FCP 2

Last weekend, the Foundations for Church Planting class came for their second trip to NYC. It was a great weekend. They came in Friday night (Nov. 30). We started by going to see the tree at Rockefeller Center (actually, it wasn't as big as I thought it would be).The next morning we got to hear from one of the staff members at Church of Park Slope here in Brooklyn. We were also joined by two great guys from Southeast CC in Louisville, KT. One is a big supporter of what Ozark is doing in bringing students to the city, and the other is a guy who grew up at Southeast and is now planning to plant a church in the northeast. I didn't know this before, but Southeast has a great heart for the northeast!
Next, we headed up to Queens to the neighborhood of Jackson Heights. An Indian church plant is scheduled for this area since it's the location of "little India." But we quickly found out that this area is the most diverse place in NYC! In just a few blocks, you could see Indians, Koreans, Colombians, Argentines, Thai, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Mexican, Korean, Filipino, Chinese, European American, Guatemalan, and Americans! That's a lot! All crammed into a small space. In many ways, NYC can be an cross-cultural mission ground! So, the students participated in a prayer walk for the nations in this diverse place. (I also got to try some Indian food for the first time. Wow. I had no idea what I was eating, and it looked really weird. I ate it, but I must say that it wasn't that great.)
After listening to a few more church planters, we had some free time for the night. Dave and I went with a group to the Rockefeller Center to the "Top of the Rock." At 70 stories up, we had a breathtaking view of the city. Now I don't know about you, but I think seeing the city like this is truly beautiful.
On Sunday morning we got to worship at two great churches. First at Redeemer Presbyterian Church with the traditional liturgy and preaching by Tim Keller, and second at Forefront Church with a band (where I go). It was nice to participate in some great liturgy with hundreds of people for a change.
After church, we got to hear from a guy doing some overseas mission work in NYC. That's right "overseas." Actually, he's working to reach the Albanian people. There are actually more Albanian people living in the US than live in Albania. He brought up the great point that sometimes we could use our resources better by supporting missions in the urban centers of the out own country rather than send people to other countries. Plus, when American missionaries "retire" and come back to America, they can be great resources for reaching the nations here! Great stuff.
As NYC continues to grow, most of the growth is non-Anglo, which means that if we want to reach the city we'll have to plant all kinds of churches speaking all kinds of languages and worshiping in all kinds of ways. There are so many possibilities to reach not just Americans, but truly the entire world through this one influential city. OK, less preaching. Last we got to hear from Paul Williams, the head of The Orchard Group. That night we got to eat at a great Italian place in Little Italy.
On Monday we heard from one of the church planting staff members at Redeemer Presbyterian. They are making a big impact in the city, by supporting and training church planters no matter what denomination they come from. They're doing great stuff. Last, we heard from the director of the local office of the "Jews for Jesus." Did you know that there are more Jews in America (5 mil.) than in Israel today (4 mil.) (though that's quickly changing). Of the 5 million, 2 million live in the NYC area and 1 million in the city. Now with 8 million people in the city, chances are that one our of every ten people you see is Jewish! When we plant churches, we've got be aware of what kinds of people are around us.
Once again, it was a great weekend with the class from Ozark. I am sooo glad that I'm able to be a part of it. If I was still at Ozark, I would take this class in a heartbeat. While there are many uncertain things in my life right now, I am certain that God has used me to be a part of shaping Ozark students for leadership in His kingdom this semester. Thank you to everyone who has supported me and prayed for me. Thanks guys!