A Year in NYC

My dad always used to tell me that when I got older that time would go faster and faster as the years went by. When you’re 15 eager to get done with High School, which you just started, you can’t fathom the idea that things could go faster because at that moment in life things are EXTREMELY slow. Now 10 years later I am realizing just how true his statement is. One year ago this month I made the biggest move of my life. I moved to New York City to help with a church plant. With such a noble reason for moving here you’d think that blessings would be falling from heaven at every turn. That I would have a job making millions and have all the time in the world to completely invest in the lives of those around me. Well blessings have been falling from heaven like crazy, they just need a little time to mature.

I got a job the week I moved to NYC in one of the roughest financial environments in history. God provided. I was able to find sublets to prepare for Kara to move out. Again God provided. I have been developing some really great relationships with the people in our church. God has provided all the things that anyone coming out of Master’s Commission could hope for. As you can probably tell by how things traditionally go the tone is about to change a little, or quite a bit depending on how you look at it. It is said that no victory in heaven will go un-challenged from hell. I have come to believe this more than ever in this year living in what at times feels like God’s forgotten land. Financial strains have come and gone and come again. Relationship strife has come and gone and come and gone more times than I can count. I have felt the farthest and the closest to God all at the same time. I have seen God in places where many have feared to bring Him.

Through all the struggles and through all the pain there is one thing that rings true. God HAS NOT forgotten this city. God HAS NOT forgotten His promises to those that have prayed and wept over these streets and these people. New York City has become to me what Rome, Athens, Corinth, etc… were to Paul. I will bring the message of Christ to these people. In this city where people are more apt to believe that a mystical fairy brought everyone from another planet, than to believe that the one true God of the universe cares for them and died in their place so they may be redeemed and made new. My heart has grown soft for a city that prides itself on requiring thick skin to survive in. A little vulnerability in this place goes farther than I’ve ever seen.

I have truly come to know God on a different level since moving here. I know where He is still hurting. I know who people think He is, and who the feel He is not. I’ve seen the Church put on so many belief systems, it’s no wonder people don’t know what to believe about who Jesus truly is. This has truly been an amazing journey and I can’t wait to see what God does in this place through our church and ultimately His Church in this city.