Only one week to go until Sharon Kelly joins us from Wave Church in Virginia Beach at our Girls Night In!

This woman has changed my life on several occasions and I have invited her to impart into all of you the copious amounts of wisdom, love, experience and encouragement that is sure to be a catalyst in your life. She truly is one of the most genuine people I know…what you see is what you get.

One of her passions is to unite a fierce company of women to stand for God in this generation. We live in a city where it can be easy to be influenced rather than be influencers. This night will equip you to stand strong in who you are and be found in whom you believe.

I am not interested in putting on “Ladies Nights” for the women of Liberty Church just to fill up all of your already stretched calendars. These meetings are strategically laden with purpose from heaven! All that to say…what I am interested in doing is equipping you to rise up, be changed from the inside out and release you to infiltrate this beautiful city to see it changed in ways beyond our wildest dreams!!!

So get yourselves there on May 23rd and bring a friend! Don’t miss this opportunity to unite in diversity, be equipped, then go out and change your world!!!

Love living life with you all!

Andi Andrew
Lead Pastor

RSVP via: http://libertychurchnyc.eventbrite.com. 7:30pm, 359 Broadway Floor 2, (near Franklin)

Liberty Sisterhood is re-launching with fresh vision and focus on Friday, September 14th at 8pm.

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE TICKETS

You may be wondering, “What is Liberty Sisterhood?” Well in essence, it’s the community of women in our church gathering together in strength, taking our time and place in history to be all that we’re called to be. Liberty Sisterhood is not an “event” or “ladies meeting” but a movement of women determined to live out God’s purpose for our lives on earth.

A year ago whilst on vacation, I felt the Spirit of God whisper to me: “Countless women have gone before you…they have paved a way, carved out a path…they have stood for Salvation, Truth, Justice & Freedom. Now it’s your turn.”

So on September 14th, the women of our church are going to throw a huge “CAUSE” party, with food & live music that will truly move your heart to “take your turn” on the earth. We will be shouting out the Liberty Sisterhood “Declaration” as we partner with Children’s Cup to provide full year scholarships to send kids to school and aid in stopping the cycle of poverty.

We came to understand the mission of Children’s Cup when my husband Paul visited Zimbabwe last year. His heart was broken and moved to action as he met children who couldn’t go to school because of poverty. Where the stark contrast for us here in New York City is that our children’s education is excellent, free and easily accessible by walking around the block from our home in a safe neighborhood. He even heard stories of children who would prostitute themselves just to come up with the funds to go to school.

We as Liberty Church, Liberty City and Liberty Sisterhood will be focusing on this specific cause together in September. Each Scholarship is $150 and will be put into a scholarship fund and distributed to the children in need. So lets gather with our friends and see what together we can do.

Children’s Cup has a holistic approach for these beautiful children. It’s not just to educate them, but they feed them, give them medical care, disciple them in Christ and train them as leaders. What we are giving to is so much more than just an education.

Tickets will be on sale as of Sunday, September 2nd for $15 per person at church and online. It will cover all costs, including food, rentals and gifts (yes, you get a gift!). Also a portion of the proceeds will go to Children’s Cup. SO GET IN QUICK BECAUSE THE TICKETS WILL GO FAST!!! Dress is “come as you are”… so work clothes, to cocktail, to vintage, to casual. Just be yourself. We are meeting at 359 Broadway #2 between Franklin & Leonard.

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE TICKETS

Hope to see you all there!!!

Love,

Andi Andrew
Lead Pastor

email: [email protected]
twitter: @LibertyNYSHOOD

P.S. if you are STILL wondering who we are as the Liberty Sisterhood and what this is all about, read this… It is our declaration.

Liberty Sisterhood Declaration…

• We are a community of healthy, strong, tender, fierce, focused and free women who know who we are in Christ.
• We are a community of women who live on purpose with purpose who will accomplish every ounce of what God has called us to do.
• We are a community of women determined to be the hands and feet of Jesus to a lost and dying world… Carriers of truth, freedom and LOVE.
• We are a community of women united as one, believing the best in one another, and committed to pray for one another as we walk through every season of life together.
• We are a community of women who realize we are a part of a bigger global picture of women across the earth who are rising up in strength and taking their place.
• We are a community of women who recognize that countless women have gone before us and paved a way… So now it’s our turn…

Calling all women of Liberty Church!!!

