We’re so excited to welcome guest speaker Pastor Jon Tyson from Trinity Grace Church in New York City. He’ll be joining us this Sunday, June 1st at our Brooklyn and Soho Communities.

Jon Tyson is the Founder and Lead Pastor of Trinity Grace Church, a family of eight neighborhood churches called parishes that network together for the common good and renewal of the city. Jon is also the Co-Founder of the Center for City Renewal, an organization equipping and empowering Christian citizens to participate in God’s redemptive mission throughout New York City. Originally from Australia, Jon moved to the United States fifteen years ago with a passion to understand and help work out the future of the Western Church. He lives in Manhattan with his wife, Christy, and their two children. He is also on the board of directors of theORIGINS MOVEMENT, a new church planting movement committed to multiplying missional church communities in the major urban centers of the world.

Grab a friend and come join us this Sunday morning to hear from him. We’ll see you there!

We’re so excited that the new season of Community Groups starts next week! Community Groups are an excellent way to get plugged in at Liberty Church. From book studies to cooking classes to discovering how to better connect during worship, there’s a group for everyone across all three Liberty communities.

I recently sat down with Vince to hear his story about how Community Groups have impacted his life.

I was new to Liberty Church. It was my first or second week attending when I overheard a conversation regarding a subject that interested me, and learned it was the theme of a Community Group. I quickly joined the group, and within days found a weekly safe haven and second home home amongst a dozen or so strangers who turned into close friends fast. More like family, really.

The overall experience for me was not as much a learning one as it was a sense of belonging, and of being heard. Those things we may not realize are missing in our lives until they show up and we are left wondering how we ever survived without them.

Knowing people in your group are experiencing many of the same things you are, both the good and bad, is incredibly empowering and the result was a stronger, more purposeful and focused week. Although I did learn about the theme that first interested me in the group, I learned much more about myself. I needed that. And how much better to receive it in the light of God’s truth around people who “get it” than from any other outlet. God’s grace is just too amazing to experience alone.

I know for myself I can easily isolate in my own world. It’s comfortable and I can get loads of stuff done. The problem is we are not meant to do life alone, and eventually we tire and get discouraged. We are meant to draw strength and encouragement, wisdom and compassion from each other. Often times simply hearing yourself speak the things that have been on your mind among others brings clarity to a situation. The answers are there, and bouncing stuff off of each other in community is a great way to discern and discover them. And I did. So go in with high expectations or go in with no expectations, but just go in. Get in a group because we need to be intentional about community in NYC.

There is something about an environment that is grounded in grace, freedom and love that just naturally (and supernaturally) brings out the best in us, while also allowing us to take the fight to parts of us that need improvement. In community I found allies in that fight. I also found co-laborers, prayer partners, late night Shake Shack eaters and life long friends. No matter the subject or theme of the group, something awesome is bound to occur.

If you’re interested in joining one of our Community Groups, there’s still time to sign up! Check out the groups and sign up here.

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The Holy Spirit gives us spiritual gifts to help us fulfill what He’s called us to do, to edify other believers and to confirm the gospel of Jesus. The Bible tells us where these gifts come from, how to ask for them and how we can be faithful stewards of all the amazing gifts he gives us.

Rhema Trayner preached this message called “The Gifts of the Spirit,” the final part of our “You Asked For It!” series at our services in Brooklyn, Soho, and Union Square on May 25, 2014.

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Sunday Services-
Brooklyn – United Artists Cinema 9:30am
Soho – Scholastic Auditorium 11am
Union Square – Union Square Ballroom 5 & 7pm

A few times each year, Liberty Church sends a team to visit our growing community in Sauerstown, Zimbabwe. Our Union Square pastor Parker Green went on this most recent trip in early May, and I sat down with him to hear a little bit about what his experience was like.

My trip to Zimbabwe was beyond any expectation I had in its impact on me. Like so many people, I thought I was going to make an impact on the people we were visiting, but found that I was the one truly changed.

Sure, the preaching, coaching, time spent with leaders, and the time with our sponsor kids made an impact. But what struck me most was the ability of these people to not only bear up under difficulty, but to smile and continually hope for a better future.

Our Liberty Community in Sauerstown is thriving and truly feels like family; a home away from home. We helped them, of course, both materially and spiritually. But I think our Liberty community globally will find themselves seeing a return on investment in these unbelievable people that is far beyond our ability to currently see.

