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Last week, Aaron Coe, a Southern Baptist church planter in New York City was in the area and stopped by my church for a visit. Aaron and I enjoyed great conversation about the need for churches in the biggest cities in America and the way that rural churches (such as the one I serve) can be a part of this kind of urban ministry.

After talking with Aaron, I knew that I wanted to interview him so that I could pass along his vision to the readers of Kingdom People. Aaron wants to see 100 new churches planted by 2021. Though the evangelical presence in much of the U.S. is declining, the percentage of evangelicals in Manhattan has actually increased over the past twenty years. We have the opportunity to engage our big cities with the gospel in this post-9/11 world.

Trevin Wax: Why are you focused on church planting in urban areas?

Aaron Coe: It’s no surprise that we are living in the midst of a global population shift. Unfortunately, as many have relocated to the cities to follow the dream, the church has retreated.

Cities are the mouthpiece of any nation and the place where culture is created. If the gospel of Jesus is going to spread around the world in the 21st century, urban centers will be its launching pad. We, the church, must move back and live our lives seeking the peace and prosperity of the city.

Trevin Wax: How does your organization, SendNYC, help meet this need?

Aaron Coe: In an effort to engage this reemerging conversation, I launched SendNYC, a church planting organization, for the sole purpose of seeing one hundred new gospel-centered churches planted in New York City over the next decade. Multiplicative church planting continues to prove to be the most effective, biblical evangelization strategy aiding leadership, fostering community amongst believers, promoting urban contextualization, and assimilating new believers.

Trevin Wax: What do you hope that SendNYC will accomplish?

Aaron Coe: The vision of SendNYC embodies three components:

  1. Mobilize 300 Partners to pray; participate, anything from short-term mission trips to lifetime relocation; and provide.
  2. Equip 100 Sending Churches to fully execute the process of launching new congregations in New York City. (Rather than working primarily with church planters, we will focus a good portion of our energy to equip the sending church to support the church plant in a variety of ways from laying a biblical foundation to financial accountability.)
  3. Plant 100 New Gospel-centered Churches in New York City. We firmly believe that churches plant churches, and we desire simply to serve as a catalyst to that end. As resident missiologists, we intend to help the local church be on mission in New York City.

Trevin Wax: What’s one way that readers can connect with you to hear more about assisting SendNYC?

Aaron Coe: We are hosting a vision trip in New York City in which we hope people will be able to discover what role they can play in church planting. We will be meeting September 30 – October 1, 2010 at the Holiday Inn in Long Island City, Queens.

Trevin Wax: For more information on the DiscoverNYC trip, click here. For further information on visiting, partnering, or to contact us, go to www.sendnyc.com. You can also keep up with Aaron at his blog and Twitter account.

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