Building faith in the city that never sleeps

NEW YORK CITY — Her father is Muslim and not too happy with her decision. Her mother is Christian and thinks she made the right choice. And she is struggling to learn what her new faith means in a world 6,000 miles from home.

Lola Yahaya is struggling with a lot in her life these days – balancing a college career, fending for herself in one of the world’s largest cities thousands of miles from family back home in Nigeria, making ends meet on a student’s income. It’s a struggle not uncommon to millions of New York City residents, but she has one advantage: a new faith in Christ.

Yahaya represents a largely unchurched Manhattan population that is seeking spiritual meaning but can’t seem to find the answers to life’s tough questions. A small, but growing, number are finding purpose through a church being planted by Georgia Baptists who followed their calling to New York City.

“My faith in Christ is my lifeline, it’s my lifeboat to keep me afloat these days,” Yahaya says in a hallway of the city’s newest congregation. Launched on Sept. 10 – just one day short of the fifth anniversary of the terrorist bombing of the World Trade Center towers – Gallery Church is seeking to toss lifelines to any who enter its doors, which also happen to be the doors of Rustin High School.

Located in the Chelsea neighborhood of lower Manhattan, the fledgling congregation is operating on a small budget but with big ideas for growth. And individuals like Yahaya are responding to the upbeat message delivered in a youthful format.

 

One of the first

“I know God is the One who saved me from a variety of circumstances in my life, and He continues to give me direction. He gives me something to live for down the road, whatever that is. I am so grateful for the people at the church who have helped me grow spiritually. I had so many problems when I came here, but now they don’t weigh on me like they used to,” she said following a mid-October worship service. Yahaya has been attending Gallery for two months and is one of the first five individuals to be baptized by the congregation.

It’s people like her who put the wind in the sails of the only two fulltime staff members at the church. Aaron Coe, who serves as lead pastor, and Todd Cullen, who supervises administration and growth communities (small groups), seek to provide direction for the congregation in its early days. Barely out of the delivery room and only six weeks since its birth, the congregation is seeking a longer-range home as it defines its audience.

Coe and Cullen were serving on the staff of NorthStar Church in Kennesaw when Coe was appointed as a North American Mission Board missionary in 2003 and joined the New Hope New York effort to reach the city. While serving in that capacity he began to sense the need for a new church in the city’s arts community and invited Cullen to join him.

The two men and their wives – Carmen Coe and Cynthia Cullen – planted their lives in a new ministry that continues to expand and adapt as ministry opportunities present themselves.

“If anything good could be said to have come out of the terrorist attacks, it’s that God used 9/11 to prepare the spiritual soil for church plants. He brought the city to its knees in a way that self-reliant New Yorkers could finally feel comfortable with asking questions about life. Everyone was talking about life and death and eternity, and it’s like God just opened a window for congregations to be started,” Coe explains.

“Prior to 9/11 there had been no Southern Baptist church plants in Manhattan for 10 years; now there have been seven in just the past nine years,” he added.

Churches from Tennessee, South Carolina, Florida, and California – as well as two from Georgia – have embraced the church’s vision and have signed on as sponsoring congregations. In Georgia, First Baptist Church of Brunswick and Ingleside Baptist Church in Macon have been among the strongest supporters.

 

Connections through community

Cullen, who oversees the growing number of small groups – what Gallery calls “growth communities” – is excited about the potential for the ministry.

“We have no more than eight people in each growth community because, to be honest, that’s about all you can get in an apartment living room in New York City. We already have 13 and hope to expand to 20 groups as we get on our feet. We see these communities as an opportunity for people to take what they learn on Sunday and digest it among fellow believers, drilling down into the Word and learning how to apply it in their lives. This is where the heart of the church is located,” he says.

The communities meet throughout Manhattan, with one new group in Brooklyn being the first established off the island itself. Church membership is not primarily from the neighborhood surrounding the church but is increasing as word spreads.

