Dotti and I just returned from New York City where we were visiting our son Matthew and his wife Gemma. We had a wonderful time with our kids. Matt works for the United Nations and he and his team are developing a special project/presentation that his group will present at a conference in Marseilles, France next November. Gemma is working as a counselor to families who are stuggling with various life issues.
We also had the opportunity of visitng two very special and unique churches in New York. One is the church that Matt and Gemma attend. It’s called the Journey Church and it was started by Nelson Searcy in 2002. Over these past years the church has grown and they now meet in three different locations, six times each weekend. The service we visited meets in a local high school in Manhatten. Sitting in the service, it brought back many memories of our old days at Bear Creek High School. The following Tuesday night, we visited the historic Brooklyn Tabernacle that is pastored by Jim Cymbala. At their Tuesday night prayer meeting, they had about 3000+ people for the two hour long service. It was such a spiritually charged service that moved me to tears through most of it. The church’s ministry is focused on intercession and you could certainly feel the Lord’s presence in that place. Riding the subway back to Matt and Gemma’s apartment, I commented to Dotti how wonderful the Lord is and how He continues to use all kinds of churches to reach all kinds of people. These two church ‘styles’ are very different from each other, yet, each one serves its purpose in God’s great and growing Kingdom here on earth.
As we move through these summer months, let’s make sure that we are doing everything we can do to advance God’s Kingdom here in the San Joaquin Valley….From Galt to Manteca, from Lodi to Stockton, may more and more people find the Good News-life changing Gospel of Jesus Christ.
