Amplify is back! Hoboken Grace’s [one-day growth conference](http://hobokengrace.com/amplify) is designed to boost your faith and your pursuit of Christ by equipping you to move forward in specific areas of personal growth. That might mean developing stronger spiritual habits, exploring your gifts, gaining confidence in telling your story or learning new ways to read different books of the Bible.

So circle Saturday, May 19th on your calendar/planner/iPhone and choose from one of seven growth tracks.

— Develop [consistency in your relationship with God](http://hobokengrace.com/blog/running-the-race/) through prayer, scripture and other spiritual habits in **Foundations**.

— Discover [clarity](http://hobokengrace.com/blog/share-his-story/) and [confidence](http://hobokengrace.com/blog/your-story-matters/) in telling your **Story**.

— Evaluate how you can use your [gifts and talents](http://hobokengrace.com/blog/discover-gifts-use/) in **Empower**.

— Learn how to study different literature types with our three book studies, **Ecclesiastes** and **1 Samuel** and **2nd Timothy**.

— And learn more about God’s vision for **Parenting**.

Pick an area you want to focus on and [register today](http://hobokengrace.com/amplify/). Lunch will be provided and childcare is available. You can find more information [here](http://hobokengrace.com/amplify/).


Pick Your Track

How do you read the Bible? How do you dive deep and embrace all that it has to offer?

Amy teaches Hoboken Grace’s [Genesis Story Study](https://hobokengrace.churchcenter.com/registrations/events/115494) on Sunday mornings, and whether you’ve taken her class or not, she has some great tips for exploring God’s Word.

She recently talked to the Writing Team about how to find time in a busy schedule, how to get started, and how studying the Bible can change your life.

**Q. What type of study questions should one be asking while studying the Bible?**

A. I use a document, which has three different ways to study the Bible, with people who take the Sunday Story class that I lead. Whichever you use, _always_ begin with reading through the text several times.

_The Bible study method Amy walks her class through focuses on observations (looking at the recorded text without adding to it in the process), interpretation (examining what the original author was trying to say to the original audience) and application (applying what you have studied to your own life). She also walks her class through how to meditate on God’s Word, as well as several questions that can be helpful for digging deeper. (Who wrote this portion of scripture? What are the main points? What did you find most surprising about it?)_ 

**Q. Do you have a specific process? And do you take a different approach to studying the Old Testament from the New?**

A. I like to use the observations, interpretation and application method. You can use the same process for studying the Old and New Testament. However, it is important to know that the whole need and promise for a Savior is established in the Old Testament. The New Testament addresses the fulfillment of that need and promise in Jesus. Understanding the Old Testament traditions and law brings tremendous meaning and context to the arguments of the New Testament.

**Q. For those who have never read the Bible, what would you say is the difference between hearing a verse explained during church and taking the time to study a Biblical verse at home?**

A. It is so important to learn to read and study the Bible for yourself. Being alone with God, in His Word, will be when God is able to teach and show you who He is in your life. Studying the Bible is about getting to know God more, to draw closer to Him. As you encounter Him through His Word, He will begin to show you what you believe, and how to replace any lies with His truth. It’s then when we can really start walking in His ways and His truth. His Word is life changing. Another reason to study the Bible is to be able to discern whether or not what people are teaching is the truth. If you only rely on what others say about God, you may be misled and you will definitely miss out on the personal, specific things He has just for you!

**Q. How have you personally experienced spiritual growth while studying the Bible?**

A. While I grew up going to church, it wasn’t until my early 30s that I really began my personal relationship with Jesus. I figured if I was going to follow Him, I needed to know who He was and who He says I am. So, I grabbed the Bible that I owned and actually opened it. As I started reading it, my desire to learn more about Him and more of His ways grew. I had heard Bible Stories as a kid in Sunday school, but really I just always thought of the Bible as a rulebook of what to do and not do. As I started studying and reading the Bible, I learned more about how amazing He is and how much He loves me. I began to discover that the Bible wasn’t just a book of old, unrelatable stories or rules, but it was filled with stories of His love. Once I began spending time in His Word, I wanted more time with Him, not less. I also found out how fun God’s Word can be! The things He will show you as you draw to Him, through His Word, really are exciting!

**Q. What would you recommend is the best way to incorporate Bible studies in a busy daily schedule? And what is a good amount of time to dedicate when you’re just starting out?**

A. Each person has to determine when in their day is the best time to spend with God. It has to be planned and prioritized. It won’t “just happen.” Once you determine the time, pick a book of the Bible you want to study. One thing that I enjoy is doing a study with other people. It’s great for accountability. When doing a group study, make sure that the discussion as a group always comes after you have spent time doing the study alone. Don’t settle for just getting to hear what other people have learned, but spend time in God’s Word with Him first. I find 20 to 30 minutes is a good starting point.

**Q. Are there any advantages to using online Bible study sites, and are there any websites that you would recommend?**

A. I would recommend getting a study Bible. Study Bibles are great because they contain many tools to help you study.

This is a good resource book:

“[Rick Warren’s Bible Study Methods](https://www.amazon.com/Rick-Warrens-Bible-Study-Methods/dp/0310273005).” Twelve different methods are explained in simple, step-by-step instruction.

This is a good resource book if anyone is interested in learning more about the inductive study method: “[How to Study Your Bible](https://www.amazon.com/How-Study-Your-Bible-Life-Changing/dp/0736953434/ref=sr%5F1%5F1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1523501029&sr=1-1&keywords=how+to+study+your+bible+kay+arthur).”

Website: [BibleGateway.com](http://biblegateway.com)


Where to Start and Other Questions on Bible Reading

At the beginning and end of each semester of Financial Peace University, participants fill out an anonymous questionnaire meant to measure how the class has impacted them over the course of the nine-week program.

On average, families and individuals see a [$4,000 turnaround in their finances](http://hobokengrace.com/blog/make-finances-add/) — which might mean debt paid off, money saved, or both.

This winter, that number doubled, tripled and quadrupled. On average, participants saw a turnaround of $7,723 in the Sunday morning class, $10,726 in the Monday evening class and $17,000 in the Thursday evening class. And that was just the financial impact of the class. Those who take the class also experience the freedom of seeing credit cards and student loans paid off, stronger marriages and a renewed sense of confidence. Even for people who aren’t in debt and those who already consider themselves financially savvy, the course has the potential to change the trajectory of their finances – and their entire life.

“Even though it’s a class about finances, it doesn’t stop there,” said Kristin, one of the FPU facilitators.

Another semester of FPU is starting this month, and those who take the class will have the opportunity to become facilitators themselves this fall, when we want to encourage our entire family to walk through FPU together. But in order for that to happen, we will need many more FPU facilitators to help facilitate — and you can only become a facilitator if you’ve taken the class. The role itself is a small commitment, mostly involving putting on a video for the group and then leading a discussion about that week’s topic – whether it’s saving, budgeting, insurance, mortgages or giving.

For Andrea, leading a group has given her an up-close look at the many ways lives can be changed.

“I’ve seen marriages restored (the no. 1 reason for divorce is money-related), people being set free from thousands of dollars in debt, and overall false money-related arguments confronted with God’s truth,” said Andrea, who became a facilitator at Hoboken Grace this year after moving from Miami, where she and her husband also led an FPU group.

One story that sticks out is a man at their church in Miami who paid off $200,000 in debt after going through FPU. And that’s just one way someone’s life has changed, she said.

“There’s not one week during FPU that you don’t hear about a breakthrough in someone’s life,” Andrea added. “It encourages your own path with God.”

For Kristin, being an FPU leader has provided the tools and community to keep her accountable in her own finances.

“When I start falling off track, I have a community of people to talk with who are on the same journey with me,” she said. “We keep each other motivated.”

But she’s also seen countless people impacted.

“It helps facilitate conversations for couples that they’ve never had before or struggled with,” she said. “It’s really amazing to see the peace it brings to people’s lives knowing they are finally on the same page about this and have a structured way to talk about it and do it.”

And she’s also watched singles realize how capable they are of being financially free and independent.

“It can be scary living in such an expensive area on your own, and if you have debt, that maximizes the fear and your decisions start reflecting that,” she said. “You take on guilt and shame for decisions you made years ago. But FPU provides a plan, something to follow — that structure provides peace in itself. Then, once they start seeing actual results, it’s really cool to watch the confidence individuals adopt and the joy that it brings.”

