2015 New Year's Eve Outreach

Ministering to a man on New Year's Eve

We began 2015 with our annual New Year’s Eve Outreach. This year we hosted two teams from Ohio who helped us bring the gospel and about 125 gallons of hot cocoa to the people in Times Square. One of great stories from this outreach came through an interaction with a young Muslim girl. She came up to the Prayer Station and said, "Can you pray for me? I hear that things happen when you guys pray for people." We prayed for her need and we're continuing to pray that she will be brought into a close, personal relationship with Jesus Christ. How awesome it is to know God is answering prayers; even people from other religions are being drawn to the living God!

This outreach also had a big impact on the individuals that served with us. Many of them mentioned that the outreach was very new and challenging to them. But they also said that God met them in a very personal way and encouraged them to keep pressing on for His glory. This trip changed the way they viewed people and they saw how easy it can be to witness to someone, even if they just met them. One young man said, “It didn't really matter how much time you spend with them, but just sitting there, talking to them and listening to them, is what mattered the most.”

The teams listen attentively
during the final night debrief 

Pastor Gary, who has come to serve with us in the past, shared the following story with us. He said that during the outreach he actually saw a man that he had met on one of his previous trips. He said, “I refuse to believe in coincidences. I was supposed to see him again to remind me that it’s worth coming here, investing in people, and building relationships.” These are the kind of impacts that we love to see in the people who come serve with us. Some of the young people are even considering doing an internship with us. Praise the Lord!

Clinging to Jesus

After getting laid off on New Year’s Day, John ran into multiple issues with his family that resulted in him living on the streets. The brutally cold weather conditions caused him to enter the New York City Shelter System. In the shelter John was confronted with much pain and suffering, but this actually served to bring him to Christ. He said, with everything taken away from him, the only thing he could do was cling to Jesus. That’s exactly what he did. Prior to this experience, John had spent time in and out of churches, but now Jesus has become a reality to him.

Ryan talking to John at the Prayer Station

We met John at our Saturday morning prayer station and invited him to The King’s Fellowship after hearing some of his story. He enthusiastically accepted the invitation and has been coming ever since. God graciously touched his heart his first time at King’s Fellowship. He said it felt like God was loving him through the entire service; during the meal, the music, the message, the fellowship, and the prayer. John often tells us that he feels very welcome in our community and he wants to continue coming. One of his main motivations to learn more about God is so that he can be the father that he needs to be in order to set an a good example for his son.

On the night of one of our prayer meetings, the enemy kept telling John, "Don't go, don't go!" But he couldn't refuse his need and determined not to let anything get in his way or keep him from coming. As he approached our building, he heard David Van Fleet singing prophetically about fathers coming home and being restored to families, wives, sons, and daughters. When he came in, the song continued and the sense of God's mercy and love only intensified. A few minutes later, John's received a text from his son saying, "Come home, dad." He shared all of this with us after the prayer meeting and shared how real the presence of God was. He had never experienced anything like that before, but he knew that was the reason the enemy did not want him there.

Even though we've only known John for a few weeks, we have already seen so many prayers answered in his life. The Lord has even given him several promising job interviews! Please pray with us for our new friend, that he would keep walking the straight and narrow, experience God’s provision, and that his family would be completely reconciled and restored through the gospel of Jesus Christ.