A New Church Plant in New Jersey

Carlos Soca, Christ Our Hope Jan 05, 2012

The New York Metropolitan area is known for many things: Wall Street, impressive buildings, pizza by the slice, the Statue of Liberty, the Sopranos, Donald Trump, and many other interesting characters from around the world. And in spite of the cold winters and infamous traffic many people, over 22 million, call the most populous region in the United States home. I also called this place home for 29 years before I left 8 years ago.

In 2010, George Russ, Executive Director for the Metro New York Baptist Association, visited my church Open Door Baptist Church in Raleigh, NC. George spoke about the spiritual condition of the NY Metro area, its needs, and he spoke of the many people wandering around in their sins without our Savior Jesus Christ. That evening, the Lord reminded me of who I was before I came to Christ. I was one of them, wandering hopelessly (or with false hopes) in my sin and without a Savior. “Lord, could you be calling me back to this place I have not desired to return to?”, I asked in shock.

I kept the question to myself for a couple of days, until I finally shared it with my wife. Surprisingly she said she felt our time in North Carolina was coming to an end and she herself was beginning to ask the same question. We prayed through this question over the next few months. Eventually I shared this with my fellow elders at Open Door and a year later here we are preparing to be sent back to New Jersey to share the Gospel with neighbors, friends and family.

So it is with great joy that I introduce you to the future church plant, Christ Our Hope Church in Clifton, NJ – just 12 miles west of New York City. With God’s help, in little over a year, together with the Cox family (and hopefully others), we will be sent off by our church to proclaim Christ to this great city. We have houses to be sold, money to be raised, plans to make, but best of all we have Christ and in His name we will go.

If you would like more information, are interested in supporting or would like to go with us please feel free to contact me at 919-810-1342 or .

Also, check out this article about my recent participation in a panel at the North Carolina Baptist State Convention Annual Meeting:

http://www.brnow.org/News/November-2011/Panel-shares-about-making-a-global-impact-in-North