In January 2014, Liberty Church will be launching its third community in Brooklyn. I spoke with Lead Pastor Paul Andrew to learn more about the vision for the new community, as well as some exciting new details for Liberty Brooklyn.

When did you first have the vision to start a Brooklyn community?
The Brooklyn community has been on our hearts since we first moved to New York. Andi and I live in Brooklyn, and we thought the first community would be in that neighborhood. It turned out that God opened doors to start our first community in Lower Manhattan, but Brooklyn has been on our hearts the whole time.

What are some things you hope to see happen in Brooklyn?
Brooklyn really needs churches. It was once known as the city of churches, but today some of those beautiful old buildings are no longer houses of worship. We want to build a church that feels distinctly Brooklyn - one that reaches the local community and has an impact outside the four walls of church.

Brooklyn is also full of families, and we’re busy making preparations to take our Liberty Kids ministry to a whole new level in this community.

Lastly, we’re also believing to be able to offer a Spanish translation during the service.

How does the Brooklyn community fit into the larger 20/20 vision of Liberty Church?

Since the beginning we’ve had our 2020 vision: 10 communities in 10 years by the year 2020. We believe that God has called us to be a church planting church, and Brooklyn will be another step forward by being third community in New York City.

We really have a sense that the Brooklyn community will be a pillar of our church, bringing strength not just locally, but also globally with the work we’re doing in London and Zimbabwe.

How has launching the Brooklyn community differed from LoMa and Union Square? Have there been any new challenges?
It has been different because, for one thing, we now have the experience of launching churches a couple of times in New York. We’re able to build on that experience and also the momentum we have as a church. We have a real head start with our Brooklyn community - already having close to 50 Launch Team members.

One of the challenges is to make sure that all of our communities continue to grow and move forward, even as we give our attention to launching a new community. We’re blessed to have such a strong team, as well as great pastors in LoMa and Union Square, who keep the church healthy as we expand.

Launch date?
Sunday, January 19^th.

I’m excited to announce that Andi and I will be pastoring the Brooklyn community. I really felt led to plant and pastor our Brooklyn community myself. Even as Andi and I continue as lead pastors overseeing the church as a whole, I’m looking forward to rolling up my sleeves and getting involved at a grassroots level - building our Brooklyn community from the ground up.

How can people help or contribute to the launch?
Right now there are three main things that we need:

1) If you live in or have a heart for Brooklyn, we’d love for you to join our Launch Team. We’ll be having monthly launch meetings from now until launch to worship, pray, and make preparations. We’re excited to launch the Brooklyn community in strength.

2) We’d love your prayers. Church planting is rewarding, but it’s also hard work. Please pray for the grace and favor of God on every aspect of the launch and for all practical needs to be met.

3) Lastly, you can support us financially. Although we’ve raised half the funds needed to make this launch a reality, we still have around $100K left to launch in strength. Every contribution helps! If you click this link and select “Brooklyn “ from the drop down menu, every penny will go towards helping us reach new people and impact lives in the Brooklyn community.

To learn more or if you want to join the Brooklyn Launch Team, email [email protected].