Gallery is focusing on reaching the arts district of Manhattan, primarily found in Chelsea and the adjacent neighborhoods of SOHO and Greenwich Village. Rustin High School, at 351 West 18th Street, between 8th and 9th streets, was discovered to be available and became the launch location. The congregation meets at 7 p.m. on Sundays.

“Aaron and I don’t know of another evangelical church in any of the surrounding neighborhoods, so we felt this is where God wanted us to be. Chelsea is a very young community in terms of its population – there are a lot of single adults due to the creative nature of the art galleries and related businesses – and we have tailored the worship to meet those needs,” Cullen added.

Both Cullen and Coe spout demographics like trained statisticians. They know their audience and seek ways to contextualize the gospel in the easiest way to be grasped without changing the message.

The demographics are staggering:

• Nearly 2 million residents live in Manhattan itself, which is only one of five area boroughs;

• 8 million residents live in the five boroughs;

• 22 million residents in the metropolitan area;

• each day the city endures the influx of six million commuters, swelling Manhattan’s population four times from 2 million to 8 million;

• 70 percent of New York City’s residents are young professionals or college students.

And that, they say, is the challenge of reaching the world’s most influential city.

“When I was growing up in Georgia we would never walk very far. In New York City it’s nothing to walk three miles in the course of a day, as well as using public transportation. Living here is challenging, it’s fun, it’s rewarding. There’s never a dull moment,” Cullen says.

“Cynthia and I live three miles north of the church on the Upper West Side, 15 minutes by subway, 60 blocks on foot. I lost 20 pounds the first month I lived here by walking so much,” he adds.

“We don’t own a car and that has its own set of challenges, but the monthly parking is so expensive you couldn’t afford it if you had one. And you wouldn’t use it but to get out of the city because public transportation is so good for local travel.”

The couple live in a predominantly Jewish-Catholic neighborhood that is very family oriented – totally different from the world in which they minister. But that is what makes the city so exciting, they add.

“New York is not a melting pot, it’s actually more like a quilt with a variety of patterns of different people and ethnic groups, each maintaining their own identities. There are so many different communities you could easily have a different church in each one.

Cullen wasn’t too excited about moving to New York City when Coe first floated the idea, but says that God eventually changed his mind.

 

A church of ministers

“He’s got us here for as long as he wants. We’re open to His will and want to be sure we keep that in the forefront,” said Cullen. “Contrary to stereotypes, New York City is a great place to raise a family. There are three different free museums within walking distance of our apartment and there are people from all over the world to befriend and learn about their country and culture. And in learning about them, we are able to share the Good News of what Christ has done for us.”

Coe shares that love for the city.

“We want to reach the world, and this is the best place to do it because so much of the world is constantly moving in and out of the city. Gallery Church gives us a wonderful platform to share the gospel with people who can take it back to their family and friends in their homelands.

“There are 191 nations represented in the metropolitan area. There are more Jews here than in Israel, and more Puerto Ricans than in San Juan. It’s amazing to see the diversity that is found on each street corner.

“We started Gallery as a Sunday evening service in order to reach the young professionals but are considering adding a Sunday morning service in another part of town, possibly as another congregation.

“I don’t know if we will end up as one church with thousands of members in one location or one of several churches with hundreds in attendance. We are not content to be a church with hundreds of ministries, but a church with thousands of ministers. Our goal is for our members to see church as less of a place that they attend and more of something that they are.

“Because,” he stresses, “they are the church.”

 

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The 411 on Gallery Church

Gallery Church is a flagship church start of the North American Mission Board. Lead pastor and former Georgia Baptist Aaron Coe is a missionary dually funded by NAMB and the Baptist Convention of New York, through gifts provided by the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering.

The church, which was officially launched on Sept. 10 – the day before the fifth anniversary of the terrorist attacks – has about 60 individuals who attend regularly. There have been two baptism services where five individuals were baptized.

Gallery Church is seeking partnerships with churches who would like to join them in reaching New York City for Christ. Volunteers are especially needed in reaching the neighborhood surrounding the church.

Individuals desiring more information should visit the church’s website at www.gallerychurch.com.