Blog Archives
Life Group Launch
Almost six months have passed since CityLife Church was born, and I couldn’t be more excited about what God is doing through our new church in Philly! We are growing every month. People continue to commit their lives to Jesus every week. And my anticipation for what God is going to do builds every day. And this journey is about to go to the next level!
This weekend will be a history making weekend for CityLife as we launch our first semester of Life Groups! We have a first class group of leaders, apprentices and hosts who are prepared to launch 10 brand new groups throughout our city. These groups will exist to help people build significant Christ-centered friendships with one another. They will gather weekly, in homes and coffee shops, to study the Bible and BE THE CHURCH!
This first winter semester of groups will run for two months, so you don’t have to sign your life away! Try out a group and see if it fits. What do you have to lose?
If you’re a part of CityLife Church, or longing to connect to authentic community in Philadelphia, then I encourage you to click on this link and register for a group today! We will also be having a launch party this Sunday right after the service where you can meet the leaders and sign up for a group.
God made you for meaningful relationship and community. In fact, there’s no way any of us can realize our full potential alone.
That’s why our dream at CityLife is to be a warm, relational, family of people, from all walks of life, who support each other and fight for each other with faithful devotion. Let’s see that dream become a reality this year!
The Hand of the Lord Was With Them
I’ve always been inspired by the story of the Antioch church plant in Acts 11. An anonymous group of church planters moved into the third largest city in the world and set in motion a chain of events that changed the Roman Empire.
There’s one phrase in particular in verse 21 that I’m thinking about today.
…and the hand of the Lord was with them.
The city of Philadelphia often makes me feel small and powerless. Big buildings. Big population base. Big challenges. There really is nothing our new church can accomplish here without the hand of the Lord being with us.
With a little less than three weeks until CityLife Church launches, my sense of dependency on God is growing. We’ve worked hard and prepared, but only God can produce lasting fruit from it.
That’s why our launch team is dedicating this week to prayer so we can connect to an even bigger God.
A few years ago I had the opportunity to hear David Mohan share his story. He leads a church in India that has grown to over 30,000 people and has planted over 100 churches. They started with just seven people. And he made it very clear that prayer is the backbone of their ministry. In fact, on Friday nights, they have up to 1,000 people who gather at the church to pray all night long.
His most striking comment to me was this.
If I don’t pray as a pastor, then I am saying I can build my church without God’s help.
My dream is that several years from now, when the story of CityLife Church is told, it would be said of us–The hand of the Lord was with them.