_Financial Peace University groups start September 9th. [Registration is now open.](https://hobokengrace.churchcenter.com/registrations/events/137626)_


How to Change Your Financial Outlook — and Help Others Do the Same

For years, Anthony has been a familiar, welcoming face on Sunday mornings. As part of the staff at Hoboken Grace since 2014, he has served as Outreach Director and is often on stage leading announcements or presenting the message with his unmistakable blend of energy, humor and humanity. Now he is turning his talents toward launching a new ministry at Hoboken Grace as he takes on the role of Care Pastor. We recently sat down with Anthony to learn more about the ministry and how our church family can get involved. 

**Q. What does it mean to be a Care Pastor?**

A. To take the pulse of our church family and identify who may need a little extra care and how to best get them that care. That could mean offering counseling services, visiting people in the hospital, or helping plan funerals or weddings. I’m also putting together a team of people who have the gift of empathy and care. We will need licensed counselors, as well as people who are just really good listeners and are willing to make themselves available to sit and grieve or pray with others. One of the most effective tools of care that we have is our own experience of healing. Part of my job will be connecting people who are struggling with others who have gone through the same thing and want to use that experience for good.

**Q. Why are we starting a care ministry at Hoboken Grace?**

A. As a young church, we are very fortunate that we don’t have a lot of funerals or members in need of hospital visits. So in the past, this sort of care has just been done by whoever is available when help is needed. But as our church grows, these needs are arising more frequently, and we realized that we need to have a process and a dedicated team in place to be able to serve our family well.

At Hoboken Grace, we talk about being a Great Commandment and Great Commission church. Jesus came to say that the two greatest commandments are to love God and love others. The Great Commission is to teach others to love God and love others. You can love God with all your heart, soul and mind, but there is another part to that, and that is loving others. Care ministry is all about how do we love others well and take care of our family well, so they can, in turn, love others.

**Q. Why do you feel called to take on this new role?**

A. When I joined staff at church, I took a [StrengthsFinder test](https://www.gallupstrengthscenter.com/). My strengths were empathy, harmony, includer, communicator and positivity. When you look at that, you know I’m not a systems guy. I’m terrible at spreadsheets. But one thing I do love is people. I have always gravitated toward that kind of work. I don’t want anyone to feel alone. If someone is hurting or going through something, I want to get in there and see if there is anything that can be done. As Christ followers, we are all called to do this for each other, so that we can walk through the trenches together.

**Q. It seems like a lot of this work is about sharing the burden when life gets too heavy. How do you stay positive and motivated when this kind of work can be so emotionally draining?**

A. The possibilities keep me going. The sense that you never know what might emerge from even the darkest situation. You just never know what a kind word or sitting and listening to someone is going to set in motion. God can take something small and transform a life, and we might not even realize it’s happening. That’s what excites me. With God, anything is possible, and we can be a part of that.

**Q. How can our church family pray for you and participate in this ministry going forward?**

A. I think prayers for strength for both myself and the team members who step into these roles. When you walk through difficult times with people, it can take a lot out of you. We need our church family to be praying so that we can consistently go to God for nourishment rather than letting the work exhaust us to the point that we look elsewhere to fill my tank.

And I’d like to invite anyone who has ideas about what a care ministry could look like at Hoboken Grace to reach out to me. I’m looking for people who feel called to love in this way and would like to get involved.

_For more information or to get in touch with Anthony, you can email him at anthony@hobokengrace.com._


Loving Others Well

A few years ago, I was at a bar with a friend who struck up a conversation with the bartender. They started talking about what brought her there — a few people from Hoboken Grace had wandered over after a [connection event](http://hobokengrace.com/events/) — and what she liked to do on the weekends. And then she invited him to church.

This was shocking to me not only because she had just invited a complete stranger, but because she’d made it look so easy. And it was something I could never picture myself doing. I’m practically a 10 on the introvert scale, and unless I’ve known someone for years, I feel awkward in most conversations. So inviting someone to church? I get anxiety just thinking about it.

For years, when Easter rolled around and we started talking on Sundays and in dinner group about inviting others, I couldn’t help but feel somewhat inadequate. On the one hand, I knew that as a Christian, I was supposed to be sharing the message of Christ. But I’m not great at initiating invites to brunch, let alone church. And the whole thing usually served as a reminder that I don’t have the social skills of some of my more extroverted friends (whom I’m incredibly grateful for, because otherwise I’d probably never leave my apartment).

To be fair, not all introverts are shy, awkward or antisocial (and extroverts can be just as prone to social anxiety). But generally speaking, introverts find their fuel in alone time, while extroverts thrive in being around other people. They process things and approach relationships differently. And while there are different levels of introversion and extroversion, most of us identify with one or the other.

But while an estimated one-third to one-half of us are introverts, we live in a world that seems to have a cultural bias toward extroverts, more often valuing charisma and action over silence and contemplation. Christians and churches are no exception — oftentimes, we celebrate the people who are comfortable sharing their story with strangers, who are incredibly friendly and hospitable, who eagerly sign up to serve, and, who, yes, invite other people to church.

As someone who’s more quiet and reserved than most people, it took years to shake the sense that my social awkwardness was some kind of epic shortcoming. It took years to stop feeling like being an introvert somehow made me inadequate — especially when it came to serving God. But as I came to realize, the Church is a body of people with different gifts, who can accomplish God’s work because of that. Introverts can serve God just as well, though they’re often in less visible roles. They might not be the people who are greeting on Sunday mornings, or standing at Connection Points. They are most likely not the people inviting random bartenders to church — and that’s okay. 

But if you identify as an introvert — or anyone who deals with social anxiety — that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t invite that person you feel God is nudging you to invite. So how do you do that when it goes against your entire wiring? Here are a few suggestions:

**1). Think about the people you’re closest with**

So we’ve already established that you’re probably not going to invite a random bartender or someone you’ve just met. But there’s likely someone in your life who you might feel more comfortable inviting on Easter (which, studies show, is when people are most likely to attend church). Consider inviting a parent, sibling or roommate.

**2). Play to your strengths**

Generally speaking, a lot of introverts are more intuitive and better at picking up subtle things than extroverts. Maybe you’ve noticed that someone you know is going through a tough time. Maybe they’re the person God is nudging you to invite this year. And speaking of strengths, perhaps you’d feel more comfortable inviting them by email or text.

**3). Check your comfort level at the door**

Whether you’re an introvert or an extrovert, being vulnerable and stepping outside our comfort zones is what enables us to grow. And really, most of us — myself included — make inviting someone way more complicated than it is. The worst scenario is that someone says no. 

**4). Get out of your head**

Chances are, you’re better at inviting people than you think. If you tell yourself you have nothing to offer and that your words are ineffective, you’ll likely only continue to believe that. My extroverted friend — the one from the bar — says getting an invitation from an introvert feels more personal and intriguing than an invite from an extrovert. “The down side to being an extrovert is that people sometimes get overwhelmed by them, or assume they’re just one of many to get an invite, and therefore even if that person is special it might not seem meaningful to them,” she says.

**5). Find a place where you’re comfortable inviting someone — in your own way**

If you’re not comfortable with inviting someone right now (it took me a few years to get there), consider joining a team where you can use your strengths to do that in a less scary way. For example, through social media and the newsletter, the Communications Team indirectly invites hundreds of people to attend services on Easter. In addition, members of most teams at Hoboken Grace — Grace Kids, First Impressions, etc. — will serve on Easter Sunday, helping to create a welcoming environment for those who might be checking out church for the first time. If you’re interested in doing the same, check out [hobokengrace.com/teams](http://hobokengrace.com/teams).

_Brittney is a member of the Writing Team, and writing this was much easier than talking about it._


Inviting for Introverts

Last year, as a church, we prayed that everyone would invite two people to join them on Easter. Church attendance doubled. A record 1790 people came to Hoboken Grace that Sunday.

Studies show that people are more likely to attend church on Easter Sunday than any other date. But what if we not only invited people we know on Easter, what if we prayed that God would allow us to cross paths with people who need to be invited?

Think about your own story, the stories of the people in your dinner group, the stories of the people you’ve met at connection events, and the people whose stories you’ve read on this blog.

In some cases, someone did invite them to church. But more often, it seems, God used people indirectly. Maybe someone saw your post on social media, or you handed them a granola bar at the PATH. Maybe they read your blog post, or watched your video, or saw you smiling outside 301 Garden. Or maybe they walked in one day and you invited them to come back by the way you shook their hand, or played that song, or cared for their kids.

What if in addition to praying about the people we want to invite this Easter, each one of us also asked God to use us this season? Let’s pray that the words and smiles of our team members and dinner group friends would impact others. That God would use us to reach not just the people we’re inviting, but everyone we encounter.