This Thursday night is an important and pivotal night in our Church’s history as we launch our Women’s Movement. I don’t believe in doing anything “just because” it sounds like a good idea. I believe in doing something with purpose that has God all over it. And in saying that, it’s time to gather the women of our church because it does have great purpose and significance in each of our individual lives.

Micah 5:1 says “NOW GATHER yourself in troops, O daughter of troops; a state of siege has been placed against us.” Amplified Version

It is gender specific AND is a call to gather… So on Thursday night, our troop will gather and take our place.

It will be a great night to come along and bring friends as it will be an empowering night for all who attend. I am so grateful that countless women have gone before us and paved some serious ground so that we can rise up and take our place NOW in this great city. It’s our turn to live in our “such a time as this”…

Also practically on the evening we’d love to bless a local charity in the city called WIN (Women In Need). So please bring along women’s toiletries and supplies for babies so that we can help in meeting their practical needs. Let’s be the hands and feet of Jesus Christ on the earth…

Here are the details for the night… looking forward to seeing you and your friends there!

Details:
Date: Thursday September 29th
Venue: Tribeca Cinemas 54 Varick Street Tribeca
Trains: A,C,E & 1,2,3
Guest Lounge: 7:30pm for an 8:00pm start
What to bring: A donation of women’s toiletries or baby supplies for WIN
*** Take note that there is no childcare on the night so you can truly have a girls’ night out!

I come from a long line of amazing, feisty, strong, soft, focused, determined, beautiful women. Both of my grandmothers come from good stock… they are, and were, pioneers in their own right in countless ways physically and spiritually. Grandma Lippert is still alive, 93 and ready for a trip to NYC (that rhymed!) and Grandma Green has graduated to heaven.

And my mother - Mavis, well if you know her she lives and breathes Proverbs 31. She has crazy passion, endless mercy for others and walks as a forgiven women full of grace. I couldn’t be more grateful to God for the mom he allowed me to have on this earth. I even have a mother-in-law that breaks the mold… she was the bonus God gave me as the exceedingly abundantly above measure on this earth just to top it all off.

I also come from great spiritual stock… a Sisterhood of women who are truly gathering, equipping and mobilizing troops of women across the earth to rise up, be all they are called to be and make a difference in their world, and in turn THE world.

I sat under the leadership of Bobbie Houston (and still do via podcast and the Colour Conference each year) for years in Sydney, Australia before I moved to New York with my husband to plant the church God placed in our hearts. Sitting under her teaching and leadership for nearly 10 years truly and deeply changed my life and perspective on what it is to rise up and be the woman of God I am called to be. She heard a whisper from God years ago that has now become a SHOUT across the earth in the form of a Global Sisterhood. Birthed out of the Colour Conference and a group of women meeting weekly in Sydney, an army of women have truly risen up to take their place and see change on the earth and in the church globally.

So there’s a bit of my heritage, but now what does this all look like for the women (of ALL ages) at Liberty Church? Here is a little bit of background and vision to help you see our how we can begin to play our part:

When I was on vacation in July this year I was wrestling with God as to why He hadn’t given me a specific vision for our women especially after being a part of such a strong movement of women whilst living in Australia. I didn’t want to move and just do something because it’s what you “should” do. I wanted to get God on it so I could lead the charge with conviction. I guess slowing down and being on vacation was my time to hear loud and clear as to what our piece of the global puzzle was.

The truth is that the Liberty Sisterhood is simply another part of a Global Sisterhood that God is building. The Sisterhood in its truest form is not tied to one church and one group of women… WE ARE a Sisterhood across the earth, united in cause, and we just need to fully wake up to it and take our place. So I am volunteering the women of Liberty Church to become a part of something that is WAY bigger than ourselves. We are linking arms with women across the globe, with one heart to be all we are called to be in Christ AND reach out locally to those in need in our world.

