Tuesday, November 23, 2010


Young Life: New York City

I’m writing with great excitement and humility about what God has been doing in my life! At the same time, I am asking that you also support me as we together work to impact the lives and families of those who live in New York City for the Gospel!

The Calling
As many of you already know, God gave me a passion for ministry in NYC more than a year ago. In November 2009, after several months of both prayer and seeking the wisdom of godly people in my life, I left Nashville, TN and moved to NYC. I didn’t have a clear understanding of what I would be doing specifically, but I had a clear understanding of the most important part: God was calling me to take the Gospel to the people of NYC.

After living in the city for a year, the “what” has finally become clear. I would like to share this “what” with you and ask for you to prayerfully partner with me in a significant way. In doing so, I am asking you to stretch yourself with me for the sake of the Gospel.

The Mission
The mission that God has called me to serve is two-fold. First of all, I have recently transitioned into a part-time role as worship director at the Gallery Church. This is the church that encouraged me to come to NYC and with whom I have been training for ministry in the city. I’m enjoying this great and humbling new responsibility, and I ask that you pray for me as I serve the Gallery Church in this role.

Second of all, Young Life has asked me to serve on their staff and start a new club for teens that will be connected with the Gallery Church. Young Life is a Christian student ministry that seeks to act as a bridge between the “secular” and the “sacred.” In other words, some students might not readily come to a church service, but through Young Life, they can hear the Gospel through an outreach ministry designed with them in mind. Young Life truly seeks to meet students where they are and build relationships with them at their schools and on their turf. Through this ministry, the church is strategically mobilized to take the message of Christ into the community. Even though this ministry focuses on teenagers, it does not end with teens as entire families are often won to Christ!

Critical Part You Can Play
I need you to prayerfully consider helping me in the following important two ways:

1. Please volunteer to be part of my critical prayer team.

2. Become a financial partner with me today! In addition to the part-time salary that I’m making at Gallery Church, I still need to raise $36,000 a year to effectively run a Young Life club in the Chelsea area of Manhattan as well as cover my living expenses. It is very expensive to live and minister in Chelsea — the average rent for a studio apartment is $2,000 a month. Both my living expenses and Young Life’s ministry budget are included in this goal of $36,000.

On its own, $36,000 seems like a large number, but if broken down and shared, it immediately becomes manageable. If 20 people receiving this letter commit to sending me $150 per month for the next year (through next Oct.), I will accomplish this goal! I have listed some additional contributory scenarios below:

• 20 people giving $150 per month for the next year
• 200 people (every person reading this letter) giving $15 per month for the next year
• 1 person giving $1,000 per month, 10 people giving $100 a month, and 100 people giving $10 per month for the next year

Please understand that if you’re unable to make such a long-term commitment, I’d be grateful to receive any type of financial support that you are able to give, whether it’s a one-time gift or a lesser amount each month. Many times, the smallest of gifts is the most sacrificial. Also note that your financial sacrifice will be completely tax deductible.

There are well over 2 million teenagers that live in New York City. However, there are very few churches providing them with relevant and strategic evangelical ministry. Would you consider helping — through prayer, your finances or a combination of the two — to reach teens and their families for the gospel in NYC? By doing this, you can greatly impact our world. NYC youth are the future of this city, and this city shapes the future of our country.

Thank you for taking the time to read this blog and prayerfully consider how you may support this ministry. If you are going to support me please email me and let me know of your support. If you are planning to support me financially I will respond to your email and let you know how to do so. You are truly needed in this work. Be sure to also let me know how I may be praying for you as well.

Chris Mills
nycmills@gmail.com
www.nycmills.blogspot.com

Friday, August 20, 2010

Young Life Chelsea + Gallery Church

931 0391 from Freddy T. Wyatt on Vimeo.



I am excited about this new partnership of ministry! Let me know if you want to help out. nycmills@gmail.com

Saturday, July 10, 2010

Junerrific!



June was extremely busy and totally amazing! I barely had time to breathe, but the ride was out of this world! I usually take the time to try and make my blogs sound more professional, but because of all that has happened I will only be able to hit you "headline style."

SBC: ORLANDO AND NYC
I began June by going to the Southern Baptist Convention in Orlando. I was asked to be one of nine delegates our church took this year. While at the convention two really big things happened. First we had the official launch of sendnyc. Many of the people who attended were able to catch the vision we have of planting 100 churches over the next ten years in NYC. I am eagerly looking forward to seeing what God has in store for this ministry as we work toward that goal. Secondly, the convention passed the Great Commission Resurgance's proposal. If you don't know much about this particular proposal let me sum it up by saying it should translate into several wins for us here in NYC. The SBC will now be in the postion to send us more funds and resources to do ministry here in the Big Apple!

