The end is near

The summer is coming to an end. We had our last mission team with us this week from Plainview, IN. They are a great team, and have done a great job serving the city of New York. It's kind of neat that they have a diversity of ages from 20's to 60's!
Tomorrow is Forefront's first time in the new space at the Blender Theater. We had a "run-through" of all the setup on Thursday night, so that on Sunday it's not total chaos. There's a lot to do - set up all the chairs, the stage, communion tables, welcome stuff, coffee and bagels, all the kidstuf and nursery, and signs - to name a few. I'm pretty excited. We had 250 last week (a record I believe) and we're hoping that the momentum will continue into the move.
It's really starting to get to me that I'll be living in New York after the internship is over. A few days ago, Tim found a dresser on the sidewalk that was destined for the dumpster. It only has some minor things wrong with it, most of which can be fixed. And it matches the wooden wardrobe that Tim has let me use. (Yes, they're both Ikea)! It's exciting, but the only thing is that I still need to find enough work while I'm here. And of course, we're on the apartment hunt.
Moving to New York also makes me think about other things. I feel lonely sometimes. I really feel it as school is starting soon. College seems almost like a dream sometimes. I'm far from home and will have to continue to build relationships. But Jesus never said that following him would be easy or that everything would go my way! I know that what he has planned is best.
Thanks everybody for all your prayers.

Everyone needs to laugh sometimes

Feel'n "down"? Just watch this video!

Forefront Church Setup Video

Here's a video that the church made a while ago to encourage people to get involved. It makes me really excited when I watch it. Anyway, it's a snapshot of what happens before services every Sunday.

Forefront Church

Some of you may be wondering, "so what's church like there?" We start out each Sunday morning with coffee and bagels (I used to not like bagels, but New York bagels are the best in the world I'm told). There's also orange juice for all the non-coffee drinkers out there with me. Whenever the band starts playing, people start to go in the auditorium. I don't think that most Christians I know would be thrown for a loop by our service. It isn't crazy progressive or anything. We are definitely externally focused, communicating with relevance and without the "Christian-ease." Here's some pics of what the stage and service looks like.


(That's Jacob, the community outreach pastor, giving announcements!)

MMMmmm...coffee and bagels...and orange juice

So what are you doing after the internship?

This is the question I'm often asked. It's a bit reminiscent of "what are you doing after you graduate?" that I hated not too many months ago. Up until the past week the only answer I've given anyone is "I don't know...I'm looking for a ministry somewhere...I might go home for a while until I find something." Then I had a conversation with my roommate (shout-out to Tim for giving me a wonderful place to live for the summer!!!). He said something both obvious, but also pretty profound. He told me that since I'm already here and I have a heart for church planting in the northeast, why don't I just get a job, stay a little longer, and see where God will lead me. I mean, I'm already here. And coming from Tim it was even more powerful. Tim is one of the original people from the launch team that started Forefront Church. Right after graduating college, he followed God's call to move from Indiana to New York to help start a new church. His friends thought he was crazy, but he followed God's call.
So, I'm seriously considering staying in the city for like, 6 months or so after the internship is over on August 6. I'd have to get a job. I'd need to find a place to live (which might be with Tim). It would be quite an adjustment. It would also be super exciting! New York really is a great place to live and I have fallen in love with it. I highly recommend experiencing it sometime in your life. Maybe next summer your church could partner with Forefront by sending a team to serve the city.
Would you please pray that I would have wisdom as I decide whether to stay and what will go into all that (job, housing, etc.). You can also just pray for my future in general; where God will use me in a more full-time capacity (if that's what He wants). Thank you so much for all of your prayers. I truly do not realize how insignificant, but blessed that I am by all of you, my prayer supporters. Thank you!

Friends and Family Week - August 1-5, 07

So us three interns were looking at our calendar for the summer and realized that our last week at Forefront, we don't have a missions team coming in. So as you may guess, we decided to have a week where we do all the service projects with our family and friends who want to come and serve New York (see "What am I doing this summer?" post). If you're interested, let me know. Free housing may be available too. The suggested donation for supplies is $150. This would be an awesome way to finish up the summer. You'll be able to serve the people of New York as well as see some sights. Pray about it and let me know asap. Thanks!

Hermon

So today, we were working with the youth group team from Tri-Village Church in Columbus, OH. We had them make PB&J sandwiches and then go around and give them to the homeless. We encouraged them to talk with them as well. I see at least 5-10 homeless people every day, if not many more. I don't really count. Whether it was the loss of a job, a drug addiction, divorce, or something else, many people have lost hope and live as homeless, thinking that they can never recover. So they ask for money on the streets. They really are everywhere, so New Yorkers quickly learn to ignore them as best they can. They don't get looked at in the face, listened to, hugged, touched. They get used to being seen as insignificant. It reminds me of when the leper ran up to Jesus in Matthew 8. He was an outcast, untouchable, freak of society. But Jesus came close to him, looked him in the eye, and went so far as to touch him. And Jesus healed him. This morning we didn't want to just hand out sandwiches, but to help restore dignity to the homeless. They are people created in God's image too. They are loved by him too. God sent his Son to die for them too.
As the team from Tri-Village spend time with the homeless, I decided it would probably be good to practice what I preached. There was a man sitting at a picnic table close to where we were meeting, and he had been there for quite a long time - obviously he had no where to go. So I offered him a sandwich that we were giving away, and we had a nice conversation. He grew up in NYC, in Brooklyn. We talked about how apartment rent keeps going up. We talked about cars, and how no really needs them in NYC. His name is Hermon. He's in a program where he's staying in a shelter and recovering from a drug addiction. It sounds like things were going well for him. He even got one of the free newspapers that the previous team handed out two weeks ago!
Tomorrow, we are going to be feeding the homeless breakfast at "Father's Heart," a local soup kitchen. I invited Hermon, and I hope he can make it. I pray that Hermon will know that he is greatly loved by God. Are there any homeless people around where you live. I bet there are. They may not be asking for money on the streets like in NYC, but you will always have the poor with you. Help restore the dignity to those who have fallen on hard times by sharing a conversation, and even your possessions (Acts 4:32, 34).