mission:nyc

We started the day with our normal routine personal devotions and breakfast, and then for our group devotion time Colin James (one of the Jones’s team members) performed a Jewish Passover Seder for us. It was very interesting to learn all of the symbolism that accompanies the Passover. It was helpful in understanding the Jewish culture that many of us were very unfamiliar with.Today, our outreach was in the Golda Meir Plaza, which is named after a famous Jewish woman. We used the Ark of the Covenant again to attract the attention of those that wouldn’t normally stop. It was a similar setting to Grace Plaza, but we were more limited with where we could pass out tracks, because we were very close to private property. We spent the lunch hours in the Plaza and again, thousands of people passed by. There was an area of stairs right in front of where we were singing where many people sat ant ate their lunches. About 50-60 people were sitting and eating within earshot of our service. We were able to go through our service two entire times. We did the same schedule as yesterday except Stephen and Andrew gave their testimonies today. After the songs were over, Jon and Pastor Craig preached the gospel. Many people would come over to look at the Ark of the Covenant and ask for tracts. One of the encouraging things the last few days has been being able to talk to Christians. Several people each day would come over and say thank you for having a passion to share the message of the gospel.

On our way back to the Angel House, the weather turned on us, and it started pouring!

We were all completely soaked by the time we got back, but we were thankful that the outreach was over and the sound equipment was already packed up. After the rain stopped, the team took the Jones children shopping. We were able to get some clothes for Cherie and Billy. Bradley needed some new tennis shoes and Garrett got a new game. It was a blessing to see the teens get excited about sharing with others.

We finished off the week with an exciting trip to the top of the city. After dinner, the rain had stopped enough that the Empire State Building’s observation deck had opened back up. It was a little foggy, but the visibility was 3-5 miles. It was a perfect ending to a great week. The view changed while we were up top…the sun set while we were up on top and the city lights came on before we went down. It was very cool to see.

We headed back to the Angel House to clean the building and pack up, and we called it a day.

It was a great week. The team did a great job ministering and being bold in talking to people and singing in the open air. Everyone was sad to get packed up tonight. I think everyone would come back again if they had the chance!

07.20.06 - Thursday Update

Pastor Jon — Sun, 23 Jul 2006 02:56:36 +0000

The Breif: Times Square, Grace Plaza Rush Hour Outreach, Times Square Lights, Veniero’s Desserts

We had our outreach over the dinner hour, so we went by Time Square before heading over to Grace Plaza. We had time to visit just a couple of stores while we were there. We spent some time in Toys R Us watching the giant Ferris wheel. Some of our team was so enthralled with the magician doing demonstrations that they came out of the store with a $35 magic set. (No, 35 is not a typo) The girl’s downfall was the Hershey’s store. We had to round them up several times to pull them away from the aroma chocolate. It was a fun time.

After our walk through Time Square, we headed over to Grace Plaza for our outreach. We spent almost 2 hours doing an outdoor outreach on the corner of 43rd and 7 Ave. We were there from 4:45 – 6:30 over the dinner hour and thousands of people crossed right in front of where we were singing to get to the Subway, go home from work or stop at the stoplight right in front from us. We went through our music package twice and shared the gospel over the sound system 2 times. We sang several songs as a group and then several of the guys read passages of Scripture and Randall gave his testimony. Jon preached after our first time through the music and then a summer intern that is working with the Jones’s preached the second time. Many of us were able to talk to people individually about their souls. Today we saw more visible defiance towards the gospel than on Tuesday during our outreach at Battery Park because we were singing on the sidewalk very close to where people were walking by. We could see people rolling eyes, but because we were so close to the road, we could also see car drivers roll down their windows to listen while they were at the stop light. People walking by would leave the crowd to stop and listen. Singing in the open air is an incredible experience. You see people from all walks of life stopping to listen to the message of the gospel in song.

We also took the replica of the Ark of the Covenant with us because this is a heavily populated Jewish area. Sharing the gospel with Jewish people was a new experience for many on our team. They did a great job in explaining the message of the Ark and then also sharing the gospel from the Old Testament.

After dinner, we went back to Time Square to see the night lights and then headed back by our favorite pastry shop, Veniero’s. It was our last chance to get Canoli’s and other Italian desserts. We all savored the taste of pastries in NYC one last time!

07.20.06 - Thursday Pictures

Pastor Jon — Sat, 22 Jul 2006 04:30:27 +0000

A storm knocked out wireless on us, so here is the update on pictures…a little late. Grace Plaza outreach today, and a whole lot of people. God gave us some great oppurtunities to talk with people, and the truth was presented clearly through the songs and testimonies.

Click Here to veiw them all.

07.19.06 - Wednesday Update

Pastor Jon — Thu, 20 Jul 2006 16:33:20 +0000

The Breif: ChinaTown, Little Italy Italian Lunch, Tompkins-Square Gospel Fellowship Street Witnessing, a sincere Bible Study and Prayer meeting, and a Dessert and Coffee Open House Outreach for the community.