PARENTS IN THE CITY
Once I got home from the convention I was greeted by my parents who were already in the city! We spent the next few days hanging out with some friends - enjoying one another and the city. I even put mom and dad
to work as they helped with a prayer walk for an upcoming ministry event I was leading. A few days later my sister joined us in NYC and it was good to have the whole family in town at the same time.

OVER 50 KIDS COME TO TOURNEY
Kim was able to stay several more days after mom and dad left and helped me and City Uprising with a mission project. We had several events during the week that were designed to propel the church and prosper the city. One of these events was a 3 on 3 basketball tournament that I put together to jumpstart my Young Life ministry. We had over 50 neighborhood kids to show up at this event. It was a great start to our Young Life ministry in the Chelsea area of Manhattan!

God is moving, and it is good. I hope July allows me a little more time to breathe. None-the-less, June was junerrific!

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Would you like another mimosa?



The Salt website is now live! Visit it today to learn more about the Salt Space, and to read blogs similar to mine:

“Would you like another mimosa?” It was obvious my unexpected offer surprised her. Realizing her confusion I let her know, “You get two drinks with each brunch entrĂ©e so I was wondering if you wanted your second mimosa now.” She nods, and I now recognize that the look on her face has changed from confusion to inquisitiveness.

She asks me, “Where are you from?” I have heard this question many times before as each week I serve tables at a local neighborhood bar in Murray Hill. I begin to explain to her that I am from Nashville and that is why I have just a hint of a southern drawl in my voice. She laughs and begins to ask me more questions. These are the type of questions that always end up allowing me to share my story.

I recently moved here from Nashville, TN as a minister who has a heart for the people of New York City. I had visited NYC on several occasions before but it wasn’t until six months ago that I actually packed up my bags and made the move permanent. Since then I have begun serving in a local church, waiting tables in a neighborhood restaurant, and have recently began an outreach program to young adults in the Murray Hill, Chelsea, and surrounding neighborhoods. These activities have given me even a deeper passion and concern for people in the area that I have gotten to know. I have met people of all walks of life - artists, actors, shop owners, businessman, bartenders, and nannies. As I meet them and hear their stories it becomes even more apparent why God has placed me in New York City. He has given me a passion and need to help these people and at the same time meet their needs in a significant and intentional way that leads them to the Gospel.

I have recently partnered with the Salt Space and have found it to have a great vision for meeting the people that live in these surrounding neighborhoods. SALT is an art venue that seeks to provide for peoples needs in order to be able to give back to the community. It is faith-based in its nature as it works with the Gallery – a local church that meets at the Salt Space. I am really excited to see how my gifts of ministry and passion for the people in Murray Hill, Chelsea and the surrounding neighborhoods can come together in service with the Salt Space. It is my heart to meet the needs of the people within this community and the Salt Space provides me a great opportunity and venue to meet the people who comprise this community.

After sharing my story I then asked the woman why she was in New York City. She began to tell me that she moved here because she wanted to chase her dreams of becoming an accomplished jazz musician. After talking about jazz music for a bit I told her about the Salt Space. “You know I’m not just a server at a restaurant. I also work with an outreach center that is looking to provide different programs in the community. There have even been several who have suggested hosting jazz shows and I’m thinking you might be interested in possibly helping in that area?” She smiled and we swapped emails. As I was beginning to leave when she stopped me and said, “Thanks. This means a lot. I have been looking for something like this. And wow, here it is right in my own neighborhood.” She continued to smile and asked, “Can you also tell me more about the Salt Space.” I replied, “Sure, but let me first grab that mimosa for you!"

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Youth Ministry in the Big Apple


Before I was called to come to New York City I was first called to be a youth minister. While that calling is very specific, I do understand my calling to be one that is pastoral in nature. It just so happens that since God has gifted me to work with students that I often found myself led into that area. Other areas that He has led me into on a consistent basis has been music/worship as well as communication/preaching/teaching. When I received a clear call to New York City it appeared to be definitely a break from the normal mold and pattern of God's calling in my life.

So I moved to the Big Apple on November 1st and I haven't looked back since - except to tell the people back home that I love them and to watch the Tennessee Titans or Vandy basketball and football games. It is now six months later and I am still, if not more, passionate about my calling to move to this city and do God's ministry. I am eternally thankful for all of you who have supported me and those that continue to support me with your finances and prayers. They are definitely needed and truly felt. My heart is overjoyed each time I think about the sacrifices each of you have made.

