DALLAS – TJ Stoudt, pastor of Harlem Community Church in New York, first felt God’s call on his life to serve in “large, diverse cities” when he served on staff at Waterfront Church in Washington, D.C., a church plant out of Southcrest Baptist Church in Lubbock, Texas.
“After years of prayer and preparation, my wife and I moved to Harlem just over a year ago. Within three months, God opened doors for us to launch weekly services in a historic gym in Central Harlem,” Stoudt said.
Through the mentorship and Texas Baptist background of Zack Randles, lead pastor of Waterfront Church, Stoudt built relationships with other Texas churches that have invested in the work in New York.
When Stoudt and his wife arrived in Harlem in the summer of 2024, he knew “we had to get to work,” as their launch date was set for just three months later in September 2024.
“I was meeting with one of my coaches, and he was like, ‘Man, your timeline, it makes me a little nervous,’ and I just laughed with him, and I said, ‘It makes me a little nervous, too. But it’s something where it feels like a train that’s going, that the Lord has set in motion, and I couldn’t stop it if I wanted to. So I just have to trust him,’” Stoudt said.
“We pretty much hit the ground [running]. We started reaching as many people as we could. Any person we met in the park, we tried to let them know about the church. We did some canvassing, and then we would host these interest parties [and] had really great turnouts. … It felt like we were reaching a lot of people.”
When Stoudt tried to host a launch team gathering with the folks who attended the interest parties, “we continually saw that almost all of our people were unchurched,” so they were unsure what a church plant or launch team was. Nevertheless, their interest in attending church persisted.
“The thing we kept hearing time and time again was, ‘When does your church start? We would be interested in attending a service, but a launch team, we’re not really interested in that.’ So, it was a short runway, but … we had a good launch team [already established]. We had a good, solid base. Then the Lord even opened up an opportunity for us to have a meeting space. He opened up an opportunity for us to have really great worship, day one,” Stoudt said.
Communicating the Gospel everywhere
Harlem Community Church has prioritized discipleship from the beginning, Stoudt said.
“Because most of our people are locals, they have family, they have friends, they’ve maybe even recently received Christ. So now they’re like, ‘All my family is confused by why I’m going to church or why I’m not going out and partying now.’ And I’m like, ‘These are opportunities for you to share the Gospel,’” he said.
“So we’re getting to see that 2 Timothy 2:2 passage lived out [with] a lot of personal evangelism.”
Stoudt has tailored his sermons toward teaching people how to be on mission.
“[We’re] reminding our people that they are to be living sent on mission, to communicate the Gospel when they’re here, but also give our people just really practical evangelism training, because our people want to share the Gospel, but … there’s still that hesitation,” he said.
“We want to cut through that because we are seeing our people reach the lost, and that’s what we want to continue to see.”
Because “the amount of lostness is so massive” in New York City, Stoudt said HCC “utilizes mission teams” and “a bunch of our Texas Baptists partners who have come up” to “do street evangelism, set up prayer booths, [and evangelism] in the park. Those connections [I have] made it clear that Texas Baptists had a genuine heart to see the Gospel advance in places like New York City,” said Stoudt.
Salvation and ‘genuine community’
Stoudt said HCC sees an international “population that we weren’t prepared to be reaching” on Sunday mornings.
“Because of where we are, we have international tourists who come to our neighborhood all the time. So, on a typical Sunday, we probably have somewhere between five to 15 international tourists that attend our service, which gives us a [unique] opportunity… to present the Gospel,” said Stoudt.
“The spirit is moving so powerfully, and we’re seeing so many people spiritually curious. We’re seeing people who maybe walked away from the church, who are returning to the church. So, we’re continuing to see more and more salvations.”
Since October, Stoudt has baptized 14.
“The greatest joy has been watching strangers become family. People from all walks of life – long-time Harlem residents, newcomers to the city and first-time churchgoers – have come together in Christ to form a genuine community,” he said.
“Today, more than 120 people call HCC home.”
Out-entertaining New York City’
Stoudt said the task of winning New York City for Christ is daunting and estimates 6.7 million lost people live there.
Barna research shows about 64 percent of people in New York City identify as Christian, Stoudt said.
“And then when you dig into the numbers and then it was like 1 in 5 of those individuals are actually practicing.
“[We are] in a city that can be so overwhelming with the just amount of lostness [and] when you look at the expanse of the city, when you look at how much entertainment there is – When you pop up a church in New York City, really, there’s a lot stacked up against you,” he said.
“You have to realize, ‘If I do this in my own strength, in my own ability, if I try to out-entertain New York City, I’m going to fail.’ I have to rely on the Spirit. …
“I have to rely on the Lord for everything … because I think that’s the only way to church here,” he said.
Help from Texas
Stoudt said though he didn’t know exactly what to expect when partnering with Texas Baptists, he has been “blown away” by the “great community I have found.”
“Texas Baptists stands out because you don’t just send resources, you walk with planters through the ups and downs of ministry. That kind of genuine connection has meant the world to us,” Stoudt said.
“[Our church partners are] sometimes our best cheerleaders. They’re letting other people know, ‘Hey, the Lord is doing something amazing in New York City, you should be a part of it.’”
He hopes the partnership will only grow.
“The Spirit is moving,” Stoudt said. “People are so curious. If we invite them to church, a lot of times they’ll show up or at least have a conversation with you.
“God is doing something in New York City. Don’t get so caught up in what’s being said on the news because there’s some really cool things happening here.”
This article was originally published at texasbaptists.org.
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