Wednesday was a great day. The heat wave that has swept this area broke, and we really enjoyed our time on the streets. We had a great time in our devotions together around Ephesians 4. We hit the streets at about 10:30am on our way to ChinaTown. Our first sight as we came out of the subway tunnel was a McDonalds in Chinese. Everyone got a kick out that. We shopped our way around the different vendors batering our way through. It was fun to watch the teens learn the art of “acting like you don’t want something.” The best deal of the day was Aarin Hammonds $12 purse that started out at $35. Some bought keychains, others bought tee shirts and belt buckles. It was a fun day walking and enjoying the diversity of New York City. We finished the loop at about 1:00 and headed for the best italian in the city, Little Italy. We popped into Puglia brick oven restaraunt. We ordered our fettuccinis and our raviolis and pizzas and enjoyed the free bread and olive oil. It was a fun place to hang out for a break. The food was greeted with oos and ahhs as the waitor brought it out. It was perfect. Fresh sauces, brick oven baked, and very italian. It was great! We headed back home. On the way back, we stopped at a park to pass out tracts and witness one-to-one. Many of the group had some very good conversations. A lot were able to present the gospel fully to people enjoying the afternoon in the park. Praise the Lord for the oppurtunities! It was a blessing to see the teens initiating conversations and sharing the truth with many who have nvere heard! May God be glorified as the Lord of the harvest! I am praying hard that God would use this trip to call some to the mission feild or as pastors. The satisfaction and joy that we are experiencing is like nothing else. It truly is a joy to serve. And God truly is giving all grace toward us, that we can abound!

After an early supper, we started preparing for the evenings outreaches. We cleaned the building and straightened it back from hotel to church and got ready for the Bible study. Some went to pick up our dessert pastries for the evening and others prepared to help with the childrens group. It was a neat night to watch the church members flood in and sit to hear God’s word. To hear them pray was as powerful as about anything else this week! So sincere and real! God is at work in this church, and it is great to see it happening first hand. Many of the teens mentioned how neat that part has been to see. After our Bible Study, we set up the building for our open house. We moved the round tables out, started some music, and opened the doors. The desserts were Veneiros, and they were perfect! Some hit the park and streets to invite people in and some waited to be ready to talk with them. We had many people come through and get some dessert. Many stayed and talked. We got to know them, trying to share the love of Christ. Some were able to share the gospel with people that might not normally come on a Sunday or Wednesday night. It was a great setup to sit and talk. We had around 15 who came in and stayed to talk with us. It was a neat night. Thanks for praying for us today!

Please pray for us:

Our outreach at 40th and Broadway at 5pm-7pm
We have a sound outreach scheduled in the heart of a Jewish area. Please pray that they would see Christ as the Messiah! We will sing, give testimonies, preach and pass out tracts.

Our oppurtunities to share the gospel.

Dr. Jones health.
Pastor Craig and I took him to the hospital on Tuesday as he was experiencing a lot of pain from his perforated lower intestines. After some tests, the Doctors confirmed that he had another infection. He is in the hospital still on heavy antibiotics. Lord-willing, they are planning on releasing him on Friday.

Souls to be saved!

Strength and grace to minister when we run out.

God to call teens to his service.

07.19.06 - Wednesday Photos

Pastor Jon — Thu, 20 Jul 2006 05:03:23 +0000

Today was great. We hit ChinaTown in the morning and Little Italy for lunch. On our way back, we spent some time speaking one-to-one with some people in Tompkins-Square Park across the street. Enjoy the photos.

Click Here for all the story.

07.18.06 - Tuesday Update

Pastor Jon — Wed, 19 Jul 2006 20:09:08 +0000

The Breif: Ark of the Covenant Devotions, Battery Park preaching and music, tracts, World Trade Center, and Finger Rocket Wars.

What a great day to serve the Lord in the city. We had a blast working with Dr. Jones today. We started the morning with a challenge from Dr. Jones on witnessing using the Ark of the Covenant. He challenged us that the Ark reveals God’s charectar, His covenant, His covering for sins, and God’s Christ. We finished the meeting with prayer and immediately grabbed our stuff. Our stuff was the Ark of the Covenant, a massive sound system, our instruments, music and stands, and a lot of tracts. We headed to Battery Park and met the van there to unload. We set up in a shady area next to the line going to the Statue of Liberty. People were flooding by to get in line, see the park and buy from the vendors. After a quick meal at the vendors, we started our outdoor service. We sang through all our group numbers, interspersing testimonies and scripture readings. Andrew Acree read Isaiah 53, Randall gave his testimony, and I preached a message. The response was very good, and many people sat and listened to the entire service. We ran through a 35 minute service, and headed out to speak with people and pass out tracts. An hour later, we started back up and sang through our music again. Nathan gave a testimony, and Bill Jones preached a message. It was very moving to be singing the gospel songs to the crowds that were passing back and forth.

After our service, we packed up all our gear and passed by the World Trade Center Spot. We learned of the plans for the memorials and enjoyed the air conditioning in the World Financial Building. A jump back to the Jones’ place, and we enjoyed our dinner.

Before all the festivities of the day, a strange box arrived on the doorstep of the Angel House. It was filled with 50 finger rockets.

We threw out our schedule for the night and had an all out war on all three floors of the building. We shot, shielded, ducked, captured and squeeled most of the evening as we enjoyed the fun. Check out the pictures for more info. All in all our day was full and exciting. Thanks for all your prayers.

Prayer requests:

Pray for the Coffee and Cheesecake outreach tomorrow night
We open up the doors of the Angel House to the public and serve free desserts and cheesecake to people passing by. We promise good dessert and life-changing conversations. We are excited about the oppurtunity. It begins at 8:00pm.

Pray for energy and strength
We are alot. Pray that God would continue to uphold us.

Pray for the power of the gospel.
We have passed out alot of tracts, pray for a harvest of souls from God’s word!

07.18.06 - Tuesday Pictures

Pastor Jon — Wed, 19 Jul 2006 13:05:27 +0000

Battery Park Outreach, Ground Zero and a Finger Rocket War to finish the night off. We had a full day yesterday! Click on the activities listed before to see those pictures or the link below the picture to see them all.

Click here to see all the photos

07.17.06 - Monday Photos

Pastor Jon — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 04:25:27 +0000

They are up! Click here to view them all!
Enjoy!