The Kingdom of God is alive and well in Zimbabwe.

This trip showed me that we are all different, but all very much the same. All of us have a space reserved just for God in our hearts. We all desire community - not just a crowd - and to be known. These are all basic human desires that we are seeing come alive in Africa. The Kingdom of God is alive and well in Zimbabwe. What a privilege to partner with God in seeing a nation change for good.

If you think you’d be interested in joining our next trip to Zimbabwe in the fall, click here to learn more about our upcoming information session.

We are amazed by the number of stories Visionaries members have about connections people are making through our events. People have stepped into new jobs, received promotions, seen God move powerfully in their workplace, and we’ve even seen a non-profit birthed entirely by visionaries members!

Our goal is to truly connect the business community of our church. Whether it’s for encouragement, support, friendship and/or skills you need to make your visions become a reality, you’ll have an opportunity at our next Visionaries gathering to make friends that could last a lifetime and change the course of your career.

Our next Visionaries event is on June 5th and it is a play on speed dating that we’re calling our “Speed Networking Event,” in which every person will get two minutes to meet other Visionaries like themselves. You can share anything: an elevator pitch, what you do now, what your vision is, where you have a need in your job or vocational aspirations, or maybe where you have the time and capacity to offer to others!

Visionaries is not just an event, it is a community of people who believe that God cares about our jobs and the lives of the people we work with, so we intentionally invite God into our workplaces and pray that we would see his presence move powerfully in them. We would love to partner with you and help you to see the same power of God work through your workplace or to believe with you for a breakthrough if you need a job or desire a different one. Come along to meet people who can help you take the next step in your career no matter where you’re at!

If this seems like a community you would like to be a part of, then email [email protected] and ask for more information about becoming a member or about joining us for our Speed Networking Event as a guest.

This event is happening at 359 Broadway, Floor #2 on June 5th, at 7:30pm. Dinner will be provided, so come hungry and ready to step out and make some new connections!

Have you been thinking of making Liberty Church your home?

Then join us for Grow! The course is structured in a series of four 45 minute classes that take place the first 4 Sundays of each month right after our services at both communities. Through Grow you can find out how Liberty Church began, meet our pastors, understand what we believe and find your place in our church.

Our hope is that as you grow in your understanding of what Liberty Church is all about, it will spark a desire for action in you to find where you can best serve. We even have a whole session devoted to finding out your unique gifts and talents so that you can be released to serve and build the house of God as well as your own personal sphere of influence.

You may have been coming to Liberty since it began. You may have visited for the first time last Sunday. Either way, Grow is the way to find your place at Liberty Church. A light meal will be provided.

You can RSVP right now by clicking the link of your Community below:

LOWER MANHATTAN – 12:45-1:30pm at Scholastic, 557 Broadway, NY

OR

UNION SQUARE – 8:45-9:30pm at Union Square Ballroom, 30 E 16th Street, New York, NY

OR

BROOKLYN – 11:15am–12:15pm at 345 Adams St, Brooklyn, NY

Email [email protected] with any questions.

On May 16th, we celebrated the 40th birthday of lead pastor Paul Andrew with a Great Gatsby inspired party in NYC. It was an incredible night as over a hundred of Paul’s closest friends, family, and the Liberty Church community gathered to celebrate a man we call our pastor, friend, leader, visionary, church-planter, and so much more.

…but the celebrating didn’t stop there. This party was for a purpose - to raise funds and awareness for Liberty Church’s Seed Fund, which supports our community in Sauerstown, Zimbabwe.

The party alone - thanks to guests purchasing tickets and donating via a silent auction - raised $2,500. The funds will go toward building the first ever playground in Sauerstown.

We have a five acre property where Liberty Zimbabwe is thriving in the middle of Sauerstown, and my 40th birthday wish is to make thousands of beautiful Zimbabwean kids smile by building them a playground. A safe haven, right on the doorstep of church. So let’s celebrate with a cause. - Paul Andrew

The photo below is the closest thing Sauerstown has to a playground for children right now. In a community of more than 300,000 where there’s a lot of need for laughter and a safe place for kids to play, a playground will be nothing short of life-changing for the children living there.

Our work in Sauerstown is not nearly complete, so if you’d like to contribute to the cause there, you can learn more and do so by clicking here.

Thank you to everyone who has contributed so far, we could not do it without you!

Comm Group Testimonials from LibertyChurchNYC on Vimeo.