New City Orlando March 2023 Update
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Family,
This ministry update, I hope, will catch you up on all that God has been doing here in Orlando since May. Firstly, I want to say thank you on the front end, because this report is made possible only through your partnership with us. It is because of your prayers, your generosity, and your sacrifice that my family and I have been able to be supported throughout this season. And I look forward to your support throughout the year to keep us on track to continue the work that's begun. I pray that your soul is encouraged and your affections be stirred by the great grace of God He’s displayed over the last 8 months in this group.
As you know shortly after we relocated back home to the Hunter’s Creek area of Orlando early last year, we began a bible study with just two other couples who are great friends of ours, and slowly God began to bring more people to come join us. We began missional, focused not on transplants from other churches but on relationships that already existed and relationships we could create through our work, our neighborhoods, and other connected relationships. Today, we are truly a wonderful community of believers with deep affection and relationship with one another numbering about 15 adults and 9 children. Just about every week we have someone new or someone returning after being away for a while and it's been a gift to connect with them as they continue to leave the door open to join for good.
We’ve curated an environment that emphasizes connection. We begin with a meal, all of us eating together, laughing, and catching up on our weeks. Then we move to another space where we hand around an emotions wheel and allow a chance for anyone to be as vulnerable as they choose to be. This space, allows us not only to check in where we are emotionally in the room right now, but also for those who have deep weighty things present in their heart to share for encouragement and prayer to find it. Then we pray in surrender and move to our study.
Our group has transitioned in its content, moving from a bible study to a core group. What that means is we’ve pushed pause on studying, in a traditional small group method, books of the Bible like Jonah and Jude and have moved to a series of conversations about what it would look like to plant a church together. We have gone over our doctrinal distinctives and our membership material. Currently, we are examining our core values— discovering what makes New City Fellowship unique, what motivates us to work towards the good of the city, and what kind of disciple we see coming out of New City. We are currently looking at our first value “Christo-Centrality” by studying Colossians. We have framed the conversation as “what it’s like to live all of life in Christ”.
As it stands today we are 25% funded for 2023. Although there is a significant need for us to close this gap at a faster pace than we are, I am excited to announce that we currently have 11 active partners and 5 more joining our support team this fall. We praise God for the provision already given and support we trust will come soon. Keep us lifted in prayer as we seek more partners in our core group, on our prayer team, and on our financial support team as well.
Lastly, we are considering opening up a second night for our bible study. As we’ve talked with more people about joining and our group about switching to another evening we’ve seen that Fridays are hard for people who want to come but can’t and any other night is harder for our group on Fridays. So we are considering a Sunday afternoon/early evening group beginning this summer.
To close, you can expect updates and prayer requests like this to come from me monthly. As January gets closer, there will be more and more to share the closer we get to launch. I want to leave you with this small testimony given to us by one of our core group couples. Be encouraged, this is the story you are a part of as much as me.
Num 6:24-26
Jus
“Attending New City has been a gift to us and our family. Not having found a church in our community, through and post-COVID, we weren’t attending church at all. Nevertheless, to be able to go to a group weekly and fellowship with a supportive community, that has easily turned into family, is priceless and a blessing to us all. New City has given us weekly opportunities to engage with the Word, check in with ourselves and others, and experience genuine church in community; as the church was meant to be. New City is and continues to be a safe space for us to show up as who we truly are, wrestle with truth and ask questions, be spoken life into, and learn more from the Bible as to who we’ve been called to be. We’re grateful for New City!”