New York City

Christian Renewal in New York City

gordon.govier@intervarsity.org — Mon, 30 Dec 2013 21:38:54 +0000

Gordon Govier

Christian Renewal in New York City

��ñ�� alumnus and former staff member Mac Pier is profiled in an article now appearing on the website A Journey Through NYC Religions. Pier’s role in networking New York City pastors and churches is seen as one key contributing factor in the resurgence of Christian faith in the nation’s largest city.

The article written by Melissa Kimiadi highlights Pier's dedication to breaking down barriers that had isolated churches from each other and hindered their mission of sharing the gospel message with their New York City neighbors.

The Impact of Urbana

��ñ��’s Urbana Facebook page and Urbana Twitter feed are currently highlighting the influence of Urbana 12, ��ñ��’s latest Student Missions Conference, held in St. Louis one year ago this week. The article on Pier starts with his attendance at Urbana 79, highlighting the challenge by Billy Graham, John Stott, and other speakers to Urbana attendees 34 years ago, to take the gospel message to the entire world.

Pier, raised in a small town in South Dakota, responded to the challenge at Urbana. He began working with ��ñ�� students in South Dakota, then moved to New York City to become an ��ñ�� Area Director.

Reaching the World from One City

Ultimately he realized that he could reach the whole world through commercial connections and the immigrant populations in New York City. He left ��ñ�� and teamed up with another former ��ñ�� staff member, David Bryant, to start networking New York City churches through a Concerts of Prayer movement that began in 1988. The religious landscape in New York City has changed significantly since that time.

��ñ�� continues to have an active presence in New York City, with chapters on more than a dozen college and university campuses. In October ��ñ�� hosted the Price of Life Invitational in New York City, which touched the lives of more than 12,000 students and residents of the city.

In early January 2014 ��ñ�� staff will meet in St. Louis for a National Staff Conference. The theme is taken from the third and final portion of ��ñ��’s Vision Statement: “To see students and faculty transformed, campuses renewed, and world changers developed.” Mac Pier is one of ��ñ��’s world changers.

__________

Part 2 in this series of articles also starts with an ��ñ�� connection.

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The Price of Life in New York City

gordon.govier@intervarsity.org — Thu, 17 Oct 2013 13:36:10 +0000

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Gordon Govier

The Price of Life in New York City

Like the autumn colors of the falling leaves, the bright red theme of ��ñ��’s Price of Life Invitational spread across the New York City landscape in early October. ��ñ�� partnered with 75 diverse organizations, to hold 117 events on 17 college campuses over the two week Invitational, fighting human trafficking and sharing the gospel message.

The entire staff team of the New York/New Jersey region, along with colleagues from New England, and other staff from all over the country — around 100 in all — came to coach, encourage, pray, and train alongside the students and staff of New York City as ��ñ�� mounted one of the largest evangelism outreaches in its history.

The total attendance from all of the events surpassed 12,000.* A gospel message was shared with almost 6,000 people, and 262 decisions to follow Christ were recorded. “Every day we received reports throughout the day of new people coming to faith from colleges all around the city,” said Price of Life director Dave Ruark. “Professors have invited us into their classrooms to speak about human trafficking at Baruch College, City College, and Hunter College.”

Evangelism and Justice

Evangelistic displays focused on human trafficking and God’s concern for justice were set up on many campuses as well as in Times Square. At City College more than 1,000 people, five percent of the student body, were engaged in one day at the displays, called Proxe stations. Members of the ��ñ�� Board of Trustees, in town for one of their regular board meetings, pitched in as volunteers at the City College Proxe station for an afternoon.

At an event held at Cooper Union the college president attended, with his whole family. At Columbia University students packed the chapel to hear a survivor of human trafficking speak. The New York Daily News reported that “Slavery exists in New York City and Christian students want to fight it.”

Friday and Saturday night, October 11^th and 12^th, Freedom Festivals were held at City Center theater. Attendees enjoyed and were challenged by a free concert with music and spoken word presentations from Josh Garrels, Propaganda, Lacey Nicole Sturm, and Run River North. They heard from David Batstone, an ethics professor at the University of San Francisco, and the founder and president of Not for Sale, a human trafficking abolitionist organization. “It is not enough to do compassion work and pull people out of the river,” he said. “We must ask why they are falling into the river. That is justice work.”

