“They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” Acts 2:42-47

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

It has always been a part of our vision at Liberty Church to start a college ministry for students all across our city. We’re excited to announce that in September, Liberty Church will hold the first gathering for our new college ministry - The Society Room.

You might be thinking, “What’s The Society Room?” Well, the story behind the name goes like this:

The Society Rooms of the late 1600’s…are really interesting examples of small gatherings of leaders that would convene, dialogue, learn, and work together to renew their culture. In 1673 Dr. Anthony Horneck, a Church of England minister in London, preached a number of what he called “awakening sermons.” As a result several young men began to meet together weekly in order to build up one another in the Christian faith. In these gatherings they read the Bible, studied religious books and prayed; they also went out among the poor to relieve want at their own expense and to show kindness to all. By 1730 nearly one hundred of these Societies existed in London, and others-perhaps another hundred-were to be found in cities and towns throughout England. The societies movement became in many sense, the cradle of revival (Arnold Dallimore, George Whitefield, Vol 1, Crossway, 1990)

This is what we feel God really wants for the University students here in NYC; to create a community of young minds who want to go deeper with God, but also knowing that God uses all things for His Glory.

It’s our hope that through the first gatherings as The Society Room students will be able to firstly dig in deeper with our hearts, and that that transformation leads to an outworking of our talents; being able to use them to put back into the spheres in which we live.

The gatherings will normally take place on the first Tuesday of each month. Each gathering will involve a time of worship, prayer, conversation, and a message. Eventually we hope to see The Society Room develop programs, events, and initiatives that the students will create alongside other students to give back to those who may not have a voice in this city and beyond.

The first gathering is on Wed Sept 14th at 8pm in the Salt Space (1158 Broadway) - you can RSVP on Facebook here and get all the details.

Our vision for The Society Room is to have different students from different universities with different courses of study, belief, and passion come together to use their talent towards something bigger than any one of them could do individually.

If you’re a student interested in getting involved, we’d love to have you! Feel free to email info@libertychurchnyc.com for more details, and check out The Society Room on Tumblr.

Since we announced we’re launching a second community in Manhattan, lots of people outside our church have asked what we mean when we say “community”.

Often their response to the news is, “Oh… so you’re adding a church service?” or, “So is this like another campus?”

To understand why we call it a community, you have to understand our vision. From the outset our determined passion has always been to build a community not a crowd. There’s a big difference…

* A community is built on relationship. A crowd is built on attendance.
* A community is committed to each other. A crowd always has options.
* A community is long-term. A crowd is temporary.
* A community encourages contribution. A crowd encourages consumption

This is not a debate about big vs small. I believe you can have a large community (it’s not an oxymoron, and we hope to build one). And the reality is that even a small group of people can still act like a crowd. If community was automatic for small groups of people then more than half of the families in our nation wouldn’t fall apart; community is still a choice that’s built on commitment to each other.

* So we’re not starting a second “campus” because it’s really about the people not the facility.
* We’re not just adding a second “service”, because it’s not an event. We’re building a community that has services, instead of just trying to create a sense of community in our services.
* It’s not another “church”, because we’re one church… now with two communities. And each community will look different like the neighborhoods themselves.

Is this all just semantics? Why bother writing this post? Because for those who care… these little choices in our language are an expression of the DNA of Liberty Church.

It’s not right or wrong. It’s not good or bad. It’s just how we believe God has called us to express our part of the body of Christ in all its beautiful diversity.

Our mission at Liberty Church is to be a community, a catalyst, and a cause. To us, one of the most important aspects of cultivating that community is not just meeting on Sunday mornings for church, but simply doing life with each other.

That’s why every Sunday after the service, anywhere from 5 to 40 members of Liberty Church walk a few blocks over to South’s restaurant for lunch, coffee, laughter, and building relationships. We’ve come to cherish this as a great time to catch up with each other but also get to know guests who are new to Liberty and welcome them in to our church family.

If you’re in NYC and looking for real community, or even if you’re just visiting for the weekend, we hope you’ll join us for our Sunday services and the lunch following. We would love to meet you!

For more information or if you have any questions feel free to email us at info@libertychurchnyc.com

Just a few blocks away from Liberty Church’s Tribeca Cinemas service location, the Tribeca Connect Group meets every other Thursday at Steve and Rhema Trayner’s place. To call it an apartment wouldn’t do the space justice; with high ceilings, a showroom, and spaciousness almost unknown to New York City, visiting this interestingly-designed loft is always a fun experience.

But it’s not the meeting place that gives heart to this Connect Group. Instead, it’s the people that it brings together. The Tribeca Connect Group is generally made up of mid-to-late twenty-somethings, with a mix of singles and married couples. Most of them have just wrapped up a long day of work, so Connect is a time to all sit back, mingle, and unwind from the fast-paced NYC life.

Each time the group meets, members bring some sort of snack or dessert. Whether it’s chips and salsa or a homemade cake, there are always great treats to be had.

After about 30 minutes of mingling, the group takes to the living room area to study a recent Sunday message. Rhema usually leads the discussion by going over the message and then asking questions, which lends to the conversational-feel of the study.

That’s what’s great about Connect Group – it allows for those of us at Liberty to dig a little bit deeper into what we’ve been hearing on Sunday and learn from each other’s thoughts and experiences. And in NYC, that is definitely something to be cherished.

If you’re interested in becoming part of one of our Connect Groups, check out our Connect Group Finder or email info@libertychurchnyc.com for more details.

I happen to think that the modern church has a lot of things backwards. We get obsessed with people’s gifts, we think “ministry” is done by people who work for churches, and we talk about the church like it’s an event that happens on Sundays.

We need to turn the church inside out.

Eph4:11-12 talks about the gifts like pastors and evangelists but explains so clearly why those gifts exist. It’s simple: “for the equipping of the saints for the work of the ministry”.

We’ve got it backwards. We make it all about the gifts themselves. We say, “I’m going this Sunday because I like his preaching”, or “She’s an anointed worship leader”. But why did God give those gifts? Not to do the ministry, but to equip the saints to do the ministry.

1. Firstly we need to redefine “ministry”. In essence to minister is simply to serve or meet a need. That’s not just the mandate of a handful of people who work for churches - it’s the mission of every single believer. Do you know what that means? You’re in full-time ministry!

Regardless of what you do for a living or where you study right now, you are there to minister (Col3:23). To be salt in the earth, light in the darkness. You don’t need a title. You don’t need anyone to call you “Pastor”.

2. The few exist for the many. If I ever think that as a preacher and leader it’s all about me, I’ve utterly missed point. We need to turn church upside down.

As well as leading the church with Andi, I work in the corporate world as a professional speaker & leadership trainer. But the corporate model is not how the church was designed- the church is not a pyramid or hierarchy with “clergy” instead of “CEOs” at the top and “laity” like “interns” at the bottom. Actually Jesus taught that the greatest would be the servant of all, and the first would be last.

3. We need to be the church, not just go to church. And we’re in real danger if we water church down to become an event that we attend. We when live as the church rather than attend the church we quickly find that opportunity to be used by God is all around us, every day.

You have a part to play. In fact, Eph4 goes on to say in v16 that the church as a body grows simply when “every part does it’s share”.

* So… what’s your ministry?
* How is your Sunday equipping you for your Monday?
* If like most people you live and work in the marketplace, what could you do to BE the church there?

It’s time to turn the church inside out.

I’d love to hear your comments…

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.