First Things: July 21, 2006

Joseph Bottum writes:

It’s hardly a breaking news story that the old mainline Protestant denominations are in trouble, both doctrinally and in membership numbers. It’s even less of a breaking story that a wide range of nondenominational churches—or churches only loosely affiliated with a denomination—have sprung up to fill the void the mainline once occupied across the nation.

But maybe it is generally unreported news that this same phenomenon can be observed even in Manhattan. Most of the nation seems to suppose that Protestant New York passed in a generation directly from the Easter Parade to atheism, with hardly a hiccup in between. But the nondenominational movement has taken hold here, as well. Even while many of the beautiful old churches are empty, you can find—in college auditoriums, hotel ballrooms, and storerooms across the city—plenty of the kind of packed Sunday services the rest of the nation knows.

He gives a list and description of churches in NYC including this one:

Christ Church NYC: An independent church in the evangelical Anglican tradition, Christ Church was started by an Australian pastor, John Mason, after receiving a call from Redeemer to begin a ministry in New York post–September 11. Now at two different locations, with a more liturgically minded, traditional service in the morning and a more contemporary service in the evening, Christ Church is a warm and friendly congregation that is still small but growing. From personal experience, I can say that John Mason is also a gifted biblical exegete with a pastor’s heart (the two are not always found in the same package). So if smaller is better for you, visit Christ Church.

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