Like Jesus, we need to meet people where they are. And that means we need to pray for opportunities to reach people who need to be invited. If we asked God to use each one of us this season, the possibilities for impact are endless.

Easter service times are as follows:

**Good Friday, March 30th:** 5 p.m. (with Grace Kids), 6:30 p.m. (no Grace Kids)

**Easter Saturday Service, March 31st:** 5 p.m. (with Grace Kids)

**Easter Sunday Service, April 1st:** 8:30 a.m. (with Grace Kids), 10 a.m. (with Grace Kids), 11:30 a.m. (with Grace Kids), 1 p.m. (no Grace Kids)


Who Will You Invite To Easter?

At its core, Simple Service is what it sounds like- it’s a simple way to love those in our community. It’s handing someone a free granola bar at the PATH, just because they may not have had time for breakfast. It’s offering your neighbor a bottle of water on a sweltering day, or a MetroCard with a free ride.

Simple Service has one goal, to make people smile. Through a small act of kindness, we can show a bit of how God has loved us. We can demonstrate His love in a practical way.

Ever since Hoboken Grace launched ten years ago, a team has been conducting these small acts of kindness all over the city. We’ll never know exactly how many people have been impacted, but we do know that one simple act has huge potential.

These are the stories of three people who were handed a granola bar more than six years ago and how they are still being impacted by it to this day.

[![](https://res.cloudinary.com/dzs7qxusf/image/upload/v1/archive/2018/03/Screen-Shot-2018-03-08-at-4.07.22-PM-e1520543954343.jpg)](https://res.cloudinary.com/dzs7qxusf/image/upload/v1/archive/2018/03/Screen-Shot-2018-03-08-at-4.07.22-PM-e1520543954343.jpg)[ ](https://res.cloudinary.com/dzs7qxusf/image/upload/v1/archive/2018/03/Screen-Shot-2018-03-08-at-4.07.22-PM.jpg)

### 

### 

### Noelle

“My friend Courtney and I had just moved to Hoboken after college and we were looking for a church to attend here,” said Noelle. “One morning we were walking to the PATH station and a handsome, bearded man handed us a Chewy bar. So we were talking later that day and decided, ‘Hey, let’s try this place out.’ We went that Sunday, and we signed up for a dinner group.”

“The granola bar was about loving people and making them feel welcome,” she said. “Connection Points are the human form of a Chewy bar — when new people come, they make them feel welcome and talk to them and make them feel like they know someone at church, especially if it’s their first time.”

![](https://res.cloudinary.com/dzs7qxusf/image/upload/v1/archive/2017/10/Photo20-1024x576.jpg)

### Gabby

“I was approached at the Exchange Place PATH Station about six years ago,” said Gabby. “Someone handed me a granola bar and business card, which seemed odd to me at the time. The woman didn’t ask for anything in return and as I went into the station, I noticed the name of the church on the card. At that time, I wasn’t considering going to another church because I had a church home. However, the simplicity of it struck me, and I wanted to see similar outreach at my own church.”

About five years later, Gabby started attending Hoboken Grace.

“I’m glad that seed was planted six years ago,” she said. “And besides, who doesn’t like granola bars?”

[![](https://res.cloudinary.com/dzs7qxusf/image/upload/v1/archive/2018/03/Screen-Shot-2018-03-08-at-3.59.13-PM.jpg)](https://res.cloudinary.com/dzs7qxusf/image/upload/v1/archive/2018/03/Screen-Shot-2018-03-08-at-3.59.13-PM.jpg)

### Rachel

“I had been commuting in and out of the city for about a year when one day a guy handed me a granola bar and a card at the PATH station,” said Rachel. “I needed a snack before the gym and he looked normal, so I took it and said thanks.”

“We hope that our small gift brightens your day just a little,” the card said. “We believe that people were meant to love the way God loves us, and we want to do that in any way we can.”

The card reminded Rachel of a time in her life when she’d felt comforted by God. She put it on her nightstand when she got home and forgot about it. But for weeks, she felt something tug at her heart each time she saw it. So Rachel convinced two friends to come with her to check out Hoboken Grace. She hadn’t been to church in years, but something about going stuck with her.

“And two weeks later I went back again by myself,” she said. “This time there was a girl with dark hair who greeted me. She was so nice, and although I was hesitant and unsure about this whole church thing, I talked to her that Sunday evening and then every Sunday evening after that. She invited me to her dinner group and we began having conversations that would change the rest of my life.”

Nearly a decade later, Rachel is on staff at Hoboken Grace. As the director of Grace Kids, she works to make both parents and children feel welcome each Sunday.

“It’s amazing one small act of kindness (giving me a granola bar) and Ana’s welcoming smile could have such an impact,” Rachel said. “It was small, but it changed the trajectory of my life.”

_Want to learn more about Simple Service? Email james@hobokengrace.com for next steps._


Simple Service, Huge Potential

Shelby had been attending Hoboken Grace for only a few weeks when she started looking into this year’s mission trips. When she saw that a team was going to Puerto Rico to help those affected by Hurricane Maria, she knew she had to go.

The people they’d be helping could have been her family, Shelby thought. At one point, the storm had been on track to hit their home in South Florida.

For Astrid, the people who ended up in the storm’s crosshairs are family. She grew up in Puerto Rico, and all of her relatives – cousins, aunts, uncles, everyone — are scattered around the island. It was her family she thought of when she saw news reports about the hundreds of thousands of people still without power or running water months later. Since the storm hit, she’d been praying for a way to help.

“It hit home because it is home,” she said.

When Astrid learned Hoboken Grace was organizing a trip to help with recovery efforts, it was the answer to a prayer.

So late last month, Shelby, Astrid and eight other people from Hoboken Grace traveled to Guayanabo, right outside San Juan. They partnered with a dozen people from two other churches, also there to assist with the recovery.

Each day, they were tasked with different projects – painting, fixing roofs, distributing food and water (including one day with the National Guard). One day, a team dug up a home’s entire water system, replacing pipes and putting in new walls.

“The stuff that we accomplished … I still can’t comprehend how we did it so quickly,” said Shelby.

Shelby’s team spent one day working at a house that was covered in mold. They ripped out cabinets and then went to work clearing a deck that was completely buried in vines and debris.

“It was heartbreaking that in that debris you would find cabinets, and wall outlets from other people’s homes,” she said. To their surprise, they found a driveway underneath as they continued to clear the area.

![](https://res.cloudinary.com/dzs7qxusf/image/upload/v1/archive/2018/03/20180306115305-b9f05139-me.jpg)

At another home, Shelby’s team moved 200 cement blocks and filled in a trench in the rain.

“We definitely leaned on each other,” she said, and it helped that everyone they met had been so welcoming, inviting them into their homes even if they didn’t have running water.

The people they met were so grateful, said Astrid, no matter how small the project.

“No matter where we went, no matter how ravaged it was, they had such faith, such joy,” she added.

Throughout the week, Astrid saw people coming together and helping one another — neighbors checking on each other, younger people making sure the elderly had water and were taking medication. It reminded her of how people had interacted when she was growing up in Puerto Rico, a way of life that had begun to disappear before the storm.

Everyone treated the team like family as well, Astrid said, especially the church in Guayanabo where they were based that week. Church members did an amazing job caring for them, she said, setting up the entire week and ensuring they were well-fed each night.

And the team – all 22 people from three churches — also felt like family throughout the week, Shelby and Astrid said.

“We were fast friends,” said Shelby, who didn’t know anyone on the trip from Hoboken Grace before signing up.

“From the beginning, we hit it off immediately,” said Astrid. “We didn’t feel like strangers at all.”

![](https://res.cloudinary.com/dzs7qxusf/image/upload/v1/archive/2018/03/20180305083123-e1f7f73e-me.jpg)

Each person seemed to be there for a reason, Shelby said. Everyone was vital to the team in their own way. Some had experience when it came to the repairs. Others knew Spanish, which helped them communicate and pray with those they met. And then there were the two people with culinary experience, who made everyone a gourmet-style breakfast each morning.

But what’s more was the way everyone encouraged each other throughout the week. No one complained or expressed negativity, despite how exhausted they were. Everyone was excited to serve.

“If someone asked for help, five people would jump up,” Shelby said.

It was moments like these that Shelby and Astrid say they’ll always remember – the way they saw people caring for one another, the way they saw people pray for one another.

While it was a sense of family that drew both of them to Puerto Rico, Shelby and Astrid left with another family – the nearly two dozen people they’d served with. A week after the trip, they’re still talking, sharing photos and messages over emails and group texts.