They also heard from R. York Moore, National Evangelist for ��ñ�� and founder of the Price of Life campaign. York has been a part of 14 Price of Life Invitationals and similar campaigns against human trafficking, since the first Price of Life Invitational was held at Michigan State in 2007. “This is the first Invitational where new Christians from student witness on the streets of the campuses outnumbered those new Christians from events where us ‘professionals’ preached,” he noted. “Students who have never been involved with ��ñ�� are being brought into community, into Bible studies, and into further, deepening relationship with Christ and His people.”

Despite incredibly complicated logistics, The Price of Life survived vandalism, sabotaged emails, mockery, and opposition from school administrators. ��ñ�� was also credited in a mayoral proclamation naming October “Be a Voice Month.”

Wider Impact

The Price of Life Invitational spread beyond the campuses. Meetings were held with fashion industry leaders in SoHo and fund managers on Wall Street to discuss how their work could help bring justice to the victims of human trafficking. Professionals from many different fields, including health care, who are in positions to effect change in business and services learned about how they could impact human trafficking.

A member of a law enforcement panel was asked about his motivation for focusing on the human trafficking issue. He responded by talking about his faith in Jesus Christ and how much God cares about justice. “Through the Price of Life, we have begun to radically shift the understanding throughout the city of what it means to be Christian and the good that can come from linking arms with the Church in the fight for the common good,” York said.

Some comments from student participants:

"The Price of Life helped me to actually live out the vision of advancing witnessing communities on campus. We built relationships with clubs, leaders, and faculty that can actually renew our campus in response to being transformed by the gospel." - Nick Nehaul, Baruch College
Price of Life means getting the opportunity to serve those enslaved: physically, but most importantly, spiritually. - Natalia Alvarez-Plaud, Hofstra University

“You don’t need Jesus to fight human trafficking, you need Jesus in order to win,” said Jonathan Walton, the director of ��ñ��’s New York City Urban Project. “You can't set people free unless you've been set free yourself.”

Plans are already underway for the next Price of Life Invitational at the University of Michigan in 2014. Through the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students the Price of Life may be spreading to other countries, such as Rwanda.

Price of Life Summary video

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New York City

Evangelism

What is the Price of Life?

gordon.govier@intervarsity.org — Tue, 01 Oct 2013 16:37:24 +0000

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Gordon Govier

What is the Price of Life?

In the midst of the 8.4 million people who live in the United States’ largest city, the question is being asked, “What is the price of a life?” The Price of Life Invitational is being held October 1-12, 2013, centered on more than 15 New York City college and university campuses, spearheaded by ��ñ�� Christian Fellowship working with a coalition of more than 75 other organizations.

The Price of Life Invitational is promoting awareness and action on human trafficking. “By educating 150,000 of tomorrow’s leaders about the problem of human trafficking, we are creating the largest human trafficking awareness campaign in the history of New York City,” said Price of Life Director Dave Ruark. “We are making college students aware that modern day slavery is real, and it’s happening in New York City and around the world.”

In addition to awareness and action, Price of Life asks deeper spiritual questions about the purpose of life and personal freedom, and presents answers found in the life-changing ministry of Jesus Christ. “Price of Life aims to develop students into lifelong world changers and justice-seekers,” said Jeannie Rose Field, the campaign’s assistant director.

During the Price of Life Invitational:

Interactive displays called Proxe stations, designed to initiate conversations about human trafficking-related issues, are being set up along pedestrian routes of participating campuses.
Guest speakers from business, law, entertainment, social services, and other fields share their experiences and perspectives on human trafficking at 100 Price of Life events, including lectures, exhibitions, panel discussions, etc.
Concerts are held featuring musicians against trafficking.
Price of Life will raise money to support organizations aligned against trafficking on three basic levels:
- Prevention (World Vision),
- Rehabilitation and Recovery (Restore NYC)
- Skills Building for Independence (Nomi Network)
Even small steps will be encouraged to fight human trafficking:
- Asking a coffee shop if their coffee is fair and slave free.
- Asking about fair and slave free chocolate at the grocery store.
- Putting the Human Trafficking Hotline number in your phone: 888-373-7888

Since 2007, ��ñ�� has coordinated The Price of Life at six colleges and universities in four states, including Michigan State University and Ohio State University.

