2. Planting an urban church, especially in NYC, requires a unique calling. How did you sense God’s calling?
When my wife and I began sensing a call to church planting, we were serving in a large regional church which was growing, healthy, and missional, actively involved in planting and strengthening churches around the world and in major US cities. That environment only served to deepen our conviction that God intends to accomplish his purposes in the world primarily through the Church. My calling to the city was birthed out of a belief in and love for the local church and a passion to see it prevail in places of cultural forging.

3.That’s helpful, how did you and your wife process this calling?
We began to pray and to enlist others to pray with us seeking the Lord’s confirmation to that calling. We also underwent intense assessment to determine if we, and those who assessed us, sensed a healthy readiness in us to undertake the strenuous and spiritually taxing task of church planting. We went before the elders of the church in which we were serving and received confirmation from them regarding our desire to plant a church.  Throughout all of this, we gave ourselves to exploring cities and the state of the church in those cities. We saw a map filled with pins placed on major US cities in which the church’s presence had waned or had limited influence on the culture. Through a lot of prayer, a series of events, confirming conversations, trips, and inward impulses, we sensed that God was leading us to New York City.

 4. How important is that calling for planting a church?
A solid and steady conviction that the Lord has moved your heart to undertake this work is essential to perseverance. The unique challenges to urban church planting coupled with the disappointments that accompany the work are too much to bear without a calm assurance of God’s call upon your life.  I believe this is why one must be careful that he is genuinely called to this city and not simply seduced by it.

5.  Saint Augustine says that are hearts are hissing caldrons of desire, what are some particular sources of seduction for planters aspiring to plant in a city?
The city has a certain appeal to it that can be hypnotic like a siren that lures sailors to rocks. The high visibility of the city, its energy, its beauty, its influence, its history and reputation can create fleshly aspiration that is a counterfeit of divine calling. Our hearts are filled with pride, and our infatuation with the sensational can move us to convince ourselves that the city is where we should be. Eventually the luster of the city wears off. At that point, aspiration is not enough; you need calling.

6. How does one work through this issue to confirm a calling from God?
I think that calling is confirmed by a number of ways. After my first trip to NYC, I was convinced that this city was NOT the place for me. In fact, after my trip to New York, a mentor asked me what I thought about the city, and I responded, “I know it is important and strategic and needs more gospel-centered churches, but I do not want to move there. It’s too big and I don’t want my wife and kids in that environment.” Coincidently, two days later, I was reading the account of the 12 spies in the book of Numbers. Joshua and Caleb wanted to take the land, but the other 10 spies complained that “the cities are fortified and very large,” and “our wives and little ones will become a prey.” That was a significant moment in my reading of Scripture where the Spirit began to work in me to move my heart toward New York City. (Since then, I have become convinced it is a great place to raise kids.)

In addition, I cannot overemphasize the place of prayer, fasting, and Scripture in determining God’s direction. Also, I think synergy with your current church is important as you distinguish God’s call. The church where I was serving was actively involved in NYC, and my decision to move here was in line with the overall vision of that church. Having the confirmation and support of that local body was very confirming with regard to God’s calling to the city. It was not a decision that was free from the voice of God’s people, but one that was in keeping with it. In Acts 13, the Spirit spoke to the church at Antioch about His will for Barnabas and Saul. Their church planting endeavor was launched in response to the Spirit’s work among the local church body where they were currently serving.

Lastly, I think realism is an important key. Without a realistic assessment of self and a realistic assessment of the city, it is easy for pride and presumption to determine our course and not God’s call. We need people in our lives who love us enough to challenge us on the things we assume to be true about ourselves that often are not. We need to understand our own limitations and how those limitations might be magnified in a center city area. We need to understand the specific challenges of planting and leading a church in a city where the cost is exaggerated and transience so common that it makes community extremely complicated, yet very important.

7.   How can we best assist potential planters to find their appropriate fit or calling?
We have to be careful that in our passion for the City, we do not minimize the significance of other places. Many times we make urban church planters out to be the varsity team, reducing other planters or pastors to the lowly junior varsity squad. This only serves to increase the number of planters who move here for wrong motives or out of infatuation for the sensational or for the desire for a reputation boost. We must remember that the Church needs planting and revitalizing everywhere.

Secondly, we must be brutally honest with potential planters about their own readiness and giftedness and the unique challenges that accompany certain church planting hotspots. Intensifying the assessment process and encouraging apprenticeships will eliminate a lot of false starts.