Welcome, Three New Church Partners!
At Hope for New York, we long to see a movement of Christians committed to service, sacrificial generosity, and life-transforming relationships with their neighbors.
That’s why we’re excited to announce that our church partnerships are expanding from seven (Apostles Brooklyn, Apostles Union Square, Apostles Uptown, Redeemer Downtown, Redeemer East Side, Redeemer West Side, and Trinity Baptist Church) to 10 with the addition of three new church partners: Hope Church Midtown, Redeemer Lincoln Square, and Renaissance Church.
So, what makes a church a HFNY partner church? While we welcome volunteers and supporters from churches all over the city, our partner churches have made an expressed commitment to mobilizing their congregations to love and serve their neighbors in need through Hope for New York affiliates.
They are committed to making mercy and justice a priority of their church life. And we are committed to empowering these churches to achieve this mission by helping them strategize for their mission, catalyze their community, and train their church for mercy & justice initiatives.
We asked the lead pastors of our new church partners a few questions about their congregations, neighborhoods, and why they’re excited to partner with Hope for New York.
* * *
DREW HYUN
1. Tell us a little about Hope Church and the people who make it up—and, why Midtown?
Hope Church Midtown is part of a family of diverse churches in NYC called Hope Church NYC. We’re located in the Turtle Bay neighborhood of Midtown East, and we’re a little over two years old as a church. We’ve got an eclectic congregation—mostly 20- and 30-something professionals, but also diverse smatterings across age and race.
We chose this neighborhood because not many churches have been planted in Turtle Bay in many years, yet it’s a place that can draw people from all over Manhattan and serve as a generative hub for new congregations to form throughout the city. So far, our church has sent groups of people to help start Hope Brooklyn, Hope Jersey City, and soon, Hope Westside.
2. What is your desire for Hope Church partnering with HFNY?
Our desire is to partner in seeking the peace and prosperity of the city. Hope for New York has led the way in serving so many populations throughout New York, especially the poor and the marginalized. As Christians, this is an essential part of our beliefs and ethics—care and love for others—especially the poor and the marginalized.
3. Why is it important that your congregation be engaged in mercy and justice?
Aside from the gospel call toward mercy and justice, it’s so easy for New Yorkers to live and work and play in enclaves that shield us from the needs of others in our city. The same is true for our congregation. As Christians, we long to live for a story bigger than ourselves, and serving in areas of mercy and justice connects us to that larger narrative of what God is doing to renew our city.
4. What is your hope for New York?
Our hope for New York is that the gospel would saturate our city—in word and deed—and that an unprecedented spiritual awakening toward God and his glory would be the result.
* * *
MICHAEL KELLER
1. Tell us a little about Redeemer Lincoln Square and why Lincoln Square?
Redeemer Lincoln Square is the new West Side site of Redeemer Presbyterian Church. It’s the first site to come out of Redeemer's Rise campaign, designed to strategically accelerate the gospel movement in New York City toward a tipping point.
We're excited to start our worship services on Easter Sunday at NY Society of Ethical Culture in a neighborhood where there is unique arts, culture, and history. We are praying that we’ll meet our neighbors where they are, be a positive addition to the neighborhood, and help with the needs of the community.
2. What is your desire for Lincoln Square partnering with HFNY?
Our desire is that, from the beginning, the Redeemer Lincoln Square congregation would have a heart for mercy and justice. By partnering with Hope for New York, it is our desire to see congregants empowered to help those in need through the volunteer opportunities offered by HFNY affiliates, both in the Lincoln Square neighborhood and in the neighborhoods they live.
We would also like to come to understand the needs of those in the Lincoln Square neighborhood and strategize on how to effectively inform and engage our congregants around those needs. It is our hope that, as a church, we would be excited about opportunities to serve and would give generously of our time and resources.
3. Why is it important that your congregation be engaged in mercy and justice?
On this side of the Fall, it is the call of the church to reflect the social righteousness of what once was, before the Fall, and will be again, in the new age. Christians are to open their hands to the needy as far as there is need (1 John 3:16-17; cf. Deut. 15:7-8). Since the church is not simply a collection of individuals who are forgiven, but also a new nation, we are to work toward the new creation as we are a plant and the beginnings of the Kingdom of God.
4. What is your hope for New York?
Our hope for New York, then, is to see this Kingdom of God grow here. This will happen through justice, service, and mercy as we desire to meet human needs out of a heart for justice and compassion. Naturally, we are commanded, then, to serve all, without spiritual considerations, and at the same time, we are to do all things with both word and deed in mind as we move out in mercy (compassion) and justice through levels of relief, development, and reform. As New York is changed, so will be our own lives and communities. We will all learn to be better neighbors, non-individualists, and reconciliation-driven entities.
* * *
JORDAN RICE
1. Tell us a little about Renaissance and the people who make it up—and, why Harlem?
Renaissance is a new church in Central Harlem, and we exist to see people transformed by the gospel and a diverse family of Jesus followers to see renewal in Harlem. We chose Central Harlem because of its rich history and need for more gospel-centered communities there.
2. What is your desire for Renaissance partnering with HFNY?
My desire in our partnership with HFNY is to leverage their decades of experience, wisdom, and resources and pair them with our church community to maximize our impact in Harlem. We don't see a need to reinvent the wheel, and since HFNY and Renaissance share a vision for our neighborhood, we hope to team up in our endeavors.
3. Why is it important that your congregation be engaged in mercy and justice?
Quite frankly, it's impossible to be confronted and changed by the gospel and not live it out in the way we engage with our neighbors. We feel that the gospel, correctly understood, compels us to engage in mercy and justice. Mercy and justice displays in the community a message of hope, love, and renewal that is incomplete if our beliefs didn't lead to actions of love.
4. What is your hope for New York?
My hope for New York is for the church to rise and lead the movement of justice, mercy, and witness of our beloved Savior who's already given us His all so that we could live.