by Sam | Sep 15, 2014 | Frontier, Inspiration
Several months back Marty and his family visited my church, The Sycomore, to preach and minister. Marty gave a powerful word on the Father heart of God. He shared stories of seeing God’s heart in action on the missions field. Afterwards I had the chance to get to know Marty more and was deeply impacted by his life and prayer for me. Since then we have stayed in touch, and it is a tremendous honor to share the Meyer family’s story through Pursuit: Frontier. Share with us who you are and what you do. Kelly and I have been missionaries in Youth With A Mission (YWAM) for nearly 20 years. Ten years ago the Lord lead us to Cascade, Idaho to pioneer a new YWAM base strategically focused on mobilizing and sending missionaries to north India. We are now the leaders of a thriving missionary training center that is equipping pioneers to complete the Great Commission. How did God call you into missions? I (Marty) had been serving as an assistant pastor for eight years and Kelly, a schoolteacher for three. We had the perfect life carved out for ourselves in Pocatello, Idaho. We figured we would spend the rest of our lives there. In a quiet moment with the Lord I ask if He wanted to speak to me personally. The voice I heard said: “Quit your jobs, sell your house and go to a place I will show you.” When I told Kelly about it, she said, “Well, if it’s truly the Lord we will have to obey.” The next day I ask the Lord to confirm that...
by Sam | Sep 5, 2014 | Inspiration
The start of a new school year means that there are also plenty of new faces and opportunities. You would be surprised to know just how much your campus has to offer you. Whether it is your first semester of college or your last, these 3 steps will be sure to help you thrive this coming year in college. 1) BE OPEN College is a great opportunity to learn more about the world around you and the person you are becoming. Don’t be stagnant, but rather go and explore. It might be challenging to go outside of your comfort zone, but an incredible journey always starts with that first step. Be open to taking new classes, joining new clubs, and meeting new people. And not just new people, but people who are actually different than you. Take on a challenge, learn a new skill, take up a new hobby. Be open to being stretched and letting your thoughts and ideas be challenged as well. Only then can you really take ownership of what you believe and why. Be open. 2) BE ROOTED The sky is the limit for you! But you will only go as high as your roots go deep below. Remember where you came from and all those who shaped you to be the person you are today. In college it can be so easy to succumb to peer pressure and just be another face in the crowd. By being rooted though, you won’t be swayed to the left and to the right into who others want you to be. Instead you can be free to be...
by Sam | Jul 31, 2014 | Inspiration, Reflection
Ever have one of those mornings where God is just speaking to you? And throughout the entire day, He just keeps confirming it over and over again through the most random ways? The other day was just like that for me. He was speaking to me that He will never let me down and He will never walk away from me. It was powerful. And that same truth came up as the day progressed. At first it was an encouraging reminder, then it turned into dread. Was God saying this to me because something bad was going to happen? Was He warning me of some unforeseen circumstance that will arise? Was He cluing me in on a time where I would need to clutch onto this? And in that moment I realized something was totally off! Instead of embracing what God has told me, I instantly made it about something bad that was bound to happen. So often my expectations of God and who He is and what He does is “bad”. Not that I believe God is bad, but the way I view life is through the lens of my circumstances and past experiences rather than His goodness. If I say that I believe in a good God and am saved by the Good News of Jesus Christ, then shouldn’t my expectations be good too? The Bible tells us over and over again that He is good and that He only gives good gifts (James 1:17)! Why is believing that so hard for me if I am a “believer”? Instead of saying “uh oh, things are about to...
by Sam | Jul 21, 2014 | Frontier
I first met John & Lydia Yoon a couple years ago while studying at Alliance Theological Seminary in NY. Through different classes and interactions, we developed a friendship. Since then I’ve personally been blessed and challenged by their hearts for the nations. They have lived out their faith by willing to go beyond their comfort zones and into the unknown simply because God was calling them. (Also they have the cutest little girl named Addy!) I am so excited to be able to share their story and their journey as our first feature ever on Pursuit: Frontier. Briefly describe your calling My wife, Lydia, felt the call to missions much earlier than I had. During my last semester of seminary, I felt the Lord calling me out of the church that I was currently serving (New Covenant Church in Little Neck, NY). I assumed it would be another pastoral position at another church and hoped it would be full-time. In October of 2013, our family visited some friends in Canada who were planning on going to Haiti long-term. During our conversation, I felt a new excitement for missions stirring in my heart. That night, past dreams and convictions were brought to mind as Lydia and I talked and prayed together. Everything aligned to God’s calling for our family to make disciples of all nations as full-time missionaries. Briefly describe your mission field We are part of a new breed of missionaries now being classified as ‘glocal’ missionaries. The term, ‘glocal’ is a portmanteau of the words ‘global’ and ‘local.’ As implied, we see ourselves as missionaries called to minister the...
by Sam | Jul 9, 2014 | Inspiration, Reflection
One of the buzzwords in the church today is community. And why wouldn’t it be? Who doesn’t love the idea of belonging to a group, having friends, and just doing life together? It seems to be only full of positives! Yet community will continue to only be a buzzword unless people learn to truly submit to one another in the name of Christ. Especially when it comes to discernment. In my own life there have been areas where I literally felt like God was telling me two different things. One day it seemed as if God was pulling me in one direction, and the next, the complete opposite. Was I going crazy? Does God constantly change His mind? What I’ve come to realize is that usually when I am emotionally invested in something, it is hard to be objective and to even hear from God without my own filter. This is where community is crucial. Proverbs (11:14, 15:22) emphasizes how in the multitude of counsel there is wisdom. Wisdom seeks out others. Pride says “I know better” and if it’s something personal, who would know better than me, right? Yet humility is being able to present something to others not just for prayer, not just for feedback, but for discernment as well. I’m all for hearing from God and being led by God no matter what popular opinion might be. I’m all for seeking God until you get an answer, but the truth is I don’t have a monopoly on hearing from Him. I need others to correct me, encourage me, affirm me in what I am hearing from Him, and...