“I have never felt so much love in one place,” said Shelby. “Like I said, I didn’t know anyone before the trip. But when everyone met on the first day, we were like, OK, we’re here, we’re family now.”

![](https://res.cloudinary.com/dzs7qxusf/image/upload/v1/archive/2018/03/20180305083117-0af17afc-me.jpg)


Finding Family in Puerto Rico

When Jim and Lyla visited Sierra Leone last year as part of a mission trip with Hoboken Grace, Jim suggested taking their kids on the next trip.

“I said no way,” said Lyla, laughing.

But Jim continued pressing the idea, hoping to bring their two oldest daughters, 9-year-old Loren and 7-year-old Luca. After all, he had lived in Africa when he was their age, when his father worked as a professor and missionary in Zimbabwe.

“It had a massive impact on him, and he wanted a similar exposure for our children so that they’re aware of the plight of other people who are less fortunate,” Lyla said.

As the trip approached, it was decided that both girls would go. And they wouldn’t be the only kids on the team — two of their friends, each accompanied by a parent — would also be going to Sierra Leone.

During the weeklong trip, the team would be serving the staff of Enable the Children, a program that supports more than 900 little ones with disabilities such as autism and cerebral palsy, who otherwise might be abandoned, ostracized or neglected in their communities. The team would be helping the program’s staff throw a giant beach party for the families they support, as well as organizing a retreat for staff members and their families.

![](https://res.cloudinary.com/dzs7qxusf/image/upload/v1/archive/2018/02/IMG_8882-1024x768.jpg)

When the team arrived in Sierra Leone last month, one of the first stops for Loren, Luca and their parents was to pay a visit to Nenneh, a girl with cerebral palsy who they began sponsoring through Enable the Children six months ago.

“When she saw me, she just ran up to me and hugged me,” said Loren.

They brought letters they’d written wishing “much hope and love” for Nenneh, whose sister had died a few days earlier. And Loren gave her a doll she’d bought with her own money.

Meeting Nenneh in person was a moment they’d been excited about for months. But they hadn’t expected Neeneh’s home to be so unlike their own. At one point, Luca turned to her dad to ask why they hadn’t visited Nenneh at her house — she didn’t realize that this cramped space was where she and her family lived.

“The places we visited — the slums — were even worse than I imagined,” said Loren. “I thought they would be built out of stone, but instead there was just stone wall and metal sheets for a roof.”

But during her visit with Nenneh, another thing that stood out was her pretty pink and black dress.

“I was glad we sponsor her so she can have nice things like that,” Loren said.

The girls saw Nenneh the next day as well, during Enable the Children’s beach party. And while the adults served more than 1,400 meals to the families that attended, Loren, Luca and Nenneh danced on the beach, built sandcastles and held hands as they walked out to the ocean.

“You guys were showing everyone that kids with special needs are God’s children, too,” Jim told his daughters.

For Lyla, it was the moments like this – when all the children were playing together, despite language and cultural barriers – that stood out most.

But perhaps the greatest example of this, she and Jim say, was the last night the team spent with Enable the Children’s staff and their families. They held a huge bonfire and talked into the night, discussing the program, challenges of the past year, and how they’d seen God working. The children, meanwhile, spent the night laughing and dancing on the beach, starting a conga line and burying one another in the sand.

“It was just a beautiful vision of God’s community, one family,” said Jim, speaking of the interaction between both the children and adults. “Just being there together, despite being so radically different in so many ways. All centered on Christ.”

In retrospect, Lyla says it was great that the girls came on the trip.

“They’re not able to process everything yet, but they’ve already asked some questions about inequality — like, why they can’t just build more schools — so I think it’s starting good questions and good conversation,” she said.

Loren and Luca, meanwhile, are already thinking about their next trip to Sierra Leone.

“I want to go back next year,” said Loren, “and I want to go back the year after, and I want to go every year that I’m able to.”


Their First Mission Trip


The last two years have been pretty crazy. I’ve experienced incredible highs and devastating lows. My husband and I tied the knot in 2016, moved, changed jobs and, the most exciting change — this year we’re expecting our first child. In the midst of that, we’ve experienced the loss of several family members, including my father-in-law and an aunt I loved dearly.

It seems as if one minute we’re celebrating and the next we’re mourning. Although I’ve continued to trust and thank God in all of it, I started to feel myself living life always thinking about what was around the corner. I felt worry and fear start to creep in. I remember just having a moment where I asked God, “What is going on?!” In that moment, He brought me back to my college graduation day — which seemed strange. I remember thinking, “What does this have to do with anything?”

Out of what seemed like a hundred speakers, I remembered one in particular. She talked about the many random jobs she worked after graduating college, and how she felt they were all so different and far from her “dream” job. Years went by, and she finally found herself in the place she wanted to be. But when she looked back, she realized that each role had contributed to where she was and that she had learned something from each job.

It’s a story that reminds me of Romans 8:28: “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.”

My own story includes both joyful and painful moments, but God uses even my failures and sorrow to craft a beautiful story. I can rest in knowing that whatever comes my way, He uses it. He uses the good, the bad and the ugly, and not just for my good. He uses all of our stories, and they work together to create an even bigger picture.

As a member of the Communications Team, I see this happen with the stories in our church community as well. Each of our stories – the good, the bad and the ugly — work together to show how God is moving. Each photograph, each blog post and each video is merely a glimpse.

And just as that speaker’s story resonated with me so many years later, the stories we share can reach people right where they are. Whether they’re stories about grief or joy, God can use them in completely unexpected ways.

##### [![](https://res.cloudinary.com/dzs7qxusf/image/upload/v1/archive/2018/02/27545511_1826299640727420_1728589270506293369_n.png)](http://hobokengrace.com/teams/)_Visit [hobokengrace.com/teams](http://hobokengrace.com/teams)._


It’s All Part of the Story

When you look back at the last 10 years, one of the biggest stories is one that’s perhaps not as obvious or often talked about: the number of Hoboken Grace weddings.

Over the past decade, at least 17 couples have gotten married after meeting through Hoboken Grace. That includes couples who got to know each other at connection events, on a mission trip, at a choir info meeting and even while working in the church office.

So as we continue to celebrate Hoboken Grace’s 10th birthday this month — and mark Valentine’s Day this week — the Writing Team asked some of those couples to share how they met.

[![](https://res.cloudinary.com/dzs7qxusf/image/upload/v1/archive/2018/02/erinjames416.jpg)](https://res.cloudinary.com/dzs7qxusf/image/upload/v1/archive/2018/02/erinjames416.jpg)

**Erin & James** _Married 3 years_

“This depends on who you ask!” said Erin. “If you ask me, we met outside the Boys & Girls Club during Hurricane Sandy when the church was organizing groups to clean up different projects. I annoyed James by singing ‘Tear Down the Walls’ by Hillsong all week while we were _literally_ tearing down walls. (Luckily for James I’ve gotten funnier as time has gone on…)

The truth is we technically met then, but that’s not how we got to know each other.

We got to know each other when we went on the Guatemala mission trip in March 2013\. Aside from the fact that a mission trip is a great way to get to know the people you’re serving with, our translator for the week seemed like he was on his own ‘mission’ to get us together.

On the last day of the trip, he spent 45 minutes (in front of the entire group) asking someone who knew James well what qualities a woman needed to have in order to be a good match for him. After each quality was mentioned, he would ask someone who knew me well whether I fit that description, and she assured him that I did. It was completely embarrassing (think red-in-the-face, can’t-look-in-each-other’s-direction embarrassing), but looking back, the experience seems like it was just what we needed to get us out of our own way and paying attention to what really mattered.”

[![](https://res.cloudinary.com/dzs7qxusf/image/upload/v1/archive/2018/02/Wedding-1.jpg)](https://res.cloudinary.com/dzs7qxusf/image/upload/v1/archive/2018/02/Wedding-1.jpg)

**Mike & Flor** _Married 2.5 years_

“Flor and I met after church one Sunday while we were both serving on the First Impressions Team,” said Mike. “I was a new believer and had recently been baptized, and Flor had been growing in her personal relationship with God while living in a new city in a new country. God had pierced both of our hearts to serve others, and in doing so, He brought us together. We are thankful for the opportunities we had to serve at Hoboken Grace, and we are excited to pass on what we learned and help create structure for people to serve with our new church family in Boston.”

