Podcast Summary: "Jumping in the Deep End"

Podcast: Times Square Church – Sermons
Host/Speaker: Pastor Tim Dilena
Date: February 1, 2026
Episode Theme: Vision for 2026 – The Call to ‘Jump in the Deep End’ with God’s Purposes

Overview

In this energizing and vision-casting sermon, Pastor Tim Dilena challenges the Times Square Church (TSC) community—as well as listeners from around the globe—to “jump in the deep end” with God. Drawing on Psalm 107 and the story of Jesus calling Peter into deeper waters (Luke 5), Pastor Tim unpacks what it means to trade safe, shallow living for a life defined by dependence, risk, sacrifice, and divine wonders. The episode balances personal testimony, biblical exposition, TSC’s 2025/2026 vision, and a wide-reaching challenge to live out “deep water” faith individually and corporately.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Metaphor of the Deep End

• Pastor Tim shares the story of teaching his children to jump into the deep end of the pool, emphasizing trust:

  “What made you jump fearlessly?” … “I knew you’d always catch me.” (02:00)

• Relates this to God’s invitation: Faith requires launching into places where only God can catch you.

2. Biblical Foundation for Going Deeper

• Psalm 107:23-31: “Those who go down to the seas in ships, who do business on great waters, have seen the works of the Lord and His wonders in the deep.” (06:40)
• The deep is where God’s miracles happen—but also where storms, fears, and dependence on God intensify.
• Luke 5: The dual calling—to push out a little (dock) and then to launch into the deep.

“Ministry that costs nothing, accomplishes nothing.” – J.H. Jowett (08:20)

3. The Voices from the Shore—Choosing Depth Over Comfort

• Remaining close to shore allows you to still hear voices of comfort, conformity, and tradition—which can hold believers back from deeper things of God (11:00).
• “Staying close to the shore keeps us within earshot of the people that will discourage us from going any further.” (10:50)
• At the deep, storms are real, but so are miracles (14:00). The Psalm 107 journey includes struggle, emotional lows, crying out to God, and ultimate deliverance.

4. Testimonies of God’s Surprising Work

• Humorous and moving stories about random encounters leading to prayer and conversion, illustrating that God works unexpectedly “in the deep” (15:35).

5. TSC’s Unique Calling: Legacy, Location, Reach

• Legacy: Standing on the sacrifices of David Wilkerson and Carter Conlon (17:05)
• Location: A miraculous and costly presence in the heart of Times Square, Broadway—“it’s like fighting God” to try to take this place (18:15).
• Reach: Stewarding a global voice; last year, TSC’s weekly messages reached 214 nations and territories, touching millions (22:45, 41:00+ for full list).

6. Vision Review and Victories from 2025

• Worship nights in London (1600 attendees), Grenada (1000+), expansion into 13 language channels, feeding programs, prison ministry via Pando app (136,000+ inmates watched TSC this year), rebuilding a clinic in Israel post-Israel-Hamas conflict, etc. (22:00-25:00)
• Notable milestones:
  • Fire alarm system ($600,000) and LED wall ($1 million) goals fully funded.

  “Stop giving to the fire alarm system… Stop giving to the LED walls. It’s taken care of! Hallelujah! SDG—Soli Deo Gloria!” (31:48)

7. Lessons from the Deep

Pastor Tim outlines three major takeaways from pressing into the deep:

• Intense Doubts—faith is not the absence of fear, but acting in obedience through it.

