‘God Led Us Out’

When Manhattan Vertical Church wanted to reach out to their community in New York City, they started by praying—and they saw God move in powerful ways.

Manhattan Vertical Church is a Resonate Global Mission-partner church plant that meets in New York City’s bustling Manhattan borough. In Manhattan you might be surrounded by crowds of people as you walk down the street, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy to connect with anyone. People are in a hurry, wearing headphones, or engrossed in their smartphones.

That’s part of the reason why Pastor Kwon Do Lee, who planted Manhattan Vertical Church, and his church members were finding it difficult to meet people and build relationships with them. They wanted to invite more people to be part of their church, but they weren’t sure where to start.

So they decided to start with prayer.

The church members wanted to build stronger prayer lives, so they started gathering at noon on Tuesdays and Thursdays in person to pray together for their neighborhood. And members who couldn’t get away from work, school, or other commitments during that time took the opportunity to pray wherever they were.

“We prayed for the revival of Manhattan rather than our own personal prayer requests,” said Lee.

And while they were praying for transformation in Manhattan, said Lee, he noticed a shift in the church community first.

“I felt a change in the spiritual climate of the entire church,” he said. “The power of the Holy Spirit is that he leads us to where God's heart is. We wanted to bring people into the church, but God led us out.”

After a few months of gathering to pray together during the week, members sensed the Holy Spirit leading them to go out and pray on the streets. So they went out and started praying as they walked through Central Park, through Koreatown, and in other busy areas.

Then, they said, the Holy Spirit prompted them to connect with people. As they walked and prayed, they made an effort to start conversations with people, get to know them, and share about their own faith.

“Many of the people we met were lonely and tired of the intense competition they felt from living in Manhattan. We realized that what they really needed was true peace in Jesus,” said Lee.

He said they met one man who regularly plays a trumpet in Central Park. He had never been to church, but after getting the phone number of someone from the church, he reached out one day to ask when they’d be by again—he wanted to sing with them! As he got to know members of the church and learned more about the good news of Jesus, he decided to follow Jesus.

The practice of intentionally praying for their New York City community changed this church, said Lee. While most of the people who are part of the church are Korean, the church now also feels convicted to reach people from diverse backgrounds and cultures.

“We learned that God’s ideas are much bigger than ours,” said Lee.