God is at work in the New York City Church of Christ. On a cold, rainy Sunday December 13th, some 3,300 people gathered at the Jacob Javitz Convention Center in the heart of New York City to worship God.
The atmosphere in the convention center was electric. The disciples sang with all of their hearts as they glorified God in praise and worship.
Ryan McCollugh, one of our newest additions to the New York staff, 
delivered a moving communion message centered around Romans 8:28. Ryan shared about how God works through events in our lives to help us grow and mature. We are happy and blessed to have Ryan working with us in New York. Ryan is a graduate of Princeton University. He is focused on our great universities and colleges centered in Manhattan. We know that God has great things in store for our campus ministries in the New York metropolitan area.
Sam Powell, lead evangelist of the NYCCOC, preached a powerful 
message based on a text taken from Acts 2. Sam challenged the church to serve God wholeheartedly in the last few days of 2009 and on into the New Year of 2010.
Sam made it clear that Christianity is about the heart. Sam preached, "When we are whole-hearted, we will do anything for God." Sam encouraged the disciples to have soft, responsive, and tender hearts for God. Tender hearts will help us see our sins and give us the willingness to repent. Sam reminded us that God doesn't expect perfection. God is looking for a willing, penitent heart. Sam preached, "It's not about how many times we have messed up, but how responsive are hearts after we mess us." Sam reminded us that God will never give up on us. Therefore, we must never give up on God.
There were many highlights during the Service. One such highlight was the sending off of Roger and Sue Wine to lead the Syracuse Regional Church of Christ. Eleven members from the Syracuse Congregation came down for the event. They stood with the Wines onstage as a symbol of united hearts who are devoted to win the city of Syracuse for Christ.
Another highlight was when the congregation witnessed six people baptized into Christ. These baptisms represented how the church is reaching across all of the New York metropolitan area. We heard the good confession of "Jesus is Lord" from a female student from City College in Harlem, a teenager girl from New Jersey, a single woman from Korea who lives in Jersey, a husband and wife from the Harlem Latin ministry, and a single man from Long Island. The church was thrilled to witness these baptisms.
After the service, our teacher, Dr. G. Steve Kinnard taught a two hour class on the topic "God's Radical Call." The classes focused on God's call as seen through the classical prophets of the Assyrian period--Hosea, Isaiah, Jonah, Amos, and Micah. Dr. Kinnard taught three classes as follows: The Prophets and Discipleship, The Prophets and the Harvest, and the Prophets and the Poor. These classes were practical and informative. Dr. Kinnard shared, "The Prophets were driven by God's Word. Today, we claim to be a people of the book. If we are a people of the book, then this will effect the way we live our lives. It will effect the way live out our discipleship to Jesus, our love for the lost, and our compassion toward the poor and needy."
God has blessed us immensely in 2009. We cannot wait to see what he will do through us in 2010.
Our God is an awesome God!
See More Good News at www.nyccoc.net
Posted by Jerry Maday