Our ministry began with an invitation to dream with God and dare greatly for Him. There was a green light from the Lord to go after the things He’s placed in our hearts. He didn’t give us a map, but rather a compass to keep following Him as He leads. As such it’s been an incredible journey with both ups and downs. There have been times of being stretched beyond what we’re used to and even being tempted to throw in the towel. Yet with each step and in every season, we’ve seen God come through time and time again. If I’m honest, the greatest temptation I’ve faced since beginning Pursuit NYC was to quit. I’m so thankful that the Lord prevented us from doing such a thing! Because on the other side of pressing through and persevering, we’ve seen God do the incredible and the impossible. I believe with all my heart that we are now just scratching the surface of all that God has for us. We are starting to get a glimpse of His promises coming to pass. Although we are now getting ready to enter into our fifth year, 2018 felt like the first.
- It was the first time we did a full year of monthly gatherings.
- It was the first full year of our leadership team.
- Pursuit NYC is now an officially registered organization! (Another first!)
- It was the first full year of consistently delivering podcasts and blogs. (The hardest first, haha!)
- We launched many new projects and endeavors such as a training and gathering for leaders, a team for volunteers, consistently providing a space to minister to those in need of healing, and cultivating community for creatives. All firsts! (You can read testimonies of how God moved in each and every single one of these ministries here.)
In 2018 we can’t deny that God truly did bring an increase. There was an increase in friendships and partnerships with both local ministries and abroad. We saw an increase in our gatherings. In the early days we could count the number of those in attendance by hand, but God took us to another level this year. And mainly because there’s been an increase in the manifest presence of God and a hunger to pursue Him more. With increase came a greater sense of urgency and weightiness to all that we do. It has made us reflect on another level as well. All of which has yielded great dialogues, conversations, and wrestling with all that we’ve been doing, mainly in terms of our vision, “Revival or bust”.
On the other side of pressing through and persevering, we’ve seen God do the incredible and the impossible. Click To TweetWhat truly is revival? How do we see revival? What is our role? What is our purpose? Is what we are doing helping or hurting the region experience revival? These questions both excite me and intimidate me at the same time! But ultimately they fire me up because I believe this, too, positions us to seek God more and to serve others better. Jesus is our ultimate aim and why exist. We long for revival because no matter how it happens or what it exactly will look like, we know Jesus will be exalted and when He is, He will draw people to Himself (John 12:32). At the time of me writing this post, I can honestly say we don’t have all the answers… yet. But we are in the process of going deeper and deeper.
Jesus is our ultimate aim and why exist. Click To TweetAs we get ready to transition into the new year, we have less plans and strategies on how to maximize all God did in 2018, but instead we have greater hunger and humility to seek His face. We only want to do what God wants us to do. Obviously we do have plans, goals, and dreams, but we are ending 2018 with them laid down at the altar. We want to begin the new year with open hands — open because we’re ready to receive, but primarily because we’re surrendered. And we want to invite all of you to join us again in 2019 as we pursue after Him. We’re always so blown away by everyone who comes out to our events and all those who have shown so much love and support. Your prayers truly mean more than you know! As mentioned, we are just scratching the surface. We are just getting to see God move like He said He would. We’re growing, we’re evolving, and most importantly we’re pursuing. Pursue with us in 2019. The best is yet to come…
We’re growing, we’re evolving, and most importantly we’re pursuing. Click To Tweet