suffered through that was played on EVERY family trip that somehow, we all secretly still love...
So with that in mind, our team here in New York City is not rushing. We are not striving. We are not worried about people who want to enjoy the “finished product” but want no part of the construction of the dream... We are going to watch and smile and thank God everyday for this roller-coaster ride commonly known as ‘planting a church’...
Here is where we are at currently:
We had planned on simply doing connect groups for a few months with the hopes of starting regular services in 2011. But, due to the grace of Jesus, we had to move out of houses because in NYC most living spaces are the size of most suburban people’s closet. So, we decided on doing what we are calling “5 Nights of FOCUS” leading up to our HILLSONG NYC Encounter Night, with our Senior Pastors Brian and Bobbie and various key parts of our Hillsong global family. On these 5 nights we are highlighting our core values as a church and worshipping together… and that’s it! Nothing fancy; not “proper services.” Suffice it to say, our first two have been powerful. We didn’t intentionally set out to have big, max-capacity meetings with people giving their lives to Jesus. But we have intentionally chosen to allow the Holy Spirit to drive this car and that’s where we are.
Over these past two weeks, we have seen over 60 people answer a call to repent and follow Jesus. We have seen over 300 people sign up and commit to being on a volunteer team. We have had many conversations with venue operators who come up and say things like “I didn’t expect this. Ya’ll do some crazy S*&%, but I like it. Can I come back if you guys move to a different venue?” It’s really fun to watch and hear (to say the least)!
We are fully aware that time will tell what our core looks like, who’s “really with us”, you know, all the things people say that are weirdly negative but laced with spiritual lingo in the hopes we wont notice!! But again, we are where we are.
Joel and I made a decision early on to transparently document this journey, because often endeavors like this are portrayed either too glamorous or too depressing/ impossible/ discouraging. And, the truth is, it’s probably somewhere in the middle!!!
We are going to take it as it comes… That’s what we signed up for... Numbers are numbers. They ebb and flow. We are not gauging our fruitfulness on the amount of people we “have or don’t have.” If that’s the indicator, all these magnificent, courageous underground churches in countries like China, some of 20, some of 200, are miserable failures… we all know that’s insane logic. Our job isn’t to produce numbers, it’s to love people and talk about Jesus every chance we get. The result of that may be large numbers, but we will know our true fruit only when Jesus talks to us about it in Heaven... so, until then, we are just going to stay busy loving God and loving people.
So, the question is, will our church look different in 4 months? How about a year from now? Of course! Yes, we plan on having a full-scale, incredible children’s ministry. Yes, we plan on having small, discussion-oriented, discipleship-focused cell groups where you can actually get to know people on a personal level. Yes, we plan on having a follow-up plan for people who make the brave leap into a relationship with Jesus. Yes, we plan on baptizing people in water after that decision...(by the way, when you hear WHERE we are going to do that, you will laugh out loud and go “those guys are nuts.”) Yes, we plan on literally attacking this city with servant hood and calculated efforts to serve people wherever they are. Probably YES to a lot of the questions we field here on a daily basis. We are so excited about the future, but our humble request of the people who have so graciously committed to this church in these early days and to those who are on the edge of the pool thinking about jumping in: PLEASE -enjoy the ride! We will get there! God’s plan always unfolds with impeccable, unpredictable, perfect timing… but, what a shame it would be if you got to the end, and realized you COULD HAVE HAD MORE FUN. More memories. More tears. More lessons learned. I think it’s best to take Hillsong NYC for what it is - A brand new church, running fast, with big dreams for the future and feet firmly planted in the present.
We are honored so many people have shown such interest in us and we are thankful for your prayers. Please don’t stop…It’s the fuel to our fire.
“Spread love, it’s the BROOKLYN way.” –Notorious BIG.
Carl, Laura, Joel Houston and the NYC team….
For more information on Hillsong New York City please visit hillsongnyc.com or email nyc@hillsong.com
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