![](https://res.cloudinary.com/dzs7qxusf/image/upload/v1/archive/2018/02/unnamed-2-e1518712636227-1024x735.jpg)

**Chad & Joanna** _Married 4.5 years_

“I first saw Joanna my second week at church as she waded into the pool on stage to get baptized at the end of March 2010,” said Chad. “She gave a short testimony and in the span of 60 seconds I was captivated spiritually, intellectually and physically. She was articulate, beautiful and knew who she was in God’s eyes. And all I knew was her first name.

So, I’d show up at connection events, sit nearby on Sunday to ensure she was one of those I ‘greeted around me.’ Some might call it light stalking, but I considered it an opportunity for prepared serendipity. It took a full year before we had an actual conversation. Then I asked her to a meeting — not a date — just a drinks-turned-into-dinner-back-to-drinks meeting. That carried into witty (for me) banter on Facebook. Then, suddenly it seemed, we were dating.

We made French macarons. We had our first kiss on the corner of Houston and Broadway. We went to other people’s weddings. We got stuck in the rain after _Billy Elliott the Musical_. We had our first fight over Bugs Bunny. We prayed together. We searched the neighborhood for her lost cat. I told her I loved her. Weeks later, she said the same.

Waiting on God’s timing can be achingly frustrating. I had literally stood under a clear night sky both begging and yelling for Him to deliver a companion. He’s worth waiting on. She’s so much more than I could have ever imagined.”

![](https://res.cloudinary.com/dzs7qxusf/image/upload/v1/archive/2018/02/10173632_886181997546_1129233650_n-1-e1518712739526.jpg)

**Sarah & CJ** _Married 4 years_

“Sarah and I met at a Hoboken Grace connection event roughly seven years ago,” said CJ. “I recall two things from our introduction: 1). Her accent spoke of a town far, far away and 2). I was eager to get to know her more. I made attempts to interact with her when I saw her at church and, unbeknownst to me at the time, a mutual friend of ours was separately trying to set us up. We began dating shortly thereafter, and in March 2014, Pastor Chris pronounced us husband and wife. We’re forever indebted to our Hoboken Grace family for the love, support and encouragement they provided us during our dating years and continue to provide today.”

[![](https://res.cloudinary.com/dzs7qxusf/image/upload/v1/archive/2018/02/bradandsusiwedding-e1518408552587.jpg)](https://res.cloudinary.com/dzs7qxusf/image/upload/v1/archive/2018/02/bradandsusiwedding-e1518408552587.jpg)

**Brad & Susi** _Married 4.5 years_

“Brad and I met in 2010 at Hoboken Grace when he was working for the church and I started TRUE Mentors,” said Susi. “It was only the two of us in the office most of the time (except for Pastor Chris), and we got to be good friends. A year later we started dating and two years after that we got married at Hoboken Grace.”

[![](https://res.cloudinary.com/dzs7qxusf/image/upload/v1/archive/2018/02/4-Alter-133.jpg)](https://res.cloudinary.com/dzs7qxusf/image/upload/v1/archive/2018/02/4-Alter-133.jpg)

**Nate & Alyssa** _Married 5 months_

“During a series on relationships and dating, Pastor Chris challenged us to ‘stop expecting a different result when we keep doing the same things in relationships,’ and to maybe consider where we were trying to meet people and to look around the room of our church instead,” said Nate. “Alyssa saw me for the first time and joked with her friend that I was the one. She was surprised when a few Sundays later, a mutual friend (Rachel Norris) unexpectedly introduced us right after the service.

“We happened to see each other again after Worship Night (now called Night of Prayer), when a huge group from church decided to go out together following the service. I asked her out that night and our first date was at the Hoboken Arts and Music Festival after church. We spent the whole day together. We got engaged in Charleston on 2/2/17, and after dating for four years, four months and four days, we were married in Weehawken on 9/9/17.”

![](https://res.cloudinary.com/dzs7qxusf/image/upload/v1/archive/2018/02/Norris-1481.jpg)

**Rachel & Jonathan** _Married 4 months_

Rachel and Jonathan met at the end of 2015, after Nick Lenzi, one of Rachel’s friends and co-workers, told Rachel he thought they should meet. So Rachel did what any girl in this day and age would do: She searched for Jonathan on Facebook, then sent him a friend request.

Jonathan thought it was odd that someone he had never met in real life would ask to “be his friend” on Facebook. But after noticing they had several friends in common, Jonathan did what any guy in this day and age would do: He accepted the request so he could look at more of Rachel’s pictures.

It wasn’t long before they ended up at the same connection event. Jonathan had a feeling Rachel would be there, so he asked a mutual friend to introduce them. After meeting Rachel, Jonathan said, “So you’re the one who asked to be my Facebook friend before actually meeting me in person!” Completely mortified, Rachel said, “Oh yeah! My friend Nick said we should be friends, so I said, ‘Why not?’ ”

The conversation was so awkward that they didn’t speak again for months — until they ran into each other at another connection event. Little by little, they got to know each other after Rachel joined Jonathan’s volleyball league. Then one day, Jonathan finally asked Rachel out to lunch.

After a few dates, they decided they wanted to pursue a relationship. They were both attracted to how much the other person loved God and loved other people. Now if only they liked the same baseball team…

![](https://res.cloudinary.com/dzs7qxusf/image/upload/v1/archive/2018/02/lamorte-1-1-1024x784.jpg)

**Rob & Jen** _Married 13 days_

“Rob and I met in the summer of 2015, shortly after I had moved to Hoboken,” said Jen. “We were first introduced at one of the first choir info meetings, and Rob was the only man in the choir that time around. We were very good friends and eventually started dating in the summer of 2016.”

They got married on Feb. 2, coincidentally, the weekend of Hoboken Grace’s 10th birthday celebration.


You Had Me at Hoboken Grace

Night had already come, but the streetlights stayed dark. Hurricane Sandy had hit just the week before, and Hoboken was only starting to recover. So it was dark when Dana got into her car to pick up her husband. And it stayed dark as her car idled in miles of traffic, going nowhere.

As she often did when she was alone in the car, Dana began to hum. And as she hummed, she looked around the city, at the literal destruction surrounding her, and thought about the times in her life when everything seemed to fall apart and she had no idea where to go next.

Then the words came:

_When the lights go out, when my heart gets loud_  
_when I cannot see in the dark_  
_You will be my eyes, you will guide me home_  
_for you know my heart._

Over time, those first few words evolved into a song. They eventually became key lyrics in the title song to Hoboken Grace’s first album, “Out of the Dark.”

After Dana shared her song with the Worship Team, other members of the team began to bring in songs they’d written, too. And as people started bringing in their work and asking about the songwriting process, Dana realized there was an interest in writing about what was happening at Hoboken Grace. She decided to encourage that interest by setting [the goal of creating an album](http://hobokengrace.com/blog/its-finally-happening/).

The Worship Team began holding 24-hour retreats to focus on writing songs. Dana booked cabins in the woods and gathered anyone from the band or Production Team to join in the writing process. For the first retreat, the team traveled to upstate New York and spent a day and a half praying, asking God to put words into their hearts. After they worshiped together and spent time with God, they came back together and found that they were sharing the same thoughts.

![](https://res.cloudinary.com/dzs7qxusf/image/upload/v1/archive/2018/02/DSCF0110-1024x682.jpg)

“We had a theme of seeking our worth in this world, but laying that down and finding our identity in Him instead,” said Liz.

The team started working with this theme, humming, writing a verse, playing the guitar or piano. At one point they got stuck, but then Hannah mentioned she had written a chorus a long time ago but never finished. She sang it for the team, and the chorus wound up fitting with the verses that had already been written. That song became “Only You.”

“That’s my favorite song,” said Liz. “It’s very relatable for our community, where we live so close to New York City and we’re so focused on work and relationships that we lose sight of God.”

The team agreed that they didn’t want the song to sound happy.

“We wanted to encapsulate a struggle, to express that following God doesn’t mean it’s always roses and rainbows,” Dana said. “There can be both good and bad at the same time.”

No two writing retreats have looked the same. Once, the team split up into several small groups and wrote songs separately; another time, the team wrote one song together as a group. At a separate retreat, Dana gave the team only one hour to write a song — “and it ended up being a really good song!”

The writing retreats culminated in a concert last year. The Worship Team sang the songs they had written, along with songs that have become anthems for Hoboken Grace as a community, and intentionally recorded everything live.

“You can hear the crowd in the recording because we wanted the album to belong to the church,” Dana said. “This is our album. These are our songs. This is our story.”

Hoboken Grace is planning to release the album on Feb. 23, and will hold a concert that night to celebrate the release. You can get your tickets for the concert [here](https://www.facebook.com/events/1192534544209806/).

