"The Matter of Gaining African-Americans"

[Koinonia]

April 13, 2016

Dear saints,

In fellowship with the co-workers in the Lord’s recovery, we invite the saints in the churches to join us for a conference on the weekend of May 6-8, 2016 in New York City. The burden of the conference is the gospel to all the nations (Matt. 24:14), with a view to gaining African-Americans and those of African descent for the Lord’s testimony. The saints who are African-American or of African descent are especially encouraged to attend and bring their friends, relatives, and colleagues with them to this time. All saints are invited to come, but the saints who are African-American and of African descent are especially needed in order for this burden to be carried out well in contacting, shepherding, and building up the new ones that we meet in the coming days.

The matter of gaining African-Americans has been a burden with a number of saints and co-workers for many years and has led to much prayer and fellowship. In fellowship with the co-workers, we felt the Lord’s leading to take this step of coming together for a conference to fellowship this burden and to labor within
the African and African-American communities. Though it seems that this burden is a matter of race, in fact, it is a matter of ratio. The current number of saints of African descent meeting in the churches in the Lord’s recovery in North America is very low, when compared to the number in the general population. Our burden is
to find a way to contact, labor among, and gain people of African descent both from the college campuses and from the community at large. This labor would include contacting students at those universities which have been historically Black (HBCU’s) or African-American in composition. We pray that the Lord would also gain families from these communities throughout the United States and Canada for His Body.

In the conference in Houston on the Labor Day weekend of September 2015, four matters were initiated: 1) gathering the saints who have a burden in this direction for prayer, coordination, and fellowship, 2) preaching the gospel of the kingdom to the nations, 3) being refreshed in the vision of Christ and the church, and 4) being encouraged in the practice of the God-ordained way. In the upcoming conference in New York, we will continue with these four matters, praying that the Lord would take a further step in gaining this group of people for His move and ultimate goal in this age—the building up of the Body of Christ, consummating in the New Jerusalem.

The conference schedule will be as follows: Friday, May 6, at 7:30 PM and Saturday, May 7 at 10 AM & 7:30 PM at P.S. 369 located at 387 State Street, Brooklyn, NY 11217; Lord’s Day, May 8, at 10 AM at the Jamaica Estates (Queens) hall of the church in New York City located at 87-60 Chevy Chase Street, Jamaica Estates, NY 11432. Detailed information regarding transportation, the availability of hospitality and hotel information will be included in a follow-up letter in a few days. All inquiries regarding this conference can be addressed to churchinnyc@gmail.com.

Please feel free to pass this notice on to any saints who would be burdened with this matter.

In His recovery,

Ricky Acosta, Allen Bayes, Scott Finnie, Clem Rogers, Steve Watts, Willie Wise