NYC

nyc

Meet New York City. The City we love and serve!

New York City (NYC), also known as the City of New York or simply New York (NY), is the most populous city in the United States. With an estimated 2018 population of 8,398,748 distributed over a land area of about 302.6 square miles (784 km2), New York is also the most densely populated major city in the United State. Located at the southern tip of the state of New York, the city is the center of the New York metropolitan area, the largest metropolitan area in the world by urban landmass and one of the world’s most populous mega cities, with an estimated 19,979,477 people in its 2018 Metropolitan Statistical Area and 22,679,948 residents in its Combined Statistical Area.] A global power city, New York City has been described as the cultural,financial, and media capital of the world, and exerts a significant impact upon commerce, entertainment, research, technology, education, politics, tourism, art, fashion, and sports. The city is home to the headquarters of the United Nations, and New York is an important center for international diplomacy.

Situated on one of the world’s largest natural harbors, New York City consists of five boroughs, each of which is a separate county of the State of New York. The five boroughs – Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, The Bronx, and Staten Island – were consolidated into a single city in 1898. The city and its metropolitan area constitute the premier gateway for legal immigration to the United States. As many as 800 languages are spoken in New York, making it the most linguistically diverse city in the world. New York City is home to 3.2 million residents born outside the United States, the largest foreign born population of any city in the world as of 2016. As of 2019, the New York metropolitan area is estimated to produce a gross metropolitan product (GMP) of US$1.9 trillion. If greater New York City were a sovereign state, it would have the 12th highest GDP in the world. New York is home to the highest number of billionaires of any city in the world.

REACHING OUR CITY

Great Work Needs to Be Done in Cities.—Again and again I am instructed to present to our churches the work that should be done in our large cities. There is a great work to be done, not only where we have churches already established, but also in places where the truth has never been fully presented. Right in our midst there are heathen as verily as in far-off lands.—Manuscript 7, 1908 (Evangelism, 32).

A Strategy for Reaching Our City

New York is considered one of the most challenging places in the world to share Jesus. It is a multicultural, fast-paced, complex city with people from all walks of life, from the extremely wealthy business executives to the down-and-out homeless… It has the super-rich and the poverty stricken; the highly educated and the illiterate; the religious and the non-religious. Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, Jews, Christians, atheists, agnostics, and the purely indifferent work side by side. In 2011 the world’s demographics crossed a significant threshold when, for the first time, more people lived in urban rather than in rural areas. During the 2011 General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists Annual Council a special Mission to the Cities initiative was adopted. This initiative provided a renewed emphasis on implementing a strategic plan for effectively reaching people through comprehensive urban evangelism in hundreds of the world’s major cities from 2012 to 2015 and beyond, until Jesus returns.

Following the inspired counsel of Ellen White, focus was first placed on New York City. Leaders from the General Conference, North American Division, Atlantic and Columbia union conferences, and the five local conferences surrounding the New York City metro area met together in 2011 to develop plans for a special Mission to the Cities emphasis, since New York City is a symbol of what God wants to be done in the cities. With 19 million people in its metro area, and as many as 800 spoken languages, this metropolis provided a rich experience for the thousands of pastors, evangelists, health workers, students, and lay members coming from all 14 major world regions to participate in this wonderful evangelistic outreach opportunity called NY13.

Thousands of church members utilized their God-given gifts in a wide variety of witnessing activities. Hundreds of multifaceted community outreach events were conducted, including wellness programs, cooking schools, English language classes, family life seminars, small-group Bible studies, literature distribution, musical concerts, prophecy seminars, personal Bible studies, and youth ministry events. The Holy Spirit was poured out powerfully. Hearts were touched, and lives were changed. NY13 climaxed with approximately 400 evangelistic meetings conducted throughout the metropolitan New York area, and 5,292 precious souls were baptized and led to the opening of 63 new churches and companies that year.

This comprehensive urban evangelism outlined by the Spirit of Prophecy, including activities in the city and just outside the city, is to grow into a sustained “mighty movement,” described by Ellen White.

The initiative brought churches and local conferences together in unprecedented ways, such as a first joint New York City camp-meeting attended by 13,000 people in June 2013. More than 1,200 community health workers and 1,500 Bible workers were trained for NY13, and they continue to assist local churches today.

MISSION TO THE CITY

The work of God in this earth can never be finished until the men

and women, comprising our church membership rally to the work
and unite their efforts with those of ministers and church officers.
(1948b:117)

NY13

The NY13 initiative is the first in the “Mission to the Cities” campaign, which was unveiled in 2011 by Adventist Church President Ted N. C. Wilson. This outreach meetings and training in New York City are the basis for future outreach campaigns worldwide.

STRATEGIC FAITH FOR THE CITY

The same compassionate Savior lives today, and He is as willing to listen to the prayer of faith as when He walked visibly among men. The natural cooperates with the supernatural. — (The Great Controversy, 525.)

DISCOVER MORE ABOUT OUR CITY

So what’s a “borough” anyway? It’s like a smaller city within our massive metropolis. NYC has five of them—the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens and Staten Island—each with dozens of neighborhoods lending their own local flavor. Here’s a quick tour to help you decide where to head next. Guide To The Boroughs