Think of what we can do together! Bringing liberty and freedom to all those in need of it. Whilst on vacation I began to think of all of the women that have gone before us. Women like Catherine Booth, pioneering the Salvation Army alongside her husband William. Rosa Parks, a Christian woman who took a stand for equal rights and launched the movement into greater momentum. Harriet Tubman, a woman who was an escaped slave and leader of the Underground Railroad that served as a Union scout during the Civil War… a true abolitionist. Mother Teresa, a woman who loved the lepers, abandoned and poor in Calcutta with the purest love of God.

I thought of countless mothers who fought for their children through the Great Depression… I thought of the women I have met and talked with here in New York today who are homeless and still are fighting for their rights and the rights of their children… who just need some value and dignity given to them…

And as I sat and thought of all of those women and all they had done to bring freedom, justice, love, dignity and truth to those around them… I felt the Holy Spirit say to me “Now it’s your turn”.

I began to weep… all of these women have paved a way for us and now it’s our turn. It’s our turn to shower the earth with love, truth, freedom, dignity, peace, justice, mercy and all things good… IT’S OUR TURN!

LIBERTY SISTERHOOD… NOW IT’S YOUR TURN!

“For such a time as this” became a revelation to me instead of just a familiar scripture- it’s really our time! We ARE born for such a time as this! Sorry if I am yelling whilst writing, but we have to wake up to this (me included).

So when we launch the “Liberty Sisterhood” on Thursday September 29th in the Tribeca Cinemas at 7:30pm, we will gather in strength because countless women have gone before us to pave a way. So let’s give honor where honor is due, and then let’s take our place.

Liberty Sisterhood… Now it’s your turn…

ps Stay updated on Twitter @LibertyNYSHOOD

“Stand For A City” Andi Andrew - Podcast Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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Andi Andrew preached “Stand For A City” during our Sunday service at the Tribeca Cinemas on February 13th 2011.

It’s happening… it’s really happening. “What?” you may ask. Acts chapter 2 is happening in our midst, in the lives of those that are gathering to be a part of Liberty Church. Just sit, ponder and read this for a moment:

Acts 2:42-47 - The Fellowship of the Believers
42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

This verse is so significant for me, well really for Paul and I and the people that call Liberty Church home. I remember sitting back in Sydney before we made the big move to New York, praying and asking God what He wanted Liberty Church to look like and I was drawn to read the book of Acts. When I got to Acts 2, I was blown away, especially when it gets to the end of the chapter and pivots on the passage above. That sealed the deal for me and it has become part of the vision for Liberty Church. It’s meant to remain simple, beautiful just like this scripture is.

After reading this I began to dream about what it would look like when we got here and I literally could see in my mind’s eye people piling into our house eating meals, hanging out and living life together. I said to Paul, “We need to have family dinners on Sunday nights, open invitation to all that want to come even if it gets crazy.” And that is exactly what is taking place. Whether it’s 40 people busting out of our little Brooklyn brownstone one week or 10 people sitting around the table having great conversations the next, the family is building, lives are being connected to the Church, and the greatest movement on the planet that began in Acts is going strong here in New York and across the earth.

This is mind blowing for me because just a little over a year ago I had heard the “God whisper” in the midst of us spying out the land to see if NYC was where we were meant to come and plant our lives: “These people are your people”. That same week Paul heard from God “What would you give for a city?”. Fast forward just one year: and now every Sunday night we are sitting in a messy house (good mess of course) in the aftermath of a family dinner from people that are now “our people”. We have given everything to be here… time, talent, treasure… and it’s reaping a great reward… and that reward is family – an “Acts 2 church” in motion.

I am well aware that one of the primary things I am on this earth for is to cultivate and build a healthy family. My own physical family… Paul, Ezekiel, Jesse and Finley (plus probably one more because we’re crazy)… and the one that gathers within the Church. It causes me to come alive.

Liberty Church is, and always will be, a Church that consumes a lot of good food as an excuse to be with the people we love. It will be a place where needs are met and dreams are fulfilled. Where prayer is a foundation that will infiltrate our lives and miracles will in turn take place. We will not forsake the gathering together in unity, where the word of God will be taught and our God will be lifted up at the center or our worship.

