David Lee likens modern-day New York City to first-century Antioch. Both cities are large and cosmopolitan with a mix of languages, cultures, and religions. And both cities show little interest in Christianity. Like the early church in Antioch, when you first look at the situation, it can feel daunting to think of starting a church in New York.
As Lee puts it, “With so much concrete, it makes it feel impossible to plant anything here.”
Yet, Lee is leading Redeemer Brooklyn, a mission church that launched in 2025. Based in downtown Brooklyn, the congregation is off to a healthy start. Lee recently preached during the opening worship service of Metropolitan New York Presbytery. As he explained how God advanced the gospel in Antioch to the Hellenists (Acts 11:19-30), he’s encouraged by what he has seen God do in Brooklyn in his first year ministering there.
I attended the recent meeting of Metropolitan New York Presbytery, which contains 24 PCA congregations spread around the city. The presbytery wins the award for the most modes of transportation used to attend a presbytery meeting, with elders coming by taxi, bike, subway, and walking.
I also crossed the Hudson and observed the meeting of West Hudson Presbytery, containing 17 churches located in northern New Jersey. Many of these churches are situated in towns where residents commute to New York for work.
The average church member in the PCA will never attend a presbytery meeting. They may hear about decisions made by their church sessions or even watch the General Assembly via livestream. But PCA church members probably know little about what happens at a presbytery meeting. These presbytery visits are part of a series we call “The PresbyTour,” designed to provide a window into this court of Christ’s church.
Metro New York and West Hudson were both formerly part of New Jersey Presbytery. In 1997, the New Jersey Presbytery successfully overtured the General Assembly to approve the formation of a new presbytery focused on New York City, which became Metropolitan New York Presbytery. Today, only two ministers remain in the presbytery who were present when it was originally formed.
In 2018, New Jersey Presbytery asked the General Assembly to approve the formation of West Hudson Presbytery, containing the counties north of, and including, Middlesex. Many of the churches in this new presbytery had been planted over the previous two decades with funding from Redeemer Presbyterian Church. The towns populating West Hudson Presbytery are often where professionals in New York choose to settle who are looking for a more affordable or family-friendly lifestyle.
Approximately 50 elders and visitors gathered for the 144th meeting of Metropolitan New York Presbytery on a Tuesday morning at Exilic Church, located in the Garment District on 37th Street. Just five blocks south of Times Square, Exilic is filled every Sunday for three worship services. The church was planted in 2014 by Aaron Chung and now hosts hundreds of worshippers every weekend. It has even launched a daughter church nearby, City on a Hill, led by Jay Harvey.
Like any presbytery, Metro New York’s meeting was filled with reports from different committees, the lengthiest being the examination of candidates. At this presbytery meeting, two candidates for ordination preached and were examined on the floor. They also dismissed two ministers to other denominations.
A common theme running throughout the presbytery meeting is the emphasis on church planting. With a population of 8.5 million residents in New York, the presbytery would need to plant hundreds of churches in the five boroughs to match the ratio PCA churches enjoy in the Southeast. There were reports from church planters, and the presbytery approved the formation of a new mission church.
As David Lee pointed out in his sermon, people in the city are not interested in Christianity. One church planter reported that 25% of the people who are currently attending his church’s Sunday services have no church background. As a result, planters and pastors in the city often find themselves introducing people to the person of Christ and the claims of the Bible for the first time.
There is good news. Statistics reveal that the congregations in Metro New York experience more adult professions of faith and adult baptisms than many presbyteries in the Deep South, where the PCA tends to be more prevalent. Even as the presbytery plants new churches, it does so as part of a conservative Reformed denomination that limits the office of elder and deacon to qualified men. During the recent meeting, Metro New York dissolved a church plant and dismissed its pastor to another denomination. This resulted from the church planter making known a change in his views, which deviated from the PCA’s standards.
In a city as large as New York, it is easy for Presbyterianism to feel very small, because it is numerically speaking. Yet, the elders of Metro New York seem encouraged by what God is doing in their midst. Beyond the business they conducted, it is clear the elders also enjoy camaraderie among each other.
Across the river, the elders of West Hudson gathered on a Thursday evening for their meeting. Around 30 elders and visitors met at Hope Church in Randolph, New Jersey. West Hudson deserves an award for the most efficient presbytery meeting. They start with dinner at 5:00 p.m. before gathering for worship at 6:00 p.m. They began their docket at 7:10 p.m. and adjourned an hour later, around 8:15 p.m.
The meeting was brief largely because the presbytery had no candidates to examine, but within the span of an hour, they approved a budget, elected a representative to serve on General Assembly’s Nominating Committee, heard a report about a recent missions trip, received a report from an RUF campus minister, and voted on 13 BCO amendments.
Though its meeting was not long and its churches may not be large by some measures, West Hudson enjoys a remarkable amount of vitality for its size. Northern New Jersey is diverse and fast-paced. Newark, the largest city in the presbytery, has a PCA church focused on serving the Portuguese-speaking community. There are three other congregations focused on the Brazilian population in the area.
The presbytery also supports the work of Reformed University Fellowship on the campus of Rutgers University. The campus minister gave a report during the meeting about the increased openness to the Christian faith among college students, especially young men. He told the presbytery about five young men who have come to faith this semester.
In both these presbyteries, statistics show you can’t grow a church primarily through transfers from other PCA congregations. Instead, outreach, evangelism, and apologetics necessarily play a more prominent role than they do in other parts of the country.
My own presbytery, Tennessee Valley, has roughly the same number of churches as Metro New York and West Hudson combined (41). However, we have 5,000 more members, 12,478 members as opposed to the combined membership of 7,528 between the two northern presbyteries. In Metro New York, 12.7% of new members came through transfer of membership. In my own presbytery, Tennessee Valley, 48% of the additions were the result of transfers from other churches. Moreover, the number of adult baptisms in Metro New York and West Hudson combined was 55. In Tennessee Valley, the number of adult baptisms was 46.
In 1997, Metro New York and West Hudson Presbyteries had 14 churches with 2,485 members. Today, these two presbyteries have 41 churches and 7,528 members. The growth has been steady. But with over 15 million people living in the region, there is still much room for growth. It is encouraging to see how these presbyteries are keeping their hand to the plow as they seek to multiply churches and disciples in this part of the country.