The Orchard Group

Upper Manhattan Project

New York City is a fascinating place—the architecture, parks, museums, shows. People at the top of their fields; companies at the top of their markets. It’s a city on the cutting edge of… well, everything. Education, finance, fashion, film, art, food, print. It’s surreal to stand at Times Square at 3:00 a.m. and see in the artificial light as if it were high noon. There, dwarfed within the concrete canyons, walled in by swaying skyscrapers and electronic screens, it’s easy to feel a little awe.  

I am most fascinated by the people, though. People from every tongue and tribe. People in all the colors of the earth out of which we’re made. People with stories etched into the lines of their faces. Each person is an utterly unique creation of God, and yet we have so much in common, in all the ways that matter most. We’re all made in God’s image, broken, and hungry for reconciliation and genuine relationships with God and others.

But I meet people all the time who struggle to believe, as I once did.

I was born in Albany, New York and was raised in Cincinnati, Ohio. I grew up as an agnostic, was an atheist by the time I entered college, and life fell apart. After a string of bad decisions and bad relationships, I dropped out of school. At some point, groping in the darkness, I began to reach for meaning, and found it within the pages of a Bible purchased on a whim. I was amazed by how counter-cultural and otherworldly Jesus was. Gradually, I became convinced that some supernatural power was at work behind the words of Scripture.

I began to pray. People reached out to me. Finally, I attended a service at LifeSpring Christian Church (then Clovernook Christian Church), where I heard Dick Alexander speak about the Ethiopian official in Acts 8. After the message, I asked to be baptized. Six months later, Lindsay (the young woman I was dating), made her own decision to do the same.

Life with Christ is like a never-ending sense of relief. We want everyone to enjoy this relationship with God. We have no doubt the primary reason we are here in NYC is to help others believe in Jesus.

I’m not sure how far back our fascination with New York goes. Lindsay has diary entries from when she was a little girl, recording her desire to live here. She has studied musical theatre since she was very young, and this is the place to pursue it. We had begun to sense that it was time for us to make the move. And God had been talking to us about church planting, and about this city. In 2008 I left a position with LifeSpring Christian Church in Cincinnati, OH, and we moved to Manhattan.

I joined the New York City Teaching Fellows to teach in high-needs schools, and am currently teaching math to middle school students in central Harlem. It’s intense—challenging, rewarding, sometimes dangerous—I feel like I’m living in a movie (you can read about some of my experiences at christravis.wordpress.com). I’m learning much about the human condition and life in this city. Meanwhile, Lindsay is auditioning like crazy, has landed several solid gigs, and has earned her way into the stage actors’ union (Actor’s Equity Association), something we never dreamed would have happened so quickly for her.

We live in Upper Manhattan, right on the border of Washington Heights and Inwood. The neighborhood has a gritty but up-and-coming feel to it. The parks are beautiful. There’s a large Hispanic community, lots of working people, solid families, and gobs of kids. There are hipsters, artists, young professionals, and students. Some live in government housing projects, others in pricy condos. People choose between greasy dives and fancy bistros, coffee carts and quiet cafes, little bodegas and the thriving farmers’ market.

We love it here. We’ve made friends—actors Lindsay has worked with, teachers from my school, neighbors in our building.

The need for new churches is unmistakable. When I meet people who haven’t quite put their finger on the deeper meaning behind it all; people hungry for significance; lonely people; disadvantaged kids; struggling families—I can’t help but ask myself, what if there were a new church up here?

Not just a new social program. Not just a new after-school program, benevolence program, homeless program, work program, whatever-program. Not just one new Christian-owned business, or one new Christian employee in the neighborhood. Not just one more Christian teacher in the neediest schools, and one more Christian actress.

But a new church. Dozens of new programs. Christian-owned businesses and Christian teachers, plural. Christian employees sprinkled throughout the neighborhood, like scattered salt that changes the flavor of everything. A growing, loving, accepting, Christ-centered community helping to relieve doubt, ease suffering, inspire faith, challenge injustice, and bring others along.

To that, I will give my life gladly.

I’m not the only one that feels that way. Larry and Wendy Bennett are moving to the city to join our team, along with their three girls. Larry is leaving a great position in the marketplace to contribute his talents to this work. He’ll be focusing on strategy, group life, and leadership development. Wendy is joining our staff to champion family life ministries and community connections (there’s more information about the Bennetts at www.nycbennetts.com). It’s been incredible to see God ironing out circumstances and prompting people to join with us.

Next steps are beginning to firm up. Over the coming months, we’ll work to bring together a core group—some Christian friends we’ve met, and also some not-yet-Christian friends. This summer, I’ll finish teaching and then be able to concentrate fully on building this church. Right now, the plan is to pull together a formal launch team in the Fall of 2010. Please pray for us.

Please pray for the people!

Chris Travis Lead Planter