With that being said, it looks like God is now beginning to give me some definition as to "what" ministry He has called me to do here to NYC. I have been working with Young Life over the past few months and this is allowed me to do youth ministry with students on a weekly basis. I have recently been asked by Young Life to start a Young Life Club in the neighborhood in which our church meets. My church, Gallery Church, is primarily composed of young adults and we do not have any consistent teenagers who attend to speak of. So this project will obviously be an outreach project! This excites me!

We are already making plans on of how to get to know our neighborhood and neighbors by building relationships. My Young Life role will have me making relationships with teenagers. I have found that I can be pretty good at that and God has given me a heart for it. As we begin to reach out to these teens just think of the ministry that we can have with them and the opportunity to meet their families and parents! My work with Young Life will also be supported by Gallery Church and the end goal is to get these kids and their families involved in the local church.

There will be more information to come about this particular area of my life. If you're interested in knowing more about all of this please drop me an email at nycmills@gmail.com. Many of you already knew my heart about coming to this city, but you didn't really see any specific details about "what" I would be doing and "what" in particular God was calling me to do. That is now beginning to come into focus and I am pumped! Who knew the hand of God would include bringing me to this great city to do things like youth ministry?! But God knows, well before I was called to New York City I was first called to be a youth minister.

Friday, April 16, 2010

"SALT" meets "NoMad"


What strides would a local church take to meet the needs of others within their own community? More specifically what would it look like for churches within NYC to reach the needs of others within their community so as to create opportunities for deeper spiritual needs to be met? These questions have been giving shape to the Gallery's thoughts on outreach and it is certainly exciting stuff!

The Gallery Church meets on the fifth floor of a building that the church has designated as "SALT". It is located at 1160 Broadway and finds itself in an interesting part of Manhattan. As of late the particular area where the church is located has been dubbed "NoMad", as reported in a "New York Real Estate" article. The article goes on to say that "NoMad" stands for "North of Madison Square Park". Why is this important? If you didn't already know, Manhattan is so culturally diverse that when you walk just a few blocks in any direction you might find yourself suddenly in a completely different culture and in a completely different neighborhood. Therefore, as neighborhoods come into existence they are typically given it's own name in order to give some distinction to the different areas of NYC and Manhattan.

So this gives us as a church some direction for ministry. It is not just about simply doing ministry in NYC. It's about strategically using the resources that God has given us to do ministry in the city, especially when it comes to doing ministry in our "NoMad" neighborhood and the others neighborhoods that are close to "SALT". Property is an obvious commodity in the city that has millions of people in just a few square miles. Therefore we want to use this commodity, the "SALT" space, to meet the needs of the community as much and as often as possible. Our services take place on Sunday's but we are praying about the possibility of using "SALT" as a true community center with the intention of meeting the community's needs all week long!

So who actually lives in NoMad? What needs do they really have? How as a church can we reach out to them with this space that God has given to us? The answers to these questions will hopefully and prayerfully be met in the days, weeks, and months to come. Please pray for us as we begin this journey. To find out more about "SALT" and/or "NoMad" click on the hyperlinks which are highlighted. Also pray that God will continue to reveal ways in which we can continue to meet the needs of our community - however great the strides might be.

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Men's Retreat


Went on an amazing retreat with Gallery Church this past weekend. Read about it on this new website and blog from our pastor and other people in our church. Just click this link:

"the city resource"

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Heart


The heartbeat of City Uprising is to "propel the local church and prosper the city." It is an "intensive worship and service experience" put on by sendnyc and the hosted by different groups like the Gallery Church. Both of which I am heavily involved with. Therefore, I recently had the privilege of being a part of City Uprising New York City 2010.

For a little over three days college students, young adults, and college leaders served NYC along with Gallery Church. I had the opportunity to lead a team of students who went to Madison Square Park, the closet park to the building in which our church meets. These students were truly amazing as they used their guitars, drums, and voices to entertain people who were relaxing in the park! This gave us a tremendous and special opportunity to hand out cards with invitations to an Easter gathering at Gallery Church. To my surprise we were well received and were hardly ever turned down as we handed out these invitations to Gallery Church. I am convinced God was with us the whole time we were in the park. The total number of invitations handed out by both teams exceeded 4,000! That is not to mention all the Bibles that we placed in hungry people's hands as well.

One gentlemen we encountered had rededicated his life to Christ that morning before his day had even started. He told God, "If you want me to truly follow after you, you are going to have to show up." God