UPDATE Sunday, July 1

Sunday:

Morning…

Due to the fact that our meeting place was being used for church service this morning, we traveled to Manhattan Bible Church in Inwood (extreme North Manhattan). It was a 45 minute Subway ride. It was exciting to see the ministry of the church that hosts this event. Tom and Vicki Mahairas took some time to share their testimonies with us. It is a powerful story of two transformed lives that have had a significant impact for the kingdom. We were all hit by the fact that three very ordinary people with simple testimonies played a significant role in the salvation of two drugged out, far from God, rebellious teenagers. The beauty of their story was that it helped us see how we could have the same impact on the people we would be interacting with during the day.

Afternoon:

We spent our afternoon at Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village. This park is known for it’s art, activism, and street performers. The place has tons of personality.

We challenged the students on this day to make it a priority to just get to know people. If they found a clear open door to talk about Christ, go for it. But the biggest priority was to simply initiate a conversation, get to know people, and LISTEN.

The team knocked it out of the park. Many great connections and conversations happened. A couple of students were actually able to pray with some people.

Evening:

This evening, they allowed us to attend a church service in the area. We were going to try to go to the evening services at Brooklyn Tabernacle, but the do not have their evening services in the Summer. Instead, we went Journey church, which meets in a theater about 3 blocks from our hotel. Their evening service is actually a “video venue” so we kind of felt like we were in the Connection. It was a great opportunity for our students to see a New York City service that was very “cutting edge” and “relevant,” yet clearly and unashamedly presented the message of Christ.

Night:

We spent some time as a team debriefing the day. God is clearly stretching, challenging, and using our students. God is up to some great things.

The team is currently in a training session.

Pray for the team today from noon to 4:00 pm as they will be doing ministry at the New York City Library/Bryant Park. Half the team will be at a Prayer Station (a spot where people can simply come to receive prayer) while the other half will be out in conversation at the park. The teams will switch roles halfway through the day.

Tonight, we have a Concert of Prayer. Thanks for your prayers!!!