![](https://res.cloudinary.com/dzs7qxusf/image/upload/v1/archive/2018/02/DSCF0291-1024x682.jpg)


An Album Years in the Making

On Sunday, Pastor Chris talked about how Hoboken Grace started with just a handful of people who decided to live lives of significance. They leveraged everything to see what God could do in our community, understanding that we live in a world that doesn’t know who Jesus is.

That group of just a few people made a commitment to join the mission, doing whatever it took to demonstrate His love and grace to those around them. And over 10 years, that handful of people expanded, impacting countless people and [loving our city in huge ways](http://hobokengrace.com/blog/10-reasons-celebrate/).

That’s the impact of just a few people. But what about a thousand? What if all of us joined the mission together? That’s what the next 10 years is about. It’s about making this your story, too.

\[vc\_video link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pC\_LRpen6A”\]

The impact that God will make on our city will be directly proportionate to how many of us leverage our gifts and time to helping people find their way back to Him.

The easiest way to do that is to join one of the many teams at Hoboken Grace.

So how do you pick one? Great question! Here are two questions to think about:

**1). What do you love to do? What makes you feel alive?**

Do you love helping others? Our [Community Impact/Outreach](http://hobokengrace.com/blog/yes-can-reach-people/) teams work to impact those in our city, demonstrating God’s love in tangible ways (random acts of kindness, supporting local shelters, etc.).

Or maybe you love working with kids. Serving with [Grace Kids](http://hobokengrace.com/blog/teams-make-no-mistake/) can make a huge impact on our city’s children — and their parents.

If you thrive on creativity, the Arts Team might be a good fit. The team is made up of musicians, designers and contractors working to communicate His value [through the Arts](http://hobokengrace.com/blog/3-myths-worship-team/).

**2). What do you consider your gifts?**

Are you a people person who thrives on making connections? Or maybe your friends rave about your party-planning abilities (this is Hoboken, after all). The [Assimilation Team](http://hobokengrace.com/blog/gift-ill-never-forget/) or [First Impressions](http://hobokengrace.com/blog/first-impression-stuck/) could be a great fit. Those serving on First Impressions include Sunday morning greeters, a hospitality team, and those who set up and tear down the space each week, creating a welcoming environment for everyone. The Assimilation Team includes the people who stand at Connection Points on Sunday mornings, as well as other teams that work together to help people take and celebrate their next steps in their journey with Christ.

Love [photography](http://hobokengrace.com/blog/love-camera-lens/), [writing](http://hobokengrace.com/blog/why-we-write/) or [video production](http://hobokengrace.com/blog/capturing-the-story/)? Or do you have [social media](http://hobokengrace.com/blog/never-thought-share-facebook/) or marketing skills? Our Communications Team works to tell the story of what God is doing in our community.

Another great opportunity is the Analytics Team, which helps other teams make the most of their resources as they move forward.

Still unsure? We’re here to help!

[![](https://res.cloudinary.com/dzs7qxusf/image/upload/v1/archive/2018/02/pic-1024x490.jpg)](http://hobokengrace.com/teams/)


The Next 10 Years

Hoboken Grace started with a dream to impact this city and the thousands of people who call Hoboken home. That dream began coming to life 10 years ago, when a tiny church plant [held its first service in a bingo hall](http://hobokengrace.com/blog/the-story-of-hoboken-grace/). That first year, services were held once a month, with only a few dozen people showing up.

Ever since, Hoboken Grace’s mission has been to help people find their way back to God. Over the past decade, that mission has taken shape in countless ways: handing out tens of thousands of granola bars, throwing hundreds of out-of-the-box connection events and inviting the entire city to a free Easter Egg Hunt (to name just a few examples).

It’s been incredible to see the many lives God has changed throughout this journey, and we can’t wait to celebrate with you this Sunday.

So how do you measure the past 10 years at Hoboken Grace? Here are 10 ways.

**![](https://res.cloudinary.com/dzs7qxusf/image/upload/v1/archive/2016/02/The-Church-@-Hoboken-Opening-010_7407518420_o-1024x768.jpg)**

### **1,200+ services**

Over 10 years – and about 510 Sundays – services have taken place at 5th and Willow, Willie McBride’s, Hoboken High School, and of course, 301 Garden. They’ve been held in snow, rain, blistering heat and — that one time after a gas leak — exclusively over the internet.

[![](https://res.cloudinary.com/dzs7qxusf/image/upload/v1/archive/2018/02/1-1024x682.jpg)](https://res.cloudinary.com/dzs7qxusf/image/upload/v1/archive/2018/02/1.jpg)

### **300+ baptisms**

Just last Sunday, we celebrated with two more people as they took the step of baptism! Among those taking the step were Stephanie, who has attended Hoboken Grace since the very first service, and Hope, who has grown up in TRUE Mentors, an organization the church launched seven years ago. As we celebrate all that God has done since Hoboken Grace started, the more than 300 people who have taken the step of baptism is [just a glimpse of the many lives changed](http://hobokengrace.com/blog/9-things-worth-celebrating/) over the past 10 years. (Just don’t ask how many champagne bottles have been uncorked in the process … we’ve lost track!)

[![](https://res.cloudinary.com/dzs7qxusf/image/upload/v1/archive/2018/02/DSCF1486-1024x682.jpg)](https://res.cloudinary.com/dzs7qxusf/image/upload/v1/archive/2018/02/DSCF1486.jpg)

### **214,130 Simple Service interactions**

When Hoboken Grace began 10 years ago, Pastor Chris and a team of four others began committing random acts of kindness all over Hoboken, calling it Simple Service. Simple Service has one goal: Through a small act of kindness, we can show a bit of how God has loved us. Throughout the years, [we’ve handed out granola bars](http://hobokengrace.com/blog/power-simple-service/) to hungry commuters at the PATH and Light Rail stations. We’ve handed out waters to those playing basketball at Church Square Park, and warmers to passersby on cold winter nights. And over the past two summers, we gave out thousands of bags of free popcorn at Movies Under the Stars.

[![](https://res.cloudinary.com/dzs7qxusf/image/upload/v1/archive/2018/02/20170716-DSC_2895.jpg)](https://res.cloudinary.com/dzs7qxusf/image/upload/v1/archive/2018/02/20170716-DSC%5F2895.jpg)

### **5,000+ first-time guests**

Hoboken Grace’s mission of helping people find their way back to God means inviting individuals through Simple Service, bus stop ads and word of mouth. All first-time guest are a huge celebration, and the more than 200 people who serve each week strive to make them feel both comfortable and valued.

![](https://res.cloudinary.com/dzs7qxusf/image/upload/v1/archive/2016/02/ChurchHoboken-015_7407481768_o-e1454594088654-1024x737.jpg)

### **A growing kids program**

When Hoboken Grace started, there was no official kids ministry – [just a few toys and a mat in a corner of the service area](http://hobokengrace.com/blog/the-story-of-hoboken-grace/). During those small, 6 p.m. services, it was exciting if even one child showed up. Ten years later, there are over 150 kids attending Grace Kids each week and more than 60 team members teaching them about Jesus.

![](https://res.cloudinary.com/dzs7qxusf/image/upload/v1/archive/2017/09/Nicoles-Story-Thumbnail-1024x576.jpg)

### **425 stories**

When it comes to helping people find their way back to God, there’s no denying the power of telling your story. Our Writing, Photo, Social Media, Web and Video teams have helped hundreds of people share how God has moved in their lives. Those 425 stories can be found on [our blog](http://hobokengrace.com/blog/) and [stories page](http://hobokengrace.com/blog/story/).

![](https://res.cloudinary.com/dzs7qxusf/image/upload/v1/archive/2017/12/IMG_2125-1024x529.jpg)

### **Hundreds of connection events**

Over 10 years, there’s been nearly every kind of connection event imaginable. Rock climbing? Check. Skiing? [Check](https://www.facebook.com/events/2005256149741678/). Skydiving? [Yup, we even did that once](http://hobokengrace.com/blog/jumping-dinner-group/). Creating community requires going outside your comfort zone.

![](https://res.cloudinary.com/dzs7qxusf/image/upload/v1/archive/2017/12/DSCF8320-1024x682.jpg)

### **From 1 dinner group to 50**

Ten years ago, dinner groups started with just one group. There are now 50, with more than 500 people active in a dinner group. That includes several people who are apprenticing to become leaders, so even more people can experience that sense of community. In addition to men, women and couple’s groups, there are now family groups, [an online group](http://hobokengrace.com/blog/cant-commit-dinner-group-read/), and groups for middle school and high school students.

