Reflecting on Two Years at North Way East End 1-27-14

This is a big week for North Way East End... we're celebrating our two year anniversary! I'll be sharing a lot of stories and photos this week to reflect on how far God has brought us as a church in such a short amount of time. I've been privileged to see lives transformed by the profound love of Jesus Christ. I've experienced the ups and downs of Christians doing life with one another. It's been quite an adventure.

On our church launch day in January of 2012, everyone was hopeful. We had a big turn out from people from North Way locations checking out what this campus in East Liberty was all about. The launch team had worked hard to get everything up and going. While we had our first church service, giving all the glory to God, somebody was outside breaking into about a dozen cars and a local convenience store. Here's a picture of one of the cars that was broken into, which included my sister's car and also Pastor Freedom's:

We haven't had any break ins since that day. It turned out to be just a one time thing. Still, we weren't discouraged. We knew that we needed to persevere. There were other challenges to press through, as well. Our ministry center space wasn't quite ready so we held kids church in the lobby of the theater. Our technology wasn't quite ready so we had to get creative to pull the first worship service off. It looked like this:

It was amazing to see God come through on that first day, and on every day since then. Starting a new church has been a huge challenge. But, it's been worth it to be an integral part of God's redemptive mission in our city. I'm looking forward to what God is going to do in 2014!

Baptizing Tyrone

Tonight I have the opportunity to baptize one of my good friends at the All Campus Worship Night at North Way Wexford. It's happening because North Way has an incredible "go" strategy... we're opening up North Way locations all around the city of Pittsburgh in both suburban and urban areas. I lead the East End location in the urban environment of East Liberty, and that's where I first met Tyrone. He was homeless when I first met him, and he happened to find our church. We welcomed him into our church family, and he has been on a dramatic process of transformation since we first met. He has dedicated his life to God. He is so passionate about Jesus, and he invites a constant stream of his friends to our church.

About two months ago, Tyrone nearly died. His kidneys failed while he was staying the night at a local shelter, and he had to be rushed to a local hospital. The doctors saved his life that night, and he has been on a slow process of care and recovery since then. Tyrone desperately needs a kidney transplant, so his fellow brothers and sisters in Christ have been encouraging him and helping him navigate through the process of dialysis and obtaining insurance so that he doesn't slip through the cracks of our society. He is hoping to be able to return to work soon, to be able to rent an apartment by Christmas, and he hopes to be able to help out more at the church.

I've grown to love Tyrone as a brother in Christ. He looks much different than me... he's African-American, he has tattoos all over his body and his face that are the obvious signs of a tough life. He has persevered through a difficult life of gangs, drugs, and eventually homelessness. He's looked death in the face, and he has come out on the other side with a new outlook on life where he wants to share Jesus with as many people as possible in the short time that he has on this earth. He currently reaches many people with the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ that I would ordinarily have a difficult time reaching.

Tyrone has spent his life on the margins of mainstream society in America, and God is now working through him to reach other marginalized people. He is giving so many people hope. He gives me hope. My life has been changed forever because of my friendship with Tyrone. God is indeed close to the brokenhearted. God's grace is found in its most abundant forms in people like Tyrone. I can't believe I have the privilege of baptizing him tonight. God is so good!