As of a couple of weeks ago, I am an in-covenant member at Liberti Church: South Philly. One of the reasons I am writing this is to inform those at Epiphany that don’t know this yet. I thought a good number of people knew, but I’m getting more and more texts and messages from people that obviously don’t know this. Sorry for not communicating this to more people.
As many people know, ever since I first got to Philadelphia, I was an avid member of Epiphany Fellowship. In fact, it was a message by Eric Mason delivered at the Village Church in Dallas, Texas that sealed my decision to come to Philly in the first place. When every other seminarian was spending their first few months at school in that awkward period of looking for a church home, I already had mine. The apartment-hunting visits I had made prior to moving let me visit Epiphany months before I actually moved here and I was made to feel the warmth and hospitality of a community that lived in line with the amazing teaching they receive in and out of Sunday mornings.
I wasn’t looking for another church. I really wasn’t. I wasn’t unhappy at Epiphany, nor was I eager to leave. Liberti: South Philly is a new church plant that is only about six months old. I started going to it on Sunday afternoons to see a good friend of mine who would drive in for the service. I was determined to not let it sway me or draw me away from my commitments at Epiphany. But, after a couple of months, I realized that I was being transformed and built up by that church, I was living most of my life with its community, and philosophically and theologically my conscience was more at ease there. So, after to talking to Shai, Pastor Mason, and a couple other leaders at Epiph I decided God was drawing me to see this little church plant prosper; to serve it and its leaders in whatever way I could.
For those that don’t know, Liberti is a family of churches throughout Philadelphia with three campuses in different areas of the city. I’m going to the newest church plant located in South Philly/Center City Philadelphia. It is a member of the RCA (Reformed Churches in America), though another one of the Liberti Churches is a member of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA).
There’s still lots of crossover between the two churches. All Liberti Churches are part of the Acts29 Church Planting network, just like Epiphany. In fact, Pastor Mason gets together on a semi-regular basis with the pastors of the Liberti Churches to pray for the city. Also, Doug Logan, the Connections Pastor at Epiphany was the former pastor of the Liberti church plant at Roxborough until moving over to Epiphany to prepare to plant a church in urban Philadelphia. For these reasons I feel more like I’m changing positions on the same team rather than changing teams all together.
So that’s what’s been going on with me on the church front. I have received several expressions of concern from people at Epiphany that have been worried that I’ve completely fallen out of community. I haven’t, I assure you. I have instead been brought into the service of another great, amazing, deep, and intimate community serving God and accomplishing His work for the good Philadelphia and the Glory of His Name.
I’ve heard a rumor of a possible church service next year with all of the Acts29 churches in Philadelphia. If this is true, I look forward to praising our Lord beside many of you again.
