The Story of City to City and the Birth of 300 Churches

Redeemer Presbyterian Church was launched in 1989 when a church planter named Terry Gyger persuaded a seminary professor named Tim Keller to move to Manhattan with his young family to start a church. The idea was to create a church for people in the heart of Manhattan.

Soon afterward, pastors in New York, Seattle, and Washington DC began to model skeptic-friendly services and gospel-centered teaching after Redeemer’s. Eventually, Terry recruited some of the most experienced church planters and missionaries he knew - now CTC Directors Jay Kyle, Al Barth and Mark Reynolds - to start a church planting center in New York that would find ways to translate this gospel-centered ministry to places like London, Tokyo and Berlin.

What began as a painstaking search for like-minded pastors in some of the biggest, most secular cities in the world has become a steady stream of pastors receiving training, mentoring, funding, community, and support from what is now called Redeemer City to City. These leaders are inspired by Redeemer’s ministry in New York to form their own networks and church plants in cities and countries around the world.

On September 28 we will introduce some of these leaders at all Redeemer services during City to City Sunday. We hope you can join us and meet our 8th annual class of the International Intensive, a group of 16 young pastors representing cities from Los Angeles to Nairobi who are visiting us for extensive training in our core values, church planting and ministry skills during a five-week residency in New York.

The churches they start will eventually join the ranks of over 300 churches that City to City has partnered with, trained, funded, and inspired, in 65 cities, over the past 12 years.

Thanks to a generous gift, the entire cost of their training will be underwritten. But we have committed to support these churches until they become self-sustaining and even begin to plant new churches. Will you consider giving toward launching 16 new churches that proclaim the gospel and serve their cities?

Our goal is to raise $150,000 on City to City Sunday, September 28. You can also give to City to City online at redeemercitytocity.com/rpc.

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Articles in this Issue

		How do you sum up 25 years? Kathy Keller
		Differently the Same: Redeemer’s Next Twenty-five Years Tim Keller
		Great Hope for Our City John Lin
		Prayer and the Life of Redeemer Presbyterian Church Tim Keller
		New York City Draws Us in and Sends Us out Melanie Penn
		“What Do You Want to Do with Your Life?” Tom Jennings
		Why Emphasize Faith & Work Integration? Reflecting on the Role of CFW as RPC Celebrates 25 Years David Kim
		Equipping Our Church to Do Justice and Love Mercy Elise Chong
		Families Rooted for Generations Brent Bounds
		The Redeemer Diaconate: 1991-2014 Jenny Chang
		A Look Back at Redeemer Counseling Services Judy Cha