During a recent visit to New York, I had the opportunity to visit Redeemer Presbyterian Church. It was my first time at Redeemer, and I was pleased to join the congregation at one of its several Sunday worship services. I had heard about this church for years, and knew that it is one of the most influential and highly-regarded churches in America. Redeemer’s senior pastor, Timothy J. Keller, is one of the most respected pastors in the country as well. So I was eager to “check out” Redeemer. Why, I wondered, is this church thriving in the midst of New York City? . . . which is not exactly the Bible belt.
\nBefore I offer some observations on why Redeemer is making such an impact, both in New York City and throughout the country, I’d like first to set up my thoughts by giving a bit of history and describing my visit to the church.
\nRedeemer Presbyterian Church, a congregation in the Presbyterian Church of America, a more conservative denomination than the PCUSA, was founded in 1989. Under the pastoral guidance of Tim Keller, the church has grown amazingly during the past two decades. It draws well over 4,000 people to worship each week, and has planted dozens of new churches in the New York City area. Redeemer has inspired other “Redeemer” church plants across the country, and has set an example for hundreds of other churches that are seeking to impact the cities in which they have been planted.
\nHere is Redeemer’s vision statement as found on its website:<\/p>\n
To spread the gospel, first through ourselves and then through the city by word, deed, and community; To bring about personal changes, social healing, and cultural renewal through a movement of churches and ministries that change New York City and through it, the world.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
I attended one of Redeemer’s five Sunday worship service, the 6:00 p.m. East Side Evening Worship at the Hunter College auditorium, a large venue that seats just over 2,000 people. It was a cold and rainy evening, but that didn’t stop well over 1,000 people from gathering for a 75-minute worship service.
\nThe Hunter College auditorium, not surprisingly, did not feature any religious art or symbols. The church did not add any, at least not anything that I could see. In fact, other than the praise band set up on the stage and the nicely-printed bulletin handed out to all participants, the Redeemer worship service did not include any visual components: no religious symbols displayed, no artwork, no digital projection.
\nWhen we arrived at the auditorium, we were greeted by a friendly but not too-friendly person who welcomed us and gave us some material about the church. Because we were a half-hour early, we found our own seats, and were not escorted by an usher. As the people gathered, I was struck by their friendliness to each other. Nobody spoke to me and my family, however, until an official time of greeting in the service. Most of the people who gathered seemed happy to talk with their friends, or to sit quietly as they waited for the service to begin.
\n![](\"https:\/\/www.markdroberts.com\/images\/redeemer-new-members-5.jpg\")
In most churches I attend, and I visit quite a few these days, there is no shortage of white hair in the pews. At Redeemer, I was one of few who had white hair. (Tim Keller seems to have white hair, but mostly he has none.)\u00a0 The photo to the right shows a group of new members who were received that night. Though the picture is small, you can tell that the average age of these people appears to be late 20s. You’d also see some ethnic diversity, with a few Asian folk and one African-American, in addition to several Anglos. You won’t see any people over forty in the congregation, either. I don’t know whether Redeemer’s other worship services include more older people. But it is striking that this church includes so many younger folk, especially given the nature of the worship service, as I’ll explain in a moment.
\nThe worship service began shortly after 6:00 p.m. with a jazz prelude. (Yes, it was called a “Prelude” in the bulletin.) Then one of the associate pastors, Matthew Paul Buccheri, came out to welcome us and call us to worship. He was a relatively young man (under 40, I think) with a New York accent. He wore a tie, but his shirt was untucked. His style was relaxed, but not overly casual. He didn’t tell jokes or warm up the crowd. Rather, he called us to worship in a theologically-solid statement of who God is and what worship is all about. There was an element of explantion in his preparatory comments, as if he was helping us understand what was coming so that we might participate.
\nThe bulk of the worship time, prior to the sermon, included the singing of a variety of songs. There was a faint memory of the jazz feel of the prelude, but, for the most part, the worship band sounded like most other top-drawer worship bands I’ve heard. The main leader was a woman, who was joined by the associate pastor in leading the singing.
\nMost of the songs and hymns of worship were familiar to me, including: “How Great is Our God,” “Come Let Us Worship and Bow Down,” “Ancient of Days,” “He Knows My Name,” and “The Church’s One Foundation.” It struck me that only “How Great is Our God” was written within the last decade.\u00a0 “Come Let Us Worship and Bow Down” is a classic praise song, having been published thirty years ago. I was singing this song in worship before most of the people in the Hunter College auditorium were born. As I’ve mentioned before, there was no digital projection of lyrics. They were printed in the bulletin. Quite clearly, there was nothing especially fancy or trendy or edgy about the musical portion of the worship at this Redeemer service, other than the unusual Jazz prelude (and postlude).
