Hope for New York

I recently moved from Manhattan's Upper East Side to the heart of Brooklyn, into a neighborhood consisting largely of Middle-Easterners and Eastern Europeans, and have consequently been forced to look at this city through a new set of lenses. I have observed with interest these subcultures as they establish their roots here and have wondered what neighborhoods such as mine imply about the future of New York. Though ashamed to admit it, the daily news of new terrorist attacks and the looming threat of war with Iraq have conjured up in me thoughts of a fear-driven and increasingly violent city in which cultures, rather than assimilating, clash. So I was heartened to hear a thought-provoking speech that Dr. Keller recently gave to a group of Hope for New York (HFNY) supporters that addressed another possible scenario.

He urged his listeners to observe the current wave of immigration to America, primarily from the Southern and Eastern Hemispheres, not with fear and suspicion but rather with hope. While in this country the church seems to have stagnated, Protestant Christianity in the non-Western world is growing at a tremendous rate. In many Asian and African countries, the number of people turning to Christ is astounding. Korea's population, for example, is about one-third Christian, and Nigeria has nearly eight times as many Episcopalians as America. Many of the peoples from these and their neighboring countries are emigrating, and they are bringing their beliefs with them. While "mainstream" Christianity seems to be stagnating and even on the decline in Anglo-American culture, this grassroots Christianity is thriving in many of our immigrant communities.

Throughout the Boroughs of New York, small neighborhood churches and groups are sprouting up in homes and storefronts to minister within their community, and judging from the history of immigration to this country, one can project that these communities are producing our city's future leaders. This provides those of us in mainstream culture, and in established churches, with an inspiring challenge of supporting, befriending and mentoring these brothers and sisters in Christ. The vision of HFNY is to serve the present and future needs of this city in a variety of ways, and they have already begun to take on this challenge. By supporting and sending volunteers into organizations like the Chinese Christian Herald Crusades and the Russian Community Life Center, HFNY is trying to do its part but their work has only just begun. Now is the time the rest of us to do our part, to come alongside our neighbors and fortify them, through service and friendship, as they raise up the leaders of the coming generations.