It has been quite a journey continuing to prepare for missions and navigating the current spring semester at Appalachian State! However, I wanted to write a series of blog posts during this time highlighting three ministry opportunities that I will be serving in over the summer leading up to the World Race. These will be exciting ways to serve the Lord as I begin to be sent back out again into both the US and overseas mission fields in the coming months. Please continue to be praying for me- and thank you for lifting this up in prayer. This first post will elaborate on upcoming mission work in New York City that I am planning to partake in this coming May. After (and even possibly during the trip), I plan to post some updates on here about what it taking place, the doors that God is opening up for ministry, and how you can continue to pray for us as a mission team.
The New York City trip is affiliated with the No Place Left house church ministry that I am a part of in Boone, NC. For the past year, we have stayed connected with a long-term missionary family that is living in New York City to reach people there with the Gospel. A group from my church and another house church are planning to come together to labor for the Gospel and specifically target international communities. However, why are we going to New York? New York is one of the most diverse cities of the world, and large international communities gather here. It is a “strategic city” where Christians can build relationships with people from many different backgrounds, and God can open doors to communities that are from the least reached nations. Organizations like Global Gates understand the impact of initiating Gospel movements in large cities like New York, & we hope to build off of work that is already taking place on the ground.
Much of the ministry in New York City will be evangelistic. We are planning to initiate Gospel conversations with people there and seek to build friendships. We are praying for deep conversations that will lead to changed lives and people coming to know Jesus. Yet I cannot reiterate enough the need for prayer. Over the next few weeks, I plan to notify my prayer team on specific prayer points related to the trip. Many people practice a wide variety of religions in the NYC area; which presents a complicated spiritual landscape for us to navigate. Furthermore, many of these people do not speak English as their primary language. One of the biggest prayer points is for us to build crucial bridges of trust to be able to genuinely engage people with the Gospel. And these people come from all over the world. Through recent team meetings, I have learned that communities of Chinese, Indians, Muslims, Eastern Europeans, and more call this place home.
Ministry takes different forms. This is an exciting part about the trip! We will be exploring different international communities and learning about the many ethnic groups that live in the city. We plan to worship, play games together, get in the Word, and seek to grow each other as disciples as well. Yet it will be terrific to connect with the larger No Place Left community and be a part of their work in New York City. Basically, the movement is called “No Place Left” because the goal is for there to be no place left where the Gospel has not been made known in this generation. This trip will also be crucial because it will be an opportunity to receive Gospel ministry training and put Gospel sharing tools into practice while in the field. I look forward to seeing how this takes place as well!
Yet this is going to be a unique experience for missions during this season of life. All of the people that I will be serving with are part of the Boone, NC Christian community. This means that these relationships will continue long after the trip to New York City ends. These are the people that I have been growing in my faith with and doing church with regularly since April 2020. I plan to keep in touch and be in community with them while in the US until at least 2023. This is significant because this trip gives a chance to bond with close brothers and sisters of Christ and evangelize with them. Please pray that this trip allows us to grow closer together as a church community in Boone; and that any conflict or division can be rooted out and resolved. It has been terrific to get to know these people while in Boone- and it will be awesome to do international ministry alongside them in New York this May.
Over this three part series, I look forward to sharing US based missions as it juxtaposes with international mission work as I continue to serve in ministry. Both US-based and international Kingdom work are important and crucial to helping raise up laborers and advancing the Great Commission. The New York trip will provide an in-depth look at mission work aimed at reaching diaspora / expat communities- which may be a ministry that we do while on the World Race. These communities bring many of their customs and culture from their home countries as they settle in the city. Please lift up the long-term missionaries who are working in NYC- and for the fruit from the harvest to be diligently nurtured. Looking forward to the takeaways and lessons from this trip- and how they can be applied for the World Race. As a group, we are continuing to prepare in Boone and grow in the Lord as NYC draws closer.
Thank you again for your prayers and continuing to lift up this upcoming mission work. May the Lord open doors to minister to those in New York and beyond. May He bring the right people to us for impactful ministry to take place; and for people in NYC to come to know Christ. Also, I am planning to send out regular prayer updates about this trip on a WhatsApp group chat.
If you would like to join the prayer chat, please feel free to reply to this post!
“Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?’ ‘ Yes, Lord’ she [Martha] replied, ‘I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.’” John 11: 25-27
My prayers go to you and those going with you, God bless you.
Continual prayers for you and your team!
Thank you very much- that means a lot!
Thank you! The trip went very well!