NYC native returns post-9/11 to start Ground Zero church

NEW YORK (NAMB)-Planting a new church is tough in any circumstances, but the stakes are even higher at Mosaic Manhattan-which meets in a school auditorium just two blocks north of Ground Zero. It's an area where evangelical churches traditionally have been near the bottom of most priority lists, and new churches particularly are viewed with skepticism until they have passed the test of time.

"For a culture steeped in Catholicism or Judaism, starting a church is not going to make sense to a lot of people," said Gregg Farah, the church's pastor. "New Yorkers are going to watch us and just wait and see whether we are going to be here long term, and whether our actions match what we're saying."

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Farah and his wife, Janine, are among nearly 5,200 missionaries in the United States and Canada and U.S. territories supported by the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering for North American Missions. They are featured during the March 7-14 Week of Prayer and the North American Mission Study, which this year focus on "The World at Our Doorstep."

A native New Yorker, Farah had been planning to plant a church in the city in 2001 as part of Southern Baptists New Hope New York emphasis in the city. After the terrorist attack of Sept. 11, 2001, those plans began to accelerate. That December he was asked to consider leading a new congregation in the Battery Park neighborhood most directly affected by the attack, funded largely through contributions to Southern Baptist entities for long-term relief efforts.

Photo by Ken Touchton

Gregg Farah leads a prayer meeting with staff in the offices of Mosaic Manhattan, located about half a block east of Ground Zero.

They moved to the city in April of 2002, and began public worship services about a year later. Servant evangelism has been one of their principle outreach tools.

"We wanted to meet practical needs, and have fun doing it," Gregg Farah said. "So we do surveys, but we also hand out Krispy Kreme donuts. In the summer we hand out bottles of water, and in the winter cups of Starbuck's coffee."

"Often those types of interactions stir up questions like 'Why are you doing this?' and 'What's the catch?'" Farah added. "Those questions lead to great conversations."

Mosaic Manhattan is modeled after the original Mosaic, a Los Angeles congregation that has grown to thousands of members with its emphasis on experiencing God through the arts and welcoming all segments of a culturally diverse society, as well as Saddleback Church in Orange County, Calif., which teaches the importance of leading a church and Christian life according to the biblical purposes.

Their slogan of "help us redefine church" also has helped them attract people who have not found in the traditional church what they are seeking.

"It's not that we want to come up with a new way of doing church, but we want to redefine in people's minds what church is, what the church can be," he said, "what God originally intended."

Farah is realistic about how long it will take to develop the church-maybe five years, maybe 10. But he also has a bold vision for what it could become if they keep following God's lead. It's all about multiplication, with new churches being started that eventually will multiply themselves. "Our vision is to provide a church home for the 21 million people of metro New York," he said. "That's going to take thousands of churches, and we want to be a part of a movement of church planting that seeks that goal," he said.

• Metropolitan New York City is a focus of Strategic Focus Cities evangelism and church planting efforts in 2004-2005. Under the banner of New Hope New York, the emphasis has a goal of launching 20 new churches during 2004 alone.

• Eight million people living in the five boroughs of New York city, and a total of 21 million live within a 75-mile radius of the city.

• The North American Mission Board currently supports about 850 church planters in the United States, Canada and U.S. Territories.

Photo by Ken Touchton

Gregg Farah and Jay Lyons (left) help unload the trailer full of equipment for Mosaic Manhattan, which meets in a school a few blocks from Ground Zero. Farah is pastor of the church, while Lyons is creative arts pastor.

For more about the Farahs and their ministry, visit www.MosaicManhattan.com. For opportunities for helping with church planting and other Strategic Focus Cities efforts in New York, visit www.NewHopeNewYork.com.