Long Overdue!

We apologize for the long overdue update! God has been moving in extraordinary ways over the past few months up here in the northeast. Since our last post, God has been graciously growing and deepening the people of Church at Bergen. We have been worshipping in the larger space for quite some time now, and God is continuing to bring new people each week to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ. We are currently looking and praying for a more permanent location to gather, so please pray to that end with us as the hotel has been a great place to start, however we are experiencing the limitations and don't want to stifle or slow down the work of God. We know He is ultimately in charge and knows what is best, so we are trusting in that as we move and make decisions.

Our community groups have been thriving as people have been gathering all over bergen county. I (Mike) just finished teaching through the core identities of Church at Bergen (Gospel Driven, Word Driven, Discipleship Driven & Mission Driven). It was a largely instructive past 9 weeks for our entire church body. We are excited to dive into the book of Genesis on December 1st and we are praying that the Lord would use this next sermon series to instruct, encourage, and give us a more full understanding as to why we exist, who God is, and most importantly what He is all about.

We have had the joy of hearing testimonies from CaB members over the past number of Sundays who God is transforming by His gospel. The stories range from heroine addiction, attempts at suicide, deep suffering, to nominal Christians who grew up hearing the gospel but never truly understood the implications of it upon their life. There are few nights that I don't fall asleep with tears seeing what was once a vision and a call, becoming reality as we experience the evidences of God's grace in building this church.

I (Mike) have been meeting with a group of men for discipleship and leadership development, who we pray will in turn become future elders, deacons, church planters, and leaders in Jesus' church. Kristin has been fostering sweet fellowship with a number of women at CaB for times of encouragement and prayer which has been a deep blessing for her.

Jaxson is a joy. He is growing up way to fast. We are delighting in him as it has created greater worship to Jesus because of this gift we have in our son. Pray for us to be faithful parents, and for God to protect Jaxson from our sins and grow him into a man who loves Jesus and is used for God's glory and fame.

We covet each of your prayers, for perseverance, faithful obedience, and that the Lord would continue to lead us. We hope to plan another gathering down in VA for an update on the many more spectacular things God is doing in and through this new local church, Lord willing in the beginning of January. Stay tuned!

Have a great Thanksgiving!

Pray for:
-Genesis sermon series
-Future gathering space
-Jaxson's health during flu season
-Protection over Mike & Kristin's Marriage
-For many more lost to be rescued and disciples to be made mature in Christ

The Holy Spirit is Moving

God is moving. Church at Bergen has experienced a significant move of the Holy Spirit through these early summer months. We are seeing skeptics, doubters, seekers, homosexuals, and deepening Christians enter our doors on Sundays to hear, see and taste the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We are in conversation with the double tree hotel to expand our space beginning in September as we are at capacity in the current use of the ballroom. We are looking to rent more rooms for children's ministry and expand the worship gathering space to enable continued growth and discipleship at CaB. We praise Christ for His evident grace, mercy and blessing over what has been happening in this local gospel community.

We will be launching 9 community groups throughout Bergen County in September to foster greater community and mission among the people gathering at CaB. We have been hosting training for leaders of these communities during the summer in preparation to launch them next month.

We are finishing up our study in Colossians this Sunday. It has been an amazing 17 weeks marveling over the deep realities of the person and work of Jesus Christ. We will then spend 4 weeks in the book of Haggai which will lead us into 4 weeks teaching the core identities of Church at Bergen as we launch into September.

Pray for Kristin as she continues to raise Jaxson at home during the day. She is an amazing wife and mom, and our son has been a deep blessing to us in the middle of all the Lord is doing up here. Pray for continued wisdom for me (Mike) as we continue to follow our Chief Shepherd and discern how He desires us to move, walk, live and interact as a gospel community in Bergen County. Pray for Church at Bergen as Paul did for the Church at Colossae, that "more doors may be opened to proclaim the mysteries of Christ."

Amen.

CAB Baptisms

We are 10 weeks in, and God is transforming lives. I wish I could write to you all that God is doing but it would take pages upon pages. One of the highlights I wanted to share with you all was last weekend, where we held our first "Church at Bergen Community Cookout." We baptized 4 people, and it was an incredible time of forming friendships, seeing the gospel on visible display, and meeting other people who shared stories of how God drew them to this new church in the northeast. The pictures tell the story. Deeply thankful for each you, your prayers, support, enduring friendship and encouragement, and partnership in the gospel. Jesus is building His church in the northeast!

                                       

                                       

God is at work in the Northeast!

We are only 5 Sundays in and God is already transforming lives and using Church at Bergen for His glory. This past Sunday I met a man and his wife who have been attending CAB for the past 5 weeks. Prior to the launch on Easter they had not attended any church for over 3 years. They are thrilled to make CAB their church home, and shared with me the pain they felt not gathering with a local gospel community, and the joy it has been to gather with CAB.  We also had a young man this past Sunday who shared with me his reliance on a past decision for salvation and didn't see any spiritual fruit in his life. He told me how he never really understood the biblical gospel and his alienation between Him and God. He repented of His sin on Sunday and desires to gather weekly and walk with Jesus.  He took a bible home and is going to begin reading the book of John. Praise Christ for His work. So humbling.

Jesus is building his church, what a gift to witness His transformation not only in our own lives but in the lives of others. May God be glorified in the weeks, months and years to come through this local church as a visible display of His glory.

Baby Reed is due next week, please continue to pray for Kristin and baby!

God Stories

The past 2 weeks have been indescribable. Planting Church at Bergen has been one of the hardest things I've ever participated in, yet the rewards are out of this world. I had the privilege of speaking at Ramapo College 4 days before we launched on Easter Sunday. Ramapo is only half a mile down the road from the Double Tree Hotel where we gather. There was a student from Suffern, NY who was studying for a midterm and happened to be listening to me from a distance. After I was finished speaking I was talking to students and he asked if I had time to answer some of his questions. He said to me, "I appreciated all that talk about grace and unmerited favor. You really believe that?" We walked through the person of Jesus, His life, His death, and His resurrection, what it means to be a pastor and not a priest (in his sense of understanding), what baptism is and isn't, repentance and faith, and why the gospel of grace gives God all the glory and no room for our boasting as sinners. At the end of our conversation he asked me if I could leave him alone so that he could repent of his sin and trust in Christ. WHAT!?!?!?! Easter Sunday he showed up for the opening service. My eyes filled with tears as I saw him after our gathering. He told me that he had a friend drop him off at the hotel and his friend asked "what are you going to be doing here this morning at this hotel?" to which he replied, "going to a church service, you should join me sometime." 

I've had seekers emailing me with questions about the gospel, who Jesus is, and this new church. We had one young man trust Jesus by coming with one of his friends to our core group gatherings prior to the launch! He is now actively involved in CAB and is learning along side all of us what it means to know and follow Jesus. I've also had families who have been praying for a local church in this area that preaches the good news of Jesus Christ who are rejoicing at the birthing of this new gospel community.

God is at work. He alone deserves all glory, worship, and praise. Humbled.

In case you missed it, our website is www.churchatbergen.org.  

A New Local Church In The Northeast!

It's hard for me to write this post without tears in my eyes. There is now a new local church in the northeast proclaiming and heralding the good news of Jesus Christ. Church at Bergen held its first official gathering Easter Sunday and God moved in powerful ways. The room was filled with atheists, skeptics, visitors, and Christ followers.  I cannot put into words the gratitude to God for His faithfulness and provision thus far in this journey. Kristin and I left Sunday humbled, thankful, and in awe of our great God. With no words to describe the day, I figured pictures tell the best story. Enjoy.