Jonathan Walton is the spokesman for Price of Life New York City and is the director of ��ñ��'s New York City Urban Project. Learn more about his ministry in New York City here.

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New York City

Modern Slavery

Human Trafficking

Serving the City

gordon.govier@intervarsity.org — Mon, 05 Aug 2013 18:43:52 +0000

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Gordon Govier

Serving the City

Jonathan Walton loves New York City. He calls it a God-given affection—because when he first arrived in the city as a Columbia University freshman, he hated it.

New York City was a big change from his hometown in rural southern Virginia. “The people are loud,” he remembers thinking. “There’s no reason for this many people to live in one place.”

He admitted he wasn’t prepared for Columbia. What saved him was an invitation from a friend to attend an ��ñ�� small group Bible study. “If I hadn’t had people to talk to, I probably would have flunked out,” he said. “��ñ�� definitely kept me in college.”

Poetic Flair

Jonathan had won a scholarship to Columbia on the basis of his already-published work as a poet. Eventually he started to win attention as a speaker and performer in New York City, and while the attention was exciting, the constant self-promotion was deceptive. God was calling him to something more through ��ñ��, where he saw people who followed Jesus instead of their ego. God emphatically got his attention during the summer after his sophomore year.

Everything came crashing down all at once. He lost his job. There were money problems, and a check bounced. He didn’t have a place to stay. He didn’t know where to turn. Finally he had a long conversation with his ��ñ�� staff worker, Ashley Byrd.

“I was trying to figure out why a guy like Ashley would care about a guy like me. And he said, ‘Because Jesus cares.’” Jonathan renewed his commitment to follow Jesus and became more involved in ��ñ�� when the school year started. His last two years at Columbia he was the chapter’s Large Group Coordinator.

Loving the City

Immediately after graduation in 2008, he became director of ��ñ��’s New York City Urban Project (NYCUP), a program involving spiritual formation and advocacy. NYCUP had been struggling to find consistent leadership, with three different directors in five years.

“When I came on staff I really didn’t have a grasp of what urban projects were, but what I did have was a conviction that students should be loving the people on their campuses so that it causes them to push out to the boundaries of the entire world,” Jonathan said.

Greg Jao, ��ñ��’s National Field Director for the Northeast, admired the way Jonathan tied justice advocacy with Scripture study and prayer at NYCUP. “We believe this generation of activists will burn out and become embittered—like prior generations of activists—if they aren’t renewed regularly by the Holy Spirit’s work and presence,” Greg said. “Jonathan models this in the way he lives, teaches, and directs the project. He’s an activist because he’s a faithful disciple of Jesus.”

Instead of focusing primarily on spring break and summer vacation programs, like other urban projects, Jonathan began a year-round program that offers students the opportunity to live out their faith by feeding the homeless, as well as fighting human trafficking and modern slavery.

“His regular one-day programs (Feed 500) have been key places for Christian students to invite non-Christian students to meet a God who cares about personal and social righteousness,” Greg noted. “He has created long-term relationships between non-Christian service organizations and ��ñ�� chapters. I love the way NYCUP not only reflects ��ñ��’s convictions about Scripture, justice, spiritual formation, and mission but also actively advances our campus work.”

The number of students involved in NYCUP has grown steadily. Jonathan believes students are looking for tangible ways to express their faith and make a difference in the world. “Christians are the only people on campus who have a vision for what God intended and how He will restore it,” Jonathan said.

Reaching Out to the City

Jonathan now has the additional responsibility of being the official spokesman for Price of Life New York City, a call to faith and justice that culminates in a series of events in early October, 2013. ��ñ�� and dozens of collaborating organizations will be inviting students attending 18 targeted New York City colleges to participate. “I expect this to be a catalyst for ministry and city renewal if we are obedient in our calling to be bold and unashamed,” he said.

Through the Price of Life it’s hoped at least 10,000 students will be personally invited to follow Jesus and fight human trafficking. It will be one of ��ñ��’s largest evangelistic outreaches ever. But Jonathan is already thinking ahead. “Maybe in five years we will be in a position to reach 594,000 people—the total number of students in New York City,” he said. “In the long term, yes I think we can do it.”

For Jonathan, nothing less would serve the city that he loves. Because it’s a city that God loves.

Jonathan Walton and his wife Priscilla are mentioned in this article on Christianity in New York City.

In the video below, he talks further about his ministry with ��ñ��.

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