God’s Faithfulness in Atlantic City speaks of many servants of God coming together in the name of Jesus Christ to serve others unto the Lord. And in AC it just doesn’t happen on a 1 week mission trip, it is happening every day…

Many times in our culture people tend to judges progress based on numbers… From how many ‘likes’ did I get on my Facebook entry, to how much did my company increase in gross profits last year. And it happens in the Christian culture as well. Many continue to judge progress within the church based on things such as attendance and tithing as an indication of God’s “involvement” or “favor” in a particular situation.  While that can be an indication, how are we to know? And is that our place to judge? If we read the scriptures we see that God’s creation (that is us) are not responsible for the results of God’s plans. We are called to be faithful to what He shows us, plant the seeds, water the seeds, and He produces the seeds. If it was dependent on us then why did God include the book of Jeremiah in the bible? Jeremiah preached his entire life and yet had not one convert. However what he didn’t know is that over 2000 years later we would still be reading his writings and being encouraged in our faith.

This year’s mission trip to serve along side New City Fellowship showed us just how faithful God is to His plans.

Here are some encouraging examples of His faithfulness…

1. New City Fellowship is a small congregation situated in a poor area of AC. While this church plant has a relatively small congregation and tithe, it is a hub that invites teams from all over the country to come and serve,  be discipled and trained, grow in their faith and go back home to serve, train and encourage others.
2. SOFM has been partnering with New City of AC since 2011. Over the past 6 years we have been privileged to bring down teams made up of several churches from different denominations. This year our team of 15 represented 6 different churches. Yet, while serving together we were encouraged by the New City staff that told us if anyone observed our team they would have thought we were all from the same church because of the unity of the spirit.
3. In 2013 we began helping to oversee the Maple Leaf Tutoring Program in Brick, which was an idea that came from the 2012 mission trip to AC. In 2017 we were blessed to have 5 of our ML students and one ML grandma on our team. They rocked AC!
4.  One of our ML students told us that he had accepted the Lord while on the trip.
5. God showed each one of us what areas of our lives we needed to die to so that we would look more like Him.
6. The hearts to serve, pray and put others first grew every day and was exampled by the New City staff continuously.
7. This team of 15 along with the New City staff were able to bless the children at Carver Hall with a 3-night Bible Club as well as the staff of the Boys and Girls Club through a variety of work projects.

If we focus on the results we miss His faithfulness in the process. We are so thankful that our God has a plan and purpose so much greater than we can ever begin to imagine. This year’s trip to AC proved that once again.

If you would like to join us next summer and experience God’s faithfulness, please let us know. If you would like to help Pastor Santo and New City Fellowship in any way, please also let us know. They are a small group of faithful, persevering servants that remind us every time we are with them what it truly means to die to yourself and live for Jesus!