My wife and I were able to fly down to OKC for the Network Summit at LifeChurch.tv. Below you can catch a video recap of everything that went down.

Over the next few week we will share a few of the notes that were taken from some of the sessions at the Summit. We really hope that it inspires you! To the Swerve Church team, I hope that in the near future you will be able to take the flight with us to the next Summit so  that we can learn and be inspired together.

We have an exciting relationship with NetworkChurches.tv which will really help us to grow further and faster together. We've mentioned them here before on the blog.

Recently, Brandon Donaldson and Brandon Livingood paid Bushwick a visit to really get a feel of the big city and to dream of the possibilities of having a Network Church in NYC. We're excited to be a part of Network Churches and cannot wait to see all that God has in store!

Part of what makes us unique as a church plant is that we are a part of NetworkChurches.tv. This means that once we launch our primary teaching will be covered by Craig Groeschel of LifeChurch.tv in OKC, Oklahoma. Crais is an excellent speaker and teacher of God's Word. His messages are presented in a captivating, understandable, and funny way.

Network Churches are made up of over 100 churches throughout the US and around the world. We all share the mission of leading people to become fully devoted followers of Christ in our cities.

That being said, especially in an urban context as where we will be, we constantly get the pushback of why video sermons and will it work? The truth is that we are definitely spearheading the way when it comes to this in an urban context. But here are some reason I really think this will work.

1. A CLEAR, SIMPLE, AND RELEVANT PRESENTATION OF THE GOSPEL
Craig is an excellent communicator. He has a way of presenting Biblical truths in a relevant way. 

2. A TECHNOLOGY DRIVEN SOCIETY
We live in such a technology, social-media, and video driven society already anyway. The average family in the US owns four mobile devices. Add TV's, computers, and video games to the mix and in many ways we're always glued to a screen. We cannot deny the impact that technology has had on society. 

As a church we believe that we can leverage technology for the sake of the gospel. We'll use it to get the good news of Jesus out in a way that is relevant to our times. There has definitely been many negative affects in society, but it's time we leveraged it for good. Remember, we will do anything short of sin to reach people far from God.

3. THERE IS MORE TO CHURCH THAN THE SERMON
Remember, the church is not a building. It does not revolve around one man's teaching. The church is and always has been a people impacted by the gospel on mission for the gospel. The teachings on Sunday will simply be the fuel in our tanks to continue to live a life on mission. Loving God, loving people, and serving our community, That's our vision. That's our goal. The video teaching is only supplementary to being the church week in and week out.

If you'd like to hear a message from LifeChurch.tv, check it our here.

Danny Torres

One of my great honors was to meet Arnold Gamboa, one of the Pastors from LifeChurch Makati in the Philippines. His YouTube video produced by NetworkChurches.tv really encouraged me say "hey, we can do this". You see, LifeChurch Makati is located in an urban, commercial district in the Philippines. It reminded me a lot of NYC. This was a huge encouragement to me.

I was able to sit down and talk to Arnold who was so humble to answer my questions and really encourage me toward what God was leading us to do in Bushwick. Check out the video that helped me take the step towards planting a Network Church in NYC:

It was an honor to get to get together with Network Church Pastors, some who are five or more years in it, others that just launched two weeks prior. I can't wait for next year already launched and hopefully with some key leaders from Swerve Church!

I'm indebted to Brandon Livingood. Thank you so much for inviting me to the Network Summit and going above and beyond to accommodate me. Thank you to Pastor Ryan who roomed with me and was an ever gracious host. Thank you to all the Network guys for encouraging and praying with me. Thank you to Pastor Craig for his leadership and vision to lead people to become fully devoted followers of Christ and build up the capital "C" church. Thank you to all the leadership at LifeChurch.tv for the relentless work you do for the kingdom!

The truth is that there is not enough space in the world to write down all I learned at LifeChurch.tv Albany. The experience was overwhelming and my wife and I returned to Brooklyn charged and energized. We're looking forward to returning this summer with some members of the launch team to learn even more!

BUILD THE EXPERIENCE FOR THE UN-CHURCHED
At LifeChurch Albany, everything they do regarding the worship experience revolves around reaching the un-churched person. This means very intentionally creating an atmosphere where that person can feel comfortable, accepted and loved. This permits removal of distractions and allows room for people to respond to the gospel.

EXCELLENCE
Excellence is key. Why? Because from the songs sung, to the message preached, everything is done to our God and he deserves the very best of our ability. God will honor excellence. 

KIDS, KIDS, KIDS
The environment they create for children is so exciting that kids beg their parents to return the following week. But it's not just a baby-sitting service. Kids have their own worship, Bible study and small group time. We want to implement this excellence in kids ministry at Swerve Church as well. 

SWERVE KIDS
In fact, perhaps this is an area of ministry you feel passionate about. Maybe you'd like to get involved and help us build an exciting environment for children to attend. It all starts with joining the Launch Team. Sign-up, we'd love to get to know you have you as a part of the team that is leading people to become fully devoted followers of Christ!

My wife and I (Danny) had the great privilege of visiting LifeChurch.tv Albany. It's about a 3 hour drive north from Brooklyn. We were excited about this visit to see and experience an actual LifeChurch.tv campus.

This was especially important to us because Swerve Church is a Network Church which is a ministry of LifeChurch.tv. Network Churches use LifeChurch.tv's resources and messages weekly as part of their worship experiences in order to reach more people for Christ.

Our experience there was unbelievable. We were overwhelmed by their love and hospitality from the moment we pulled up to the entrance to the church until we drove off back to the hotel.

We were impacted by everything. From the awesome worship to the heartfelt message from Pastor Craig Groeschel on the big screen. My wife and I were able to take away so much from this experience and will apply much of what we've learned to Swerve Church.

I'm so grateful for their generosity in taking out time from their extremely busy and hectic Sunday schedule to sit down with my wife and I to speak with and encourage us. We're looking forward to returning this summer to learn even more!

Pastor Craig has been preaching a great series called "Bless This Home". It's a series based on the beatitudes. 

How timely and relevant this series has been! We're living in a time and age where family as we know it is very much broken. This is especially true in Bushwick Brooklyn where many homes are fatherless, divorced or struggling.

"We are not a Christian family-we are a Christ-centered home." - Craig Groeschel

In this series, Pastor Craig takes four of the beatitudes and challenges us to apply them to our families. They are:

• Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.
• Blessed are the pure in heart.
• Blessed are the peacemakers.
• Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness.

To view the messages from this series, click here.