Things change. Life changes. Organizations change. I’m happy to announce one of the better changes of 2023. On January 1, 2023, Gospel in Life changed parent organizations, moving from being part of Redeemer Presbyterian Church, to being part of Redeemer City to City.
To give you a little context, long before there was the ministry of Gospel in Life, Tim and I were busy working for Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City, and in those early years God did some amazing things. We saw a number of affiliate ministries grow and flourish, nourished by volunteers from the congregation. At the very beginning of Redeemer in 1989 one of the first of these was the sermon ministry, which recorded Sunday sermons and passed out copies to anyone who wanted them. This ministry grew exponentially, adding employees, equipment, and office space and by the late 90s it was mailing out cassettes all over the world. After about 25 years it became known as Gospel in Life. In a separate development in 1997 Redeemer Church raised funds to start the Redeemer Church Planting Center in 2001 which later was renamed Redeemer City to City.
Today, Redeemer City to City is a ministry that supports gospel movements all over the world. They do this primarily in two ways. First, by training leaders and pastors to grow gospel movements in the cities where they work, and second, by helping them to plant new churches in the global cities where they live. It’s also the organization that Tim co-founded and where he worked from the time he stepped down from his role as senior pastor at Redeemer Church in 2017. So a few years later when Redeemer’s congregations took the next step and moved from being one big church to three individual churches, it was important that Gospel in Life find the right place to reside. It was a unanimous decision that the new home for Gospel in Life should eventually be within Redeemer City to City.
I share that brief history with you to help you get a sense of why this announcement is both exciting for all of us here at Redeemer City to City (CTC) and an incredible opportunity. With Gospel in Life now officially part of CTC since the beginning of the year, we have begun developing a strategy for how to bring the teaching and resources of Gospel in Life to more people through translations and perhaps even new local expressions of Gospel in Life in other parts of the world. We also hope it will make it easier for us to get more of our resources into the hands of leaders around the world.
Before I continue, here’s a brief welcome from our CEO Steve Shackelford:
I’m so excited to greet all of you and welcome you to Redeemer City to City. Some of you know us well, and some may be new to our ministry. It is a privilege to host the ministry of Gospel in Life on our global platform, and we look forward to getting to know you.
Over the last twenty years, Redeemer City to City and the global ecosystem we serve has helped start more than 1,200 churches in cities around the world and trained 79,000 pastors and leaders. As you may know, when Tim stepped down from his role as senior pastor at Redeemer Churches, he and Kathy joined the staff of Redeemer City to City, and Tim also served as chairman of the board.Their love and commitment to cities may have started with New York City, but they long ago recognized the vast mission field cities represent, and their ministry continues to reach large influential cities across the US and the globe.
Tim’s sermons were heard in 218 countries last year. Story after story recount how pastors and leaders who serve City to City became acquainted with our work through one of Tim’s sermons. Leaders get introduced to our gospel DNA through Tim’s sermons which can often lead to more intense training and coaching provided throughout the City to City global ecosystem.
We are privileged to steward this work, alongside Kathy and the Gospel in Life team. And we look forward to seeing the message of the gospel of grace continue to change lives and impact cities around the world. Thank you!
So now that we’re working with City to City, I’d like you to consider three ways in which you can respond to this news:
1) PRAY – I know many of you pray regularly for the ministry of Gospel in Life and I first want to say thanks. But I also want to invite you to pray even more for the new opportunities we hope to share with you about how we believe God is leading us to bring the gospel to more people through innovation, translations and expanding our reach. So please be praying for God to open doors and give us the means to share the gospel wherever he leads us.
2) SHARE – Many of you have shared with us how God has used the teaching and resources of Gospel in Life to change lives and help people grow in their faith. And we’ve also heard how many of you have shared our teaching and resources with friends and family who haven’t yet experienced the joy of knowing Christ personally. Please keep up the good work! It’s easier than ever to share teaching and talks with someone now that all our sermons are free on our website. And we know that the best way for someone to encounter the gospel is through friendly and caring conversations between a person exploring Christianity and someone who knows Christ. So please keep winsomely and hopefully sharing your faith and our resources with friends and family who need the gospel. This ultimately fuels new gospel movements as new people come to faith!
3) SUPPORT – We’re so grateful for everyone who generously supports Gospel in Life with your financial gifts. Your generosity has made it possible for us to offer all the sermons on our website for free (while continuing to cover the cost of staff, offices and other ministry expenses). As we present new opportunities for expanding the ministry of Gospel in Life by teaming with Redeemer City to City, please prayerfully consider how you might give to support this new chapter of our ministry together.
The entire Gospel in Life team and I are hopeful and expectant for what God will do next through this new relationship in ministry and we look forward to sharing more with you about it as God provides the opportunities.
While Tim’s death has changed a lot of things, the Gospel that he loved and preached can change everything. Thank you for your partnership.
With gratitude,
Kathy Keller
Learn more about Redeemer City to City
