New York City. Isn’t it amazing how, just by saying the name of this one place, I now have your attention? Already your brain has conjured up images of flashing lights, honking horns, huge buildings, faces, places, and an overall sense of fame and fortune.
While these generalizations are partly true, there is a lot more to New York City than meets the eye. If you dare to venture away from a tourist’s perspective, you may indeed find that the majority of the city is not like this at all. In fact, you may even realize that this city is in dire need of a transformation.
I am a graphic design student at Anderson University. I am from Taylors and attend Taylors First Baptist Church. This past summer I interned in New York City and also served as a North American Mission Board student missionary.
For two months I lived in one of the greatest cities in the world. From the beginning, New York was nothing like I could have imagined. I moved into my little apartment in Harlem and was immediately surprised at the poverty, homelessness and hopelessness. The culture was so different from my own, and I was intimidated at first. I was terrified to talk with my neighbors – or anyone at all, for that matter. Everyday I got up, raced to the subway to go to work, and came back a little after dinner only to dart right back to the apartment.
However, I came a point toward the end of June when I realized I was letting my fear of the city and its people overcome my ability to serve. I knew that if God brought me there, then surely he was going to take care of me. Little by little, I began talking with my neighbors and the homeless in the area.
I became very good friends with my apartment supervisor, Jos?, and was able to share the gospel with him. He had misconceptions about Christianity and had been hurt by many Christians. Little by little we worked together, and I tried my best to show him who Christ is and the purpose he had for his life. By the end of the summer, I tearfully said goodbye to Jos? and embraced him with a hug (something you never would have caught me doing at the beginning of June).
This interaction with my apartment supervisor was just one of many relationships I formed over the summer. I found one of the greatest joys was getting to know the people who had lived in New York City their whole lives. Another opportunity to meet people was through the City Uprising event the Gallery Church holds every year. Students from all over the nation came up to serve. We were able to go out in the various boroughs and serve schools, churches and the community.
One of the greatest outreach events I was a part of (and got to design the logo for) was the Electronic Friends outreach. Our teams broke up into small groups and went out to various places in the city to meet people in parks and connect with them by getting their names and photos to be posted to a Facebook group page. Through this, people got to know others in their area and also became familiar with the Gallery Church and its mission. One person I met was a fellow who had just arrived in New York from England. He had been in the city for two weeks and said I was the first person who had actually taken the time to talk with him. My heart broke for people like him who had been in the city for months – or even years – and still had no true community or friendships.
I would like to challenge and invite you to consider praying for the people of NYC, those serving in New York (short-term or long-term), or support those who have given everything to see the city come to Christ. If you would like to find out more, visit www.sendnyc.com. SendNYC is the organization I worked with this summer, and its goal is to plant 100 churches in the Manhattan area within the next 10 years.
Please begin praying for New York City and the salvation of its 20 million people. Right now, less than 1 percent of the population are Christ-followers. This city desperately needs the Light of the World, and it is up to us to answer the call and bring it to them.