In 2002, Tim Keller wrote what, for me, was the most compelling case for planting new churches. His argument was two-fold: new church plants are not only evangelistically most effective to grow the body of Christ in a city, but they’re also necessary for the renewal of existing churches.
One Sunday, Pastor Isidore’s preaching sounded different. And it sounded different the next Sunday and the one after that. And it wasn’t just the preaching. “We started seeing the Christ-centeredness of his preaching,” Yves said. “It was really remarkable. … Pastor Isidore was now more concerned about how to build the lives of the people in the church on Christ, more than focusing on the church’s day-to-day problems.”
Most of these students have never seen a Bible and will live their lives never entering a Christian’s home or having any kind of relationship with one. When I chose to join RUF-I, these are the things that excited me. This really was “world mission” in my home city. I could not have been more excited at the opportunity to share Jesus with them.
Political instability, a plummeting dollar resulting in a severe financial crisis, echoes of a Civil War that didn’t end until 1990, and a general hopelessness from repeated cycles of corrupt government. This is what Marwan Aboul-Zelof and his young family entered when they moved to Beirut, Lebanon in 2016 to plant a church.
It is unlikely that Redeemer City to City would exist today without the sermon ministry we now call Gospel in Life. Beginning in the early 1990s, Tim Keller’s Sunday sermons were recorded and distributed on cassette tapes. By the middle of the decade, Redeemer was shipping a staggering 25,000 tapes per year to 32 states and 17 countries.
Lavonas Troupe had lived in Chicago his whole life. His dad left when he was young, and his mom used drugs. He and his siblings grew up in poverty. He’d been told he would have three vocational choices when he got older: policeman, firefighter or criminal. His choice disappeared that day on the basketball court.
Allapattah, a vibrant neighborhood with a rich cultural tapestry, faces significant economic challenges. Over 34% of families live below the poverty line. Yet, amidst these struggles, Wilfredo’s story shines as a beacon of hope and transformation.
In October Redeemer congregants and attendees at a pastor’s conference gathered at the Church of the Advent Hope on East 87th Street, a Seventh-day Adventist Church. The two groups were present to witness the unveiling of a plaque commemorating the ministry and legacy of the late Timothy Keller.
Farley, a retired dancer with the New York City Ballet, is close friends with composer Werner. They met at church in New York City. Though the collaborators want everyone to be able to connect with Four Loves no matter their background, the ballet does depict their Christian artistic vision. As the curtain rises, three dancers are already spinning in a circle, representing the trinitarian love of God that was active before time began.
Neil is working to create a Dunkirk-like operation for a different type of mission: seeing the gospel reach the hearts of men and women living in one of the world’s largest and most diverse cities: London. Neil sees the need for a unique effort to unite churches in London to “seek shalom for the city,” as the late Tim Keller would say. “What if a truly collaborative answer to the call is possible? What if there is a way for faithful churches across denominations, ecclesial styles, and theological traditions to partner in a rescue effort that would rival Operation Dynamo?” This past spring everything changed.
He is a pastor and has been for more than a decade. He planted a church, ministered to people, gave advice and counseling to others, and helped many along their journey. Through the years rarely has someone done the same for him. And that came at a cost. “As a pastor, because I was constantly helping others resolve their issues and helping them solve their problems,” Ignacio says, “I began to focus on being self-sufficient.”
This past spring everything changed.
Presenting the gospel from the Old Testament really helps someone who is Muslim relate to what I’m saying because they are familiar with those stories in the Quran. I’m now able to explain how to see Jesus in the Noah story. And I see more Muslims responding to the gospel. Some of them will say, “We’ve never heard the gospel preached this way.” And I say, “Well, I also just learned it.” And I’m not seeing the same hostility toward the gospel.
Although 85% of the population of Madagascar identifies as Christian, Tank says the gospel message is often eroded. “Religiosity mixed with a health and wealth message is very challenging right now. Due to that, many people are being tossed back and forth, deceived and blinded. Lots of syncretism where people are trying different religions and hoping that maybe one will work and sort out all of life’s problems, especially poverty.”
Christians in the arts—theater, dance, music, etc.—face suspicion from both their colleagues and from their fellow Christians. Max McLean’s story is one of immersing himself in theater and finding a better way with the gospel, of both pursuing his calling and honoring his Lord.
Our church doubled in size during the pandemic and when the war started, it almost doubled in size again. Because of Krakow’s location, the city has been serving as a gate to safety because Krakow is one of the first large cities you hit once you have crossed the Polish-Ukrainian border. We were given an incredible opportunity and privilege to serve those who were fleeing from cities that were under the Russian attack in Ukraine and we primarily served women with children.
…Increasingly the culture doesn’t believe in facts or truth. It believes that people create their own truth, they create their own facts. There’s no certainty on what the right take on reality is. And so here we have the Christian church of all things being the center of emphasis on the idea that there are historical facts that can be verified.
As I began to go into shock, I heard a shot close by and felt a body collapse on top of me. Blood ran over me, and I tried to crawl out from underneath it. When I got free, I looked back and could see it was an old man who the police had killed. Then I passed out. When word of the violence spread, my relatives raced to every clinic and hospital searching for me (Xolani had made it out ok). They couldn’t find me, and assumed I’d been killed.
Whether it is washing dishes or building spaceships, we have the image of God in us as ones who bring order out of chaos and call it good. In giving us his creation mandate, God asked men and women to discover the potential in his creation and care for it. With the publication The Creator in You, this message has been clearly and attractively presented to children.
Pastors and ministry leaders carry a heavy weight when caring for the needs of so many people in their congregation and surrounding community.
Like many New Yorkers, I lived (and often still live) from a place of unhealthy reliance on my work as a source of my identity, rather than as a healthy expression of it. So I went through a process of relearning to hold my identity (lower-case i) as a performing artist in New York much more loosely in particular. I had to hold that gift out to God and say “Lord, use this gift (and me) as it seems best to you.”
This Month's Featured Book
In his book, Walking with God through Pain and Suffering, Tim Keller looks at the problem of pain and suffering through a biblical lens as he works through the challenge of one of life’s most difficult questions: Why does God allow so much pain and suffering?
