November Highlights!

Local Church is 10 weeks old…and we are definitely still in the Honeymoon Stage! We are constantly finding ourselves in awe of what God is doing and that we get to be part of it. We feel energized and excited about everything we get to do. Here’s the latest on what’s been happening here at Local Church!

Still Church Planters!

Our goal was never to start a church that would just be another option for followers of Jesus…but a place that makes NEW followers of Jesus. That’s why we try to keep the heart and attitude of church planters - always building and trying new things. We don’t want to get so comfortable with having our Sunday gathering and weekly routine that we neglect building relationships with people outside the church and representing Jesus well in our community.

This month, to continue building positive relationships in the community, we hosted a breakfast with the Chamber of Commerce, opened up our building for a girl scout troop to meet during the week, attended and donated towards 2 fundraisers for notable community organizations, joined 10 different community Facebook groups, held a tree-lighting party for the community, hosted a networking meeting for area pastors, and more!

Breakfast with the Chamber of Commerce

Hanging out with other area pastors!

Attending a fancy fundraiser auction for Long Island Youth Mentoring!

Small groups

Throughout November, we met weekly with 2 small groups. One group, Starting Point, is designed for people who are new or returning to faith to explore faith and experience community. Everyone in the group has asked great questions and discussed hard questions of faith. There are people in this group that have expressed their disbelief in God and have felt supported and loved despite their doubts. Everyone has grown closer - both to God and to one another! It’s always exciting to me when I see people start a group as strangers, and end it as friends.

We also have a women’s group of 12 ladies that meet weekly for a Bible study called Seamless. The study aims to cover the main stories of the Bible and present it all as one seamless story. Some women in this group have never read any part of the Bible before! From these complete newbies to women who have been in church all their lives - everyone is learning and growing in their knowledge of God’s story. So cool!

A couple of quick stories…

• In July, a woman saw Mike play at a local restaurant. She loved the music, and so did her little daughter! For whatever reason, she felt so comfortable and really enjoyed being around Mike and the group of our friends + family who were there to support him. She didn’t talk to anyone, but she did notice that many of us were wearing Local Church shirts. Even though she wasn’t really interested in church, she kept thinking about it! In November, she looked up the church and decided she would give it a shot. She is now part of the family!

• I had lunch with a woman a few weeks ago who shared much of her story and continued to share how Local Church has inspired her to return to church and reignite her faith. This story sticks out to me specifically because she kept using the word “inspired.” Our mission at Local Church is to “inspire Long Islanders to follow Jesus.” So this was a really obvious example of accomplishing our mission!

• We now have approximately 65 people in attendance on Sunday mornings and about 28 people serving on Sundays. There are new people checking us out every week!

Do you realize the impact YOU have made?

Many of you have chosen to give financially to support Local Church. We do our best to keep you posted about all the great things that are happening, but thought you might like to hear from some of the people you are impacting. Here are a few reviews that have been shared online from people at Local Church:

”The homiest feeling I’ve had in a church in a long time! Felt like coming home! There was an openness with the content for conversations, and a clear effort for creating an atmosphere for that to happen! I hope to meet more people here and keep forming genuine connections with people. Of course with free coffee and bagels to boot! The sharing was applicable and practical backed by truth. Loved the decor throughout and the colors in the kids section! The check-in process for kids was secure and straight forward. There’s plenty of parking and everything is accessible.”

”Local Church is an exceptional new church in the Farmingville/Ronkonkoma area that has inspired me and others to follow Jesus in a fun and friendly environment. Not just a 'local church' either, I've met some new friends from as far away as Floral Park!! Truly a great way to worship God and Jesus on your Sunday mornings! (and the free bagels and coffee are not bad either.)”

”Wonderful young pastor whose mission is to inspire Long Island to follow Jesus! The people here are passionate in their commitment to the community. They are also a very welcoming group of people of all ages. I find their youth, energy and closeness a joy to be part of. Since attending Local Church I have been learning so much about Jesus which has had an impact on my everyday life. Most importantly, loving others as He loves us!”

None of this would be possible without your generosity. Whether you have given monthly, yearly, or once in a while - God has used YOU to impact people on Long Island. Can you just take a moment and thank God for giving you this opportunity?

For new churches, a team of outside financial donors is essential for at least the first 3 years. We continue to thank God for the investment many of you have made to support Local Church up to this point. As we approach the end of 2021, would you consider making a special end-of-year donation to help support and further our mission of inspiring people to follow Jesus? Our goal for total end-of-year giving is $10,000. We would be honored for you to ask God how He would like you to get involved. As always, thank you for your generosity!

Here’s how you can pray 🙏

CLICK HERE to let us know you prayed!

Prayer requests:

- For more volunteers. Right now our Kids team has been serving for 10 weeks straight without a break

- Pray for rest + rejuvenation as we head into the Holidays + the New Year

- As we wrap up our groups, we hope people take steps to follow Jesus

- Many who attend Local Church are totally new to church! Pray that they would set down roots in the knowledge of who Jesus is and God’s unfathomable love for them.

- Pray that we continue to make a positive impact on the Farmingville, NY area.

Answered prayers:

- We have 2 individuals with disabilities involved at our church! We are hoping for one to begin volunteering soon.

- Friendships are blossoming! This is an important part of building a community and it’s really fun to witness.

- Someone at our church donated 200 meals to be delivered for free to underprivileged families! We will get to help deliver them on Christmas Eve.

- On a personal level, Mike and I are doing great! We have plenty of fun date nights, quality time together, and continue to enjoy that we get to do all of this together!

Thank you for following us on our journey 🎉

We are looking forward to all that God has for us, for you, and for Long Island! ⛪️🌱