![](https://res.cloudinary.com/dzs7qxusf/image/upload/v1/archive/2016/02/13859636453_53ac465f1f_o-1024x680.jpg)

### **9 Easter Egg Hunts**

Hoboken Grace has held a free Easter Egg Hunt each year since 2010\. But for the past two years, there have been two hunts at Mama Johnson Field to accommodate as many people as possible. More than 5,000 adults and children registered last year.

**![](https://res.cloudinary.com/dzs7qxusf/image/upload/v1/archive/2017/10/IMG_1624-1024x705.jpg)**

### **7 1Day events**

Hundreds of volunteers have participated in 1Day over the years, serving on projects touching ever corner of the city. Projects have included serving local businesses, schools and other organizations, as well as cleaning up parks and the waterfront. It’s just one of the ways we’ve worked to love our city and its residents.

_It’s been an amazing 10 years, and we can’t wait to celebrate with you this Sunday!_


10 Reasons to Celebrate

_Portraits is an occasional series that captures stories across our community, one photo at a time._

Amy came to Riverview-Fisk Park at her wits’ end. She’d had a huge fight with her boyfriend and needed to leave her apartment a few blocks away. Weighed down and worn out by the emotions of the past four years of an abusive relationship, she sat on a bench and thought she was done with her life in this city.

Julia came to the park in a rush. She’d just met a friend for coffee and had another meeting in an hour. But as she walked past several benches, she saw a woman who appeared to be crying. The light from an overhead streetlamp illuminated the distress on Amy’s face. Thinking of everything she needed to get done, Julia kept walking. But then something tugged at her heart, convincing her to turn around and ask if the woman on the bench was okay.

Amy told her it was nothing – she had allergies. Unconvinced, Julia sat next to her, and Amy began to open up. They talked about the stress of the area, and the fact that Amy wasn’t sure how much longer she could live in Jersey City. And then Julia asked if she could pray for her.

[![](https://res.cloudinary.com/dzs7qxusf/image/upload/v1/archive/2018/01/DSCF0969.jpg)](https://res.cloudinary.com/dzs7qxusf/image/upload/v1/archive/2018/01/DSCF0969.jpg)

When people brought up faith, Amy’s first instinct was to brush them off. While she grew up going to church, a series of events convinced her that God couldn’t exist – not after what she’d been through. Early in her life, she’d faced physical, emotional and sexual abuse, including from people she loved. She became anorexic at age 9 and eventually dropped out of high school. By 18, she was pregnant, kicked out of her home and panhandling on the street. After giving the baby up for adoption, she’d stopped eating altogether and became suicidal – until a friend intervened and convinced her to seek help.

After that, it became too difficult to believe in God, she said, and she wanted nothing to do with faith. But something was different as she sat on this park bench, alongside a 23-year-old stranger who’d just offered to pray for her.

“My normal response would be, you’re nuts, get away from me, I don’t want to hear this,” said Amy. “And I said, yes, please.”

So Julia prayed out loud as they sat together. She prayed that Amy would find peace in the midst of what she was going through. And she also prayed that Amy would be fearless. It was a word Julia had embraced that year, and one that’d been on her mind recently as Hoboken Grace’s “[Fearless](http://hobokengrace.com/series/fearless/)” series was getting underway that fall.

As they talked more, Julia told Amy about the community she’d found at church. She asked if Amy would want to go with her. Amy dismissed the idea, saying she didn’t believe in God. But as they continued talking, Julia felt prompted to bring it up a second time, then a third time. She said she was going to give Amy her cell phone number anyway, so she could text her if she changed her mind.

“I told her, ‘I’ll ask my sister and see what my sister says,’” said Amy. “Which basically was my way of saying yes, because my sister’s a youth pastor for the Salvation Army church.”

Amy went to Hoboken Grace with Julia the next week. She cried throughout most of the service.

“I just felt such a closeness and a connection,” Amy said. “I realized God’s been there the entire time. I was just being stubborn about it because of everything I went through.”

It was one of the first weeks of the “Fearless” series, and the message itself struck a chord. For months, Amy had been afraid to leave her boyfriend, even though she knew their relationship was toxic.

[![](https://res.cloudinary.com/dzs7qxusf/image/upload/v1/archive/2018/01/DSCF1058.jpg)](https://res.cloudinary.com/dzs7qxusf/image/upload/v1/archive/2018/01/DSCF1058.jpg)

Ten years ago, Amy was diagnosed with a serious illness. And while it hadn’t affected much of her life, she’d grown afraid of the possibility of being alone – even if it meant staying in an abusive relationship.

“A lot of where my fear came from is my ex shamed me a lot, using my past and fear of being alone, and shame of tolerating the abuse and mistreatment,” Amy said. “And it made me question everything.”

After that first church service, she was also questioning whether or not she had faith. In addition to continuing to attend Hoboken Grace, she joined Julia’s dinner group, hoping to further explore that question. The girls in the group immediately embraced her and everything she was going through, including the ups and downs of her relationship.

“It was as I felt the love and support from my dinner group that I started to really develop my faith a little more,” she said. “Once I started actively including prayer as part of my life and making it a conversation with God … it came to a point where it was like, duh… what am I afraid of?”

As she grew closer to God, Amy also began to express her faith through music, realizing it’s one of her greatest gifts. She had picked up the violin a year earlier and had recently begun playing with an orchestra. She also joined Hoboken Grace’s Choir, stirring up memories of singing with her sister in church when they were young. That December, they’d sing a duet together at her sister’s church, a song that ended with both of them in tears. It was the first time they’d sung in church together in years.

In the meantime, she and her boyfriend were still on and off. But as she grew closer to her dinner group and drew closer to God, she realized she’d never been alone. Through her dinner group, she found camaraderie and friendship and began to fully experience God’s love. And after months and months, she found the strength within herself to kick her boyfriend out for good.

After the breakup, Amy says she grew intentional about following where God wanted her to go.

“For the past sixth months, I’ve made a pointed effort of being led,” she said. “That’s it, just focusing on my faith, my fellowship and just being led. And I have a new job that’s just incredible … It’s exactly what I need right now. I’m starting a new relationship, and I have my dinner group.”

Amy also has the Outreach Team, a group she serves with twice a month that collects food outside Shop-Rite and ACME. The items dropped off by customers go to a local foodbank and shelter, to people who – like her many years ago – might be living on the street or facing otherwise challenging circumstances.

[![](https://res.cloudinary.com/dzs7qxusf/image/upload/v1/archive/2018/01/DSCF1022.jpg)](https://res.cloudinary.com/dzs7qxusf/image/upload/v1/archive/2018/01/DSCF1022.jpg)On a Sunday morning in September, Amy started bawling at the sight of a 1Day promo video, realizing it’d been a year since she started going back to church. She was a completely different person, she said. She’s no longer the same woman who was crying at Riverview-Fisk Park, separated from God by the pain in her past.

“I feel very fulfilled,” she said. “I feel like my faith was always there, I was just too stubborn to see it. So when Anthony says, ‘God is pursuing you,’ it’s right there for me.”

Even so, Amy says she’s spent much of the past year working through the “Fearless” series, first finding her faith, then finding the courage to share it with others. In many ways, she says, she’s just emerging from the series.

“It took me about three months to come to terms with faith again,” Amy said. “And that’s why ‘Fearless’ resonated so much with me. I came to realize that I wasn’t alone anyway – so I could stop being afraid and I could start to live.”


PORTRAITS: Finding Faith, Losing Fear


Six teams from Hoboken Grace will travel around the world this year, serving people on multiple continents and in multiple ways. Two of those teams will head to Guatemala to work with the nonprofit Potter’s House, but the two trips are completely different.

The first trip, from March 3-10, will serve the community of Chiquimula, where Potter’s House has recently expanded its outreach efforts. The team will build anything needed — from homes to sanitation facilities — and visit with several families, in addition to working on any other projects Potter’s House needs help with.

“Hoboken Grace was one of the first teams to go with Potter’s House to build and serve the people of Chiquimula,” said Anthony, Hoboken Grace’s Outreach Director. “We’re doing it again because the need is greater and they have found that teams don’t necessarily head into the more rural towns.”

A team of 13 people from Hoboken Grace [visited Chiquimula last spring](http://hobokengrace.com/blog/saying-yes/), building stoves and sanitation facilities while also building into the people who live in the community. They also visited two dumps in Chiquimula and Guatemala City, [where a community of scavengers](http://hobokengrace.com/blog/hope-and-a-home-in-guatemala-city/) earn their day’s wages by salvaging and selling whatever they can find. The team met with several families, giving them Bibles and food and spending time talking and praying with them.

\[vc_video link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6Xr1-9LPOk&feature=youtu.be”\]

The second trip (May 15-19) will coincide with the Potter’s House staff’s annual retreat. The team from Hoboken Grace will lead worship and help build into and encourage those on staff.

