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Practicing the Art of Presence in Woodside, Queens

“We don’t live in a religious desert. But it is a church desert.” When Larry and his wife Lindsey moved to Western Queens, there were about 30 mosques and temples in the neighborhood and barely any churches.

Four Reasons We Can’t Forget the Work of Prayer

I underestimated the role of prayer when I planted my church. I was told about the huge effort it would take to plant a church but I didn’t anticipate that effort might subtly crowd out a reliance on God through prayer, over time.

A New Church in Yonkers

Before I did a residency at a church in Harlem and started getting involved at CTC, I would have thought starting a church was about getting people to lead a service and hoping people would come. But now I see this is just 10% of church planting.”

God’s Heart for New York City

The call to start a church is unique. And in a city like New York, it is a calling that requires much risk, discomfort, and faith.

God loves cities. And in New York, we’d like to think our city is no different.

Engaging Polarization, An Evening with Justin Giboney

On February 2nd, pastors and lay leaders gathered for a conversation with Justin Giboney, President and Co-Founder of the AND Campaign for a talk on Rethinking Mission: Engaging Polarization. An attorney and political strategist, Giboney and other leaders at the AND Campaign have become a resource and hub for Christians engaging in politics and advocacy during a time of polarization in our country.

Seeking the Shalom of Our Communities

People and communities thrive when they are experiencing a sense of love, well-being, creative expression, safety and unity. A neighborhood mural in East Harlem describes what the human heart longs for: “unity is the condition of being united with a single whole”. This longing is a reflection of the image and nature of God which He has endowed upon all humankind.

Reflection on Rethinking Mission: Collaborating for the City Event

In October, pastors and leaders gathered for a conversation with Derrick Puckett, Pastor of Renewal Church in Chicago and President of The Chicago Partnership, a multi-ethnic, multi-denominational team of leaders from local churches working to see a movement of gospel-centered churches in Chicago.

Modulating the Key of the Gospel

In 1989 when Tim and Kathy Keller first moved to Manhattan to plant Redeemer Presbyterian Church, one of the most critical challenges he would say they faced was learning how to communicate the historic gospel in a way that was both true to Scripture and would resonate with a highly secular, therapeutic culture among the educated professional classes of the Upper East Side.

A Renewed New York

In John 2, at a wedding about to turn into a social disaster, the water of religious ceremony—water used to separate God’s people from the world—is turned into the finest wine you can imagine, wine of friendship and celebration.

Gospel Turnaround Living

In John 2, at a wedding about to turn into a social disaster, the water of religious ceremony—water used to separate God’s people from the world—is turned into the finest wine you can imagine, wine of friendship and celebration.

Shenaya Dias Classroom & Student Success Coordinator, City Ministry Program

Shenaya Dias works for Redeemer City to City as the Classroom and Student Success.

Coordinator for the City Ministry Program (CMP) at Redeemer City to City. She is originally from Negombo, Sri Lanka, but she has been in New York for the past four years. She has a bachelor’s degree in economics, Pre-Law from Fordham University. Prior to this position, Shenaya worked as a Paralegal Specialist for the US Department of Justice in Manhattan. She is also an unreached prayer writer for the Joshua Project. A fun fact about Shenaya, she used to be a competitive Ocean/Sea Swimmer back in Sri Lanka. Some of her hobbies include playing the piano and traveling.