When my wife Sarah and I moved from Arizona to New York, one of the most difficult parts for me was knowing that I would be living in a place with no existing church family and friends. I would have to start from scratch and build entirely new relationships.
As I began to look for a church that Sarah and I would eventually call home, I did what any “normal” person would do. I googled all kinds of churches, and one of them happened to be Hoboken Grace. After watching a few messages and doing more research, I started thinking that Hoboken Grace had the potential to be our home church. We eventually visited in person and met so many people who we call friends today. We got incredibly well connected by those who served at Hoboken Grace, and it made all the difference.
I share a small snippet of our journey at Hoboken Grace so that we all can be reminded of what an amazing impact serving has. That being said, I want to share another way of serving that is possible at Hoboken Grace. Having not only a physical location for our church but also an “online church” community, we have an opportunity to reach out to those who might not be ready or able to take that first step into our doors. In the same way that our physical church location has people who love to serve, we need people who can serve within our “online church.” Here is a better idea of what this can look like…
Kenny, a single father living in Hoboken, told himself that he should probably go to church on Easter Sunday, something he used to do with his parents as a kid. Instead, he decided to watch Hoboken Grace’s service live, on the church’s website. Kenny was deeply moved by the love of God that he once knew. You see, Kenny had made a decision in high school to accept Christ and vowed to follow Him, but he eventually strayed toward a different path in life. Now 12 years later, Kenny heard that God has been pursuing him this entire time. While Kenny was watching church online, I asked everyone who was viewing the service if anyone needed prayer or simply had questions. It was at that moment that Kenny decided to recommit his life back to the Lord. He privately messaged me asking for prayer to change his life around and once again follow Jesus.
By creating a team of people serving as online hosts, we can reach and impact those who might never otherwise walk into our doors and hear the message of Jesus. What an amazing opportunity! These online hosts will engage people and allow them to be open about their prayer requests, questions and concerns.
Let’s better serve and love those who have walked away from their faith, those who have serious questions about God, those who are simply in the middle of a challenging season in life, those who are online for whatever the reason may be. Our mission is to find every possible way to reach out and help people find their way back to God.
Roman serves as an Online Host on the Care Team.
For more info email care@hobokengrace.com.
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