“That trip is really to serve the staff of Potter’s House,” said Anthony. “I’ve seen firsthand how hard they work, serve and love the people of Guatemala, and this is an opportunity to love and serve them.”

The team will also throw a party for the married couples who lead the organization, who don’t often get to spend a night out because of the long hours they work, Anthony said.

Both trips cost approximately $1,500, and [fundraising](http://hobokengrace.com/blog/how-to-fundraise-mission-trip-2/) is encouraged.

Anyone interested should email [anthony@hobokengrace.com](mailto:anthony@hobokengrace.com) to get updates on upcoming meetings and/or [submit a trip application](http://hobokengrace.com/mission-trips/) by Feb. 28 (for the March trip) or April 1 (for the May trip). You can also find more information about all of Hoboken Grace’s mission trips [here](http://hobokengrace.com/mission-trips/).

\[vc_video link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rCkxbFKCvc”\]


Why We’re Going to Guatemala Twice

Have you ever wondered how the space used for a Hoboken Grace church service transforms back into a school gymnasium? It’s all thanks to the First Impressions Team, which oversees the tear-down process once the last service wraps up on Sunday mornings.

Spencer and Christina, two members of First Impressions, recently shared how joining the Tear Down Team is a great opportunity to meet new people, feel connected to the community and even get in a work-out.

![](https://res.cloudinary.com/dzs7qxusf/image/upload/v1/archive/2018/01/unnamed-e1516329657375-1024x942.jpg)

**When and why did you get started helping with the Tear Down Team?**

**Spencer:** I serve as a greeter for \[or at\] the 12:30 service and saw a need for help with tearing down. There are mostly women on the team, so I try to grab all the heavy stuff.

**Christina:** The cleanup for the third service Hospitality Team usually goes until 2:15-2:30 p.m., and then I stay to help with anything that’s left on Tear Down.

**What does a typical Sunday look like, and how long does the tear-down process take?**

**Spencer:** We typically start tearing down as soon as the majority of people are out of the gymnasium area. We fold and put away all the chairs, stack all the carpets, put away the signage and TVs, clean up and put away the coffee and doughnut tables, sort and put away all the cards and handouts, and all the other miscellaneous stuff that is put out for the service. We’re usually done by 3 p.m., so it takes roughly an hour and a half from start to finish.

**Christina:** As mentioned, I’m usually in the kitchen with the Hospitality Team after third service ends until about 2:30 p.m. During that time, I wash the dishes (including communion trays), dry dishes, put away all the dishes in the closet, sweep kitchen floors, Swiffer the kitchen floors, take out the trash, and once all that is done I’ll start the normal Tear Down responsibilities like stacking the carpets, collecting door stops and signs, and whatever else is needed.

**What is the atmosphere like? Is it quiet and reflective or is there conversation and lively interaction?**

**Spencer:** It’s a pretty lively atmosphere, with everyone working together to put everything away and clean up the space for the school.

**Christina:** It’s usually lively and there’s conversation, but it can be reflective.

**Are there any memorable experiences that stick out or is there anything you enjoy most about being a part of the team?**

**Spencer:** Not any particular experiences, but it’s a great workout! Also, it’s fun to be able to help contribute to the church services.

**Christina:** My favorite part about being on the team is the deeper sense of community and ownership of the church I feel. When I walk into Hoboken Grace I see so many familiar faces that I serve with and we truly are a team.

**How has serving impacted your life since joining the team?**

**Spencer:** I have met a ton of new people in the church and it has been a great way to get more plugged into the community.

**Christina:** My commitment to the church, God and reaching out to the community has increased vastly.

_Interested in checking out the Tear Down Team? Email [anthony@hobokengrace.com](mailto:anthony@hobokengrace.com) for more information._


The Connections Built During Tear Down

More than half of the guys in John’s dinner group didn’t join by signing up online, as some people do. They’re guys he simply met and invited. (In some cases, it took a few tries.)

“They’ll joke around, like, oh yeah, this guy tried to get me for six months before I finally joined a group,” John says. But even when it’s a joke, there’s also some truth to that.

After leading a dinner group for more than five years, John’s found that a personal invite is more effective than expecting people to sign up online. For someone who’s new to dinner groups, the idea of registering online is easy to put off — or to forget about completely. And more importantly, a personal invite can be much less intimidating.

“A lot of times, people don’t feel comfortable signing up — they don’t know who they’re going to meet, and just having the ability to know a face before you go in can be really beneficial,” he says.

For someone like John – an extrovert who jokes that persistency is one of his gifts — inviting someone to dinner group comes naturally. But even if you don’t share those traits, inviting someone is usually easier than we make it out to be.

Here are a few steps to do just that.

**1). Strike Up a Conversation**

“A lot of times you see people sitting by themselves at church, or who don’t seem to know as many people,” says John. “You can see it in their face, or they’re not talking to anyone.”

John says instead of asking that person if they’re new, simply introduce yourself and get to know them.

“I always think that’s the best step,” he says. “Getting to know them, asking them where they’re from, how long they’ve been going to Hoboken Grace, and then casually asking, ‘Are you in a dinner group?’ ”

**2). Extend an Invite**

When John first meets people, he often mentions that he leads a dinner group, and how beneficial that community has been in his own life. It’s a great way to meet people, he says.

Oftentimes, he’ll invite people to check out his group. But he also tells them there are groups that meet nearly every day of the week. It’s a way to let someone know they’re invited, but also gives them the opportunity to explore any group they want.

When someone expresses interest in your group, get their number, John says. That way you can follow up with a text — which people are typically more responsive to than email.

**3). Don’t Be Afraid to Try Again**

Don’t be discouraged if someone turns down your invite, John says.

“What I try to do is engage them every time I see them — just say hi to them. I don’t try to push dinner groups, but maybe I’ll ask them about it a couple weeks later.”

In the meantime, build a relationship with them. Ask if they’ve gotten to know other people, and invite them to a connection event or another outing.

“Several of my guys in my dinner group I was asking for over a year,” says John. “And then finally it fell into place where it worked for them.”

![](https://res.cloudinary.com/dzs7qxusf/image/upload/v1/archive/2018/01/IMG_5366-1024x790.jpg)

**4). Don’t Underestimate How God Can Use You**

“You never know who God puts in your path,” John says.

That proved true on a recent Sunday morning, when he started talking to someone he’d met once before. Midway through their conversation, John brought up dinner groups again.

“He was like, ‘You know, I’d actually be really interested.’” John says. He’d recently moved to the area with his girlfriend, but they broke up not long after. He didn’t know many other people, he told John.

John invited him to his dinner group, and the first night he came, he told the group he was there because of a conversation he’d had with his mom that weekend. She knew he was having trouble adjusting and suggested getting involved at church.

It was the next morning that John brought up dinner groups and extended an invitation.

“That had nothing to do with me,” says John. “I just happened to be there, because God planned that. And that’s why I say you never know who you’re asking. … There are times when someone is going through something, or something’s going on, and you never know if maybe God’s been leading you to that person for a reason.”

**5). Not Outgoing? That’s Okay, Too**

If bringing people together isn’t your gift, find the person in your dinner group who’s a natural connector, John says. Encourage them to be the recruiter for your group. It doesn’t necessarily have to be the leader — it can be anyone.

Or, just try it and simply get to know someone.

“Sure, I’m on the Engagement Team, but even if I wasn’t on a team, I actually love standing out when people are coming out of church,” John says. “You’ll see so many people who are kind of gunning for the door, who are not really sure where to go. And you can be that person who says, “Hey, what’s up? What’s your name? My name’s John. How long have you been coming here?’”

**6). Build a Group Where There’s Always Room for More**

For John, dinner group isn’t just about Tuesday nights. He tries to build into his group throughout the week, whether that means sitting with them on Sunday mornings or inviting them out. It’s a mindset that encourages his group to grow closer together and ensures that everyone feels welcome.

It also encourages further growth. Two of the guys in John’s group are apprenticing to lead their own group — one of them was someone John spent months recruiting. They’re both great guys, with incredible gifts, says John. And once they have their own groups, they’ll be able to extend the invitation even further.

_Interested in joining a dinner group? You’re definitely invited! Visit hobokengrace.com/dinnergroups or stop at a Connection Point on Sunday. Or, want to start_ _your own group? Email dinnergroups@hobokengrace.com._


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