\nIn my next post on Redeemer I’ll describe the sermon preached by Tim Keller. Then I’ll offer some observations on why this church is so successful, not only in terms of numbers, but also in terms of influence.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
During a recent visit to New York, I had the opportunity to visit Redeemer Presbyterian Church. It was my first time at Redeemer, and I was pleased to join the congregation at one of its several Sunday worship services. I had heard about this church for years, and knew that it is one of the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":214,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[48],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1065","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-church-life"],"yoast_head":"\n
A Thriving Church in New York City . . . Why? - Mark D. Roberts<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2010\/03\/a-thriving-church-in-new-york-city-why.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Thriving Church in New York City . . . Why? - Mark D. Roberts\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"During a recent visit to New York, I had the opportunity to visit Redeemer Presbyterian Church. It was my first time at Redeemer, and I was pleased to join the congregation at one of its several Sunday worship services. 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Why?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/","name":"Mark D. Roberts","description":"Mark D. Roberts: Thoughtfully Christian Reflections on Jesus, the Church, and the World","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/1ff094a57b7e41f534434b1723df3d73","name":"Mark D. Roberts","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","caption":"Mark D. Roberts"},"description":"The Rev. Dr. Mark D. Roberts is a pastor, author, retreat leader, speaker, and blogger. Since October 2007 he has been the Senior Director and Scholar-in-Residence for Laity Lodge, a multifaceted ministry in the Hill Country of Texas. Before coming to Laity Lodge, he was for sixteen years the Senior Pastor of Irvine Presbyterian Church in Irvine, California (a city in Orange County about forty miles south of Los Angeles). Before his time at Irvine Pres, Mark served on the staff of the First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood as Associate Pastor of Education. (Thanks to Janel Pahl for taking the photo to the right.) Mark studied at Harvard University, receiving a B.A. in Philosophy, an M.A. in the Study of Religion, and a Ph.D. in New Testament and Christian Origins. He has taught classes in New Testament for Fuller Theological Seminary and San Francisco Theological Seminary. Mark has written several books, including No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer (WaterBrook, 2005), Dare to Be True (WaterBrook, 2003), Jesus Revealed (WaterBrook, 2002), After \"I Believe\" (Baker, 2002), and Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther (Word, 1993). His most recent book is Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John (Crossway, 2007). He is currently working on a commentary on Ephesians that will be published by Zondervan in 2014. Mark writes a devotional for The High Calling of Our Daily Work, a website associated with Laity Lodge. His \"Daily Reflections\" can be viewed online or sent as a daily email. If you wish to receive this email, just visit TheHighCalling.org and sign up. Mark serves on the editorial board of Worship Leader magazine, where he publishes articles and reviews, including his regular column \"Lyrical Poetry.\" Additionally, he has published dozens of articles in leading magazines and journals. He often speaks for churches and other Christian groups, and has been interviewed on over seventy-five radio programs nationwide. Mark is married to Linda, who is a Marriage and Family Therapist, a Spiritual Director, and a retreat speaker. They have two children, Nathan and Kara.For Publicity Photos and Bio Statements for Mark, please check here. Mark's Dossier Professional History: Senior Director and Scholar-in Residence, Laity Lodge, October 2007 to present. Senior Pastor Irvine Presbyterian Church, June 1991 to September 2007 Adjunct Assistant Professor Fuller Theological Seminary, 1994 to 2007. Courses: New Testament Theology and Exegesis. Adjunct Instructor San Francisco Theological Seminary, 1995 to 2001. Courses: New Testament Greek and Exegesis Associate Pastor of Education First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood, 1987-1991 Teaching Fellow Harvard University, 1980-1983 Education: Ph.D. in the Study of Religion. Harvard University, 1992. Area: New Testament and Christian Origins M.A. in the Study of Religion Harvard University, 1984. A.B. magna cum laude in Philosophy Harvard University, 1979. Phi Beta Kappa; Danforth Fellowship Books: Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Crossway, 2007 No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer. WaterBrook, 2005 Dare to Be True: Living in the Freedom of Complete Honesty. WaterBrook, 2003. Jesus Revealed: Know Him Better to Love Him Better. WaterBrook, 2002. After \"I Believe\": Experiencing Authentic Christian Living. Baker, 2002. Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther in the Communicator's Commentary Series. Word, 1993. Contacting Mark: You can reach Mark at: E-mail: mark@markdroberts.com mroberts@laitylodge.org Phone: Laity Lodge: (830) 792-1216 Address: Laity Lodge 719 Earl Garrett Kerrville, TX 78028","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/author\/mroberts"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1065","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/214"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1065"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1065\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1065"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1065"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1065"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}