June 5, 2008

It's Spring time in NYC and a wonderful time to celebrate new beginnings!

After many months of transition, prayer, growing pains, prayer, self-examination (individually and as a church), prayer, confession, prayer, praises, prayer, re-dedication and yes, more prayer, the411nyc church family has bloomed into a new church plant named Parable Church. We are so excited and God is blessing us tremendously!

Scott and his family moved back to his home church in Georgia to pursue the 411 ministries nationwide and other ventures. Keep them in your prayers as they procede into the future that God has planned for them. And we are blessed to be able to carry on the ministry that Scott started through the411 here in NYC.

Mike Petrow, former Teaching Pastor, is now Lead Pastor and is doing a wonderful job shepherding and teaching this flock of dedicated Christians as we seek God's will in our lives and strive to live as He has planned for us. I'm still here on staff to help with office administration and as Missions director. Danny is still on staff as our financial guy. John Knauss has come aboard to be Space Manager along with Frank Mihelich. (pray for us as we all raise our own support)

This has been a complex and often emotional process for us all. And everyone is experiencing the sadness of goodbyes along with the excitement and anticipation of new beginnings. (One change for me is the absence of a salary from the411nyc since January, so I'm excited to see how God provides for me in His unexpected ways. Income taxes wiped out my savings from the love offerings I received when I first left FBCR. Support from FBCR and individuals covers about 1/2 of my expenses. I've learned some new ways of saving money and living on a shoestring. It's been a little worrisome, but exciting, too. It's a bonding experience since so many people I come in contact with struggle each month to live in the city to pursue their dreams. It's become a whole new way to witness and show God's provision and how to trust in Him.)

God has worked through some special people to allow Parable Church to remain in our wonderful Space and carry on the outreach provided through the Theatre, Studio and Artist's Lounge located here at the Times Square Arts Center building that we have occupied for the last 2 years. It has been a rollercoaster to work out the details and finances to keep the Space, but we really felt God leading us to do it and to trust in Him to make it happen. (some of our renters were brought to tears when they thought we would be leaving the Space. They got to witness what prayer and trust are all about.) We are giving God the glory and want to be very good stewards of this treasure.

This has been one of the most difficult 8 months of my life, in all ways, but I'm so blessed to be a part of God's work here. Your prayers and support have sustained me in ways that I can't explain. Knowing you were back home praying for me was, and is, such a comfort to me. We're in this together. I can't do it without you. And you deserve to celebrate the blessings, too.

We are so thankful for God's leading and provision, intervention and love through the growth of this body of believers.

I'll update you more on the details later, but for now, please join me in praise and prayer for the new Parable Church!