Weekly we will gather and then send the “saints” out in full force to do the work of the ministry in their world. It will be a place where love, truth, and grace are all administered hand-in-hand. A place where we give and meet each others’ needs freely. It will be a house of salvation, a place where people find Jesus whether that’s in a church service on the weekend, or in the workplace where a friend has been lovingly building a bridge to Jesus…

It may be in the home of a friend, at Connect Group or in a conversation on the street, but Liberty Church will be a community where people are always welcomed home. And did I mention there would be food? Well… there will always be food, and a mess to clean up… but I am good with that. Really good with that. Because this is what family looks like.

Andi Andrew preached “What About You?” at our first Gathering on Sept 12th 2010. This landmark message is at the heart of what Liberty Church is all about.

This morning as I sat down to read my bible I had one of those moments that I will never forget. A moment with God that words will never completely be able to do justice to but of course I am going to try.

I grabbed my old bible off the shelf to read this morning. It was just one of those mornings that “Big Bertha” needed to be picked up. It’s the tattered bible that my parents bought for me for my 18th birthday, the one that sat on my shelf unread until I turned 19 and gave my life to Jesus and then I couldn’t put it down. It’s my favorite bible, the one with all the notes, underlines and stained pages from spills whilst reading it. I didn’t really know where to begin in all honesty this morning… I had my Iced 4 shot mocha and raspberry bran muffin at my bedside table so I was ready to go… but where to begin? It literally fell open in Matthew where I had a few cards and notes stuck in it… and when I looked down to read I knew grabbing Big Bertha off the shelf to read was no mistake, nor were the cards that fell out and brought me to the verse before my eyes…

Highlighted was this verse…. “And I tell you that you are Peter and on this rock I will build my church and the gates of hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven and whatever you lose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Matthew 16:18-19

The above scripture is one that always stands out to me because its just so powerful. The fact that God is going to do whatever it takes to build His church and come hell or high water (literally); nothing is going to overcome it. It’s the greatest thing you can put your hand to and build on this earth because it won’t fade away like money, the times or social trends. But this morning God “smashed me” in the few verses prior to that well know passage. It was here in Matthew 16:13-15 that my day was flipped upside down for the better.

When I read this I could just imagine Jesus and the disciples sitting around a crackling fire and Jesus striking up a conversation: “Hey guys, so what are the rumors? Who do people say that I am???” and the disciples banter a bit and say in casual conversation “Oh you know, some say John the baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets” And then the whole conversation switches from popular opinion to a personal conversation and this is where I got stuck (aka smashed)…

Jesus throws this question out there to see what they will say:

“But what about you??”

I didn’t even get to the next part of the sentence… I was overwhelmed with this question… It made me take a good look at myself and stop looking around at what everyone else is saying about Jesus, or doing for Him, and ask myself… but what about you?

So often our world is filled with noise, opinions, plans, thoughts that need to be taken captive, comparisons, old mindsets that are stuck in deep ruts that are hard to get out of but we desperately need to change… We get caught up in what everyone else is saying or doing and God is crying out to us….

“Focus! But what about you? Who do you say that I am”

Who we say Christ is in our lives (what we proclaim, stand on, and believe) is the personal bedrock on which our identity stands. And when we know who Christ is, we know who we are. Then when we know who we are we can build His Kingdom with strength and authority.

But what about you? Who do you say that He is through trials, tests, highs, lows, mountains, valleys, pressures, hard times, good times… What about you???

Now I know that this may come across as Christianity 101: Step 1 - Know who Christ is. Step 2 - Know who you are in Him. Step 3 - Put your hand to building the Church so expansive with energy that not even the gates of hell will be able to keep it out. But let’s be honest, this is the type of Christianity 101 that we never graduate from, but need to apply to life on a daily basis… and if we all live this, just watch what Christ’s Church as a body on this earth can do…

The lifestyle you live screams what you say about who He is to you, and in you.

So… What about you???