During the second week of April 2018, I was able to go to New York City and share my ministry with some churches in the Bronx, in Harlem, on the upper west side, and down by the One World Tower. It was a great week of ministry and getting to know some of my brothers and sisters in the Lord in the greatest city on earth!
New York City is my favorite place to be and I am so grateful that I got to share a week there with my oldest daughter.
I’ve been to New York City 5 times now and each time there is always something new to do and learn about this lovely city and its people.
This time around, I wanted to meet some children’s directors of some churches. I wanted to be able to share with them in person a little bit more about what I do and my passion for creatively sharing the Bible.
On Monday, I met a lovely lady named Rebecca. She is the children’s director of a church on the upper west end. Her church was literally just across the street from where we were staying. She also loves creatively sharing the Word and I was able to show her my Story Stick presentation of when Jesus healed the paralyzed man. She LOVED it!
Next, I met Tonya Wilkerson of Graffiti Church. Tonya is a transplant from Texas and she and her assistant direct run an after school program for the kids in the inner city. It was such a pleasure meeting her and sharing a couple of my creative ideas. I told her that I was jealous of how she gets to reach out to the kids in her neighborhood and make a difference. She said that there church is near one of the largest “projects” area in NY.
On Friday evening in New York City, I visited a messianic synagogue. Rabbi Cohen gave a wonderful message on the kind of justice that God expects us to meet out in our every day lives. It was a challenging message. Afterwards I met a young mother of 3 children who was really blessed to hear what the Lord has been doing through my ministry. The woman’s name is Michelle and she grew up Catholic, just like I did, but then came to the Lord when she was about 12 years old. Our stories were very similar, but then later on before she got married to her Jewish husband, she found out that she is actually Jewish herself! Now, she and her husband raise their children with the true teachings of both the Old and New Testaments as they follow Jeshua (Jesus) their Messiah.
Saturday was amazing! I got to perform my newest program called “Let Us PRAY!” for the parents and their children of Glory of Christ Church in the Bronx. We had such a fun time! The kids were awesome, but the parents were having just as much fun as the kids! I can’t wait to go back to my “adopted” church in this part of town.
Sunday morning took me to two churches in Harlem. This was my first time in this historic city.
First, I visited Bethel Gospel Assembly where I met the children’s director, Sharnay Torrance. Sharnay was so sweet and invited me to share a 20 minute presentation for a few of the children in the Sunday School. I was able to share the importance of praying to God while sharing my “ACTS of Prayer” song along with my Story Stick presentation and my Bible object lesson called “The Can of Thankfulness.”
Second on my church rounds for the day was a visit to Convent Avenue Baptist Church. Rev. Zee is the children’s minister there and gave a great sermon on the importance of carrying out “spring cleaning” in our lives. I loved his animated style and he even brought out some props at the end of his sermon to drive his message home.
Perhaps the most inspiring person I met was a woman who is 88 years young. She goes by “Mother Dorothy” and she has been teaching Sunday School at Bethel Gospel Assembly for 61 years!!! I can’t tell you what a blessing she was. She shared her vibrant heart for ministry to children and I was so grateful to meet her and hear how God has used her.
Here is an idea that she does every Sunday. She places a chair in the middle of the room and writes the name of Jesus on it. She said that the children know that they are not to sit there because that is where Jesus is sitting. I think we should all incorporate this creative way to remind our children that Jesus is ALWAYS with us.
In closing, New York City is a city that needs Jesus just like every other city in the world. Every city needs MORE “Mother Dorothy’s.” The city that you are a part of and its surrounding areas needs YOU to continue teaching and sharing and living out the Word of God to the children that He brings you.
Have you had someone like “Mother Dorothy” in your life? Someone who has been steadfast at sharing God’s Word year in and year out because of their great love for Jesus? Then take a moment and write their name in the “Comment Section” below. Write a sentence or two about their ministry. In a week or two, I will write an article that will honor these men and women that you have chosen to share about.
When is my next trip to New York City? Hopefully and prayerfully, this coming September 2018!
Want to learn about my next trip to New York City , then sign up to receive Scripture Lady’s Free Email Kid Tips packed full with creative ideas and receive 12 FREE Bible downloadable resources to help get the kids you minister to excited about the Bible! Just go to www.MyFreeBibleGames.com to fully subscribe.
Also, don’t forget to “LIKE” me on Facebook. Just click on my Facebook logo to the right. Thank you!
