Redeemer City to City’s story began when a pastor and seminary professor, Tim Keller, and his wife, Kathy, were persuaded by the church planting coordinator of the Presbyterian Church in America, Terry Gyger, to move with their children to Manhattan in 1989 to start Redeemer Presbyterian Church—now Redeemer Churches & Ministries (RCM).
Soon after the church was established, there came a moment of illumination through a young man named Igor Zhelezny. In the process of immigrating from Russia to New York City, Igor, a self-described Russian atheistic Jewish man, came to faith in Christ. As he settled in Brooklyn, people from similar backgrounds who got to know him began coming to Christ. It was suggested that he start a church, and so he met with Tim Keller. Tim and the staff of RCM took him under their wings and provided the training he needed. That is when the illumination came. Tim and other Presbyterian church planters saw that no matter how large RCM grew and how many other Presbyterian churches were started in the city, only a small segment of the population would be reached with the gospel. For there to be any hope of reaching the complexity and diversity of the city, hundreds of churches would need to be planted by dozens of different denominations and church networks.
In the early 1990s, leaders from around the world began to notice that secular New Yorkers were listening and responding to the gospel as it was contextualized for them. As momentum grew, Terry Gyger left his work in Boston to help Tim and RCM create a center for church planting. Terry recruited some of the most experienced church planters and missionaries he knew—Jay Kyle, Al Barth and Mark Reynolds (all still with RCTC today)—to start what is now called Redeemer City to City.
The receptivity and growth in New York City provided a training ground for work around the world. Through this work, God has allowed us to help church planters start more than 800 churches and train and impact more than 64,000 leaders. As we see God open doors, change lives and impact communities in one city, we have greater faith and expectancy for what he will accomplish in hundreds of others.
Today, CTC* regional affiliates populate the global landscape. Networks of leaders, often sharing the CTC name (CTC Europe, CTC Asia Pacific, CTC Latin America and more) are working together to contextualize the gospel’s message to the people in their cities and neighborhoods who believe church has nothing relevant to say to them nor about the lives they live.
The same dynamics that motivated Tim’s support of Igor Zhelezny—for a city to change, hundreds of churches need to be planted by dozens of different denominations for there to be any hope in reaching the complexity and diversity of the city—compels RCTC and the entire CTC global network today.
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See glossary to understand the difference between RCTC and CTC and for definitions of terms with which you may not be familiar.
Soon after the church was established, there came a moment of illumination through a young man named Igor Zhelezny. In the process of immigrating from Russia to New York City, Igor, a self-described Russian atheistic Jewish man, came to faith in Christ. As he settled in Brooklyn, people from similar backgrounds who got to know him began coming to Christ. It was suggested that he start a church, and so he met with Tim Keller. Tim and the staff of RCM took him under their wings and provided the training he needed. That is when the illumination came. Tim and other Presbyterian church planters saw that no matter how large RCM grew and how many other Presbyterian churches were started in the city, only a small segment of the population would be reached with the gospel. For there to be any hope of reaching the complexity and diversity of the city, hundreds of churches would need to be planted by dozens of different denominations and church networks.
In the early 1990s, leaders from around the world began to notice that secular New Yorkers were listening and responding to the gospel as it was contextualized for them. As momentum grew, Terry Gyger left his work in Boston to help Tim and RCM create a center for church planting. Terry recruited some of the most experienced church planters and missionaries he knew—Jay Kyle, Al Barth and Mark Reynolds (all still with RCTC today)—to start what is now called Redeemer City to City.
The receptivity and growth in New York City provided a training ground for work around the world. Through this work, God has allowed us to help church planters start more than 800 churches and train and impact more than 64,000 leaders. As we see God open doors, change lives and impact communities in one city, we have greater faith and expectancy for what he will accomplish in hundreds of others.
Today, CTC* regional affiliates populate the global landscape. Networks of leaders, often sharing the CTC name (CTC Europe, CTC Asia Pacific, CTC Latin America and more) are working together to contextualize the gospel’s message to the people in their cities and neighborhoods who believe church has nothing relevant to say to them nor about the lives they live.
The same dynamics that motivated Tim’s support of Igor Zhelezny—for a city to change, hundreds of churches need to be planted by dozens of different denominations for there to be any hope in reaching the complexity and diversity of the city—compels RCTC and the entire CTC global network today.
*
See glossary to understand the difference between RCTC and CTC and for definitions of terms with which you may not be familiar.