by Sam | May 2, 2014 | Reflection
The areas of wounding The places that are most vulnerable Are the same places that Received special care, attention, and Ultimately healing… To know my scars is to know me. To know me is to know my Healer....
by Sam | Apr 25, 2014 | Reflection
Here’s an excerpt from The Inner Voice of Love by one of my favorite authors and thinkers, Henri Nouwen. “Do not hesitate to love and to love deeply. You might be afraid of the pain that deep love can cause. When those you love deeply reject you, leave you, or die, your heart will be broken. But that should not hold you back from loving deeply. The pain that comes from deep love makes your love ever more fruitful. It is like a plow that breaks the ground to allow the seed to take root and grow into a strong plant. Every time you experience the pain of rejection, absence, or death, you are faced with a choice. You can become bitter and decide not to love again, or you can stand straight in your pain and let the soil on which you stand become richer and more able to give life to new seeds. The more you have loved and have allowed yourself to suffer because of your love, the more you will be able to let your heart grow wider and deeper. When your love is truly giving and receiving, those whom you love will not leave your heart even when they depart from you. They will become part of your self and thus gradually build a community within you. Those you have deeply loved become part of you. The longer you live, there will always be more people to be loved by you and to become part of your inner community. The wider your inner community becomes, the more easily you will recognize your own brothers...
by Sam | Apr 17, 2014 | Reflection
“So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets” — Jesus (Matthew 7:12) Jesus sums up Scripture in what is known as the “Golden Rule“. Treat others the way that you yourself would want to be treated. Sounds easy enough. However the reality is that most people won’t treat you the way that they would want to be treated. When that happens it pretty much always results in hurts, disappointments, and pain, which inevitably leads to bitterness, anger, offense, and unforgiveness. In a broken world full of broken people, things just seem to get more broken. It’s sin begetting more sin. One of the greatest areas of struggle in my own life these past couple years has been in the area of forgiveness. Couple years back I was completely blindsided and betrayed by the ones I loved and trusted most. I’ve never experienced such hurt in my life before. In a moment it felt like everything was taken away. Yet to make matters worse, I was completely abandoned by community. Not just any community, but a community of Christians, and not just any Christians, but a Christian community of leaders and pastors. Never would I have imagined that I would be treated the way I was by them. So when I needed others most, I was left alone to deal with what had just happened. Forgiving the ones who had hurt me would be tough already, but when I saw that they were welcomed and even celebrated by this community as if they did nothing...
by Sam | Apr 4, 2014 | Inspiration, Pursuitcast, Reflection
No one’s faith grows in isolation. Everyone needs community as well as pioneers, fathers, and mothers in the faith who have paved the way. They are the ones whose stories shape ours. One of those people in my life is Dr. Rob Reimer. He currently serves as the lead pastor of South Shore Community Church right outside of Boston, MA. He also teaches at Alliance Theological Seminary for both the M.Div program as well as the Doctorate program. And that’s where I first met him when I took one of his classes, and since then he has made a tremendous impact in my life. Last weekend I had the great honor and privilege of sitting down with him and interviewing him about revival. His life has been an excellent example to so many of what it means to live in the light and pursue after intimacy with God. He is someone I consider to be a true revivalist and an authentic teacher of the faith. Everything he teaches on and shares about comes straight from his own journey with Jesus. He speaks with authority because he has walked through everything himself. Just being around him stirs my soul for more of God. So when I sat down with him for the podcast, it was no different. The first question I asked him was how he defined revival, and he said it was the restoration and renewal of all things back to the way that God intended before sin entered the world. That means that when revival comes, the sick are healed, the oppressed are set free, the lost are found, the demonized...
by Sam | Mar 26, 2014 | Apparel
Our vision at Pursuit NYC is “Revival or Bust”. We will pursue after God until we see revival and nothing less. Now we have put that same heart and message into our very own line of clothing called Pursuit Apparel. Pursuit Apparel is a way for us to share our message with the public as well as to fund-raise for our ministry. To start we have 2 awesome items, a hoody and a tank, which both have “Revival or Bust” on the front. Our hoodies are lightweight and comfy, and are made from a poly/cotton blend. Colors are charcoal and black (for medium only). Prices start at $35. Our next item is a neon tank made from American Apparel. It is light, fun, and perfect for summer. Prices start at $18 for these. To order your own, contact us via email at hello@pursuitnyc.org Also to celebrate the releasing of Pursuit Apparel, we are having a Facebook giveaway from 12 PM on March 27th to 12 PM on March 28th! You will have a chance to win a hoody for FREE! Instructions will be posted tomorrow on our Facebook page so stay tuned! (We also have our terms & conditions posted below.) — TERMS & CONDITIONS FOR FACEBOOK GIVEAWAY Pursuit NYC (https://pursuitnyc.org) is the promoter of the giveaway. No purchase necessary to win or to enter, and does not aid in chances of winning. The promotion is open to residents of the US aged 18 and over. To enter, visit the Pursuit NYC page (http://facebook.com/pursuitnyc) “like” the page & like the corresponding picture that will be posted on or about 12 PM on March...