  “Deep waters have intense doubts.” (35:45)

• Fierce Battles—Following God provokes both spiritual opposition and practical challenges (38:10)
• Phenomenal Miracles—Only in the deep do you see the full measure of God’s movement (39:10)

8. Vision for 2026: Going Further and Deeper

Major projects and initiatives for the coming year:

• Nigerian orphanage: $225,000 partnership to care for orphans in one of the world’s most persecuted regions.
• ChildCry in Puerto Rico: Launching a feeding and ministry center alongside a worship night.
• Summit Scholarships: Continued support for international students at TSC’s Bible school.
• Language Channel Expansion: Increasing to 16 channels, with Indonesian, Japanese, and Persian—reaching up to 6 billion globally.
• Further support for Israel and assisting with Jewish aliyah (return) from India and Ethiopia.
• Prison Broadcast Expansion
• Targeting Persecuted Nations: $100,000 for work in North Korea, Somalia, Yemen, Sudan, and more.
• Spanish “Chapter-by-Chapter” Podcast Launch: 1189 Bible chapters in four years.
• Ministry to the Deaf: Launching strategies to reach over 1.6 million unreached deaf in America.
• College campus outreaches, with Holy Spirit prayer nights at Ivy League schools (UPenn, Cornell).

9. Personal Challenge: From Monopoly to Uno

• Calls out “land people” who live cautiously, accumulating for themselves, versus “deep people” who live generously and sacrificially (56:10).

“The people on that boat in the deep, they play Uno. The people in the deep play Uno because they understand… [to give] it all to do what God has called you.” (58:00)

10. Spiritual Challenge and Call to Commitment

• Recites a 400-year-old prayer (“Disturb us, O Lord... when we arrive safely because we have sailed too close to the shore”), inviting the church to be “disturbed” out of complacency (53:30).
• Emphasizes that only “Well done, good and faithful servant” ultimately matters (61:00).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On God’s faithfulness (02:00):
  “I knew you’d always catch me.”
• On the cost of ministry (08:20):
  “Ministry that costs nothing, accomplishes nothing.” – J.H. Jowett
• On TSC’s global impact (41:00):
  “Can I just read to you… the places on the planet that TSC was viewed last year? … Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, American Samoa…”
• On perseverance in battles (45:10):
  “Sometimes satanic opposition is greatest confirmation you’re moving in the right direction. If you haven’t met Satan recently, you’re probably going his way.” – C.S. Lewis (quoted)
• On sacrificial giving and deep living (58:00):
  “The people in the deep play Uno… They’ve given it all to do what God has called them.”
• On church fundraising success (31:48):
  “Stop giving to the fire alarm system. It’s all covered… Stop giving to the LED wall. It’s taken care of!”
• On the true primary goal (61:00):
  “All I know is God called me to finish chapter by chapter. …I just want to keep going deep. Anybody with me?”
• On the call to commitment (53:30):
  “Disturb us, O Lord, when we arrive safely because we have sailed too close to the shore…”

Important Timestamps

• Welcome, vision introduction, university acknowledgements: 00:00 – 03:20
• Main metaphor—Jumping in the Deep End: 02:00 – 05:30
• Psalm 107 & Luke 5 teaching: 06:40 – 12:00
• Battles, doubts, and miracles in the deep: 14:00 – 21:00
• TSC legacy, location, and reach: 17:05 – 21:20
• 2025 review, testimony, and impact statistics: 22:45 – 31:45
• Major giving accomplishments: 31:46 – 35:00
• Lessons from the deep (doubts, battles, miracles): 35:45 – 39:10
• Countries reached in 2025: 41:00+
• Vision for 2026, global and next-gen focus: 48:00 – 52:00
• Personal challenge; Monopoly vs Uno metaphor: 56:10
• Spiritual commitment, prayer, altar call: 61:00 – End

Tone and Atmosphere

• Pastor Tim’s style is passionate, humorous, and transparent, with unguarded moments reflecting humility, boldness, and gratitude.
• The episode is worshipful, urgent, and invitational, with several musical interludes led by Elder Vicki.

Closing Call

Pastor Tim concludes with a prayer for deeper faith and an open invitation for all—to leave “the land” (spiritual safety/complacency) for the “deep”—where God alone sustains, transforms, and reveals His wonders.

“Spirit, lead me where my trust is without borders…” (Recurring worship refrain)

For Listeners

If you want a faith that truly stretches, risks, and transforms—if you want to be part of global gospel impact and historic miracles—this episode is both a rallying cry and a strategic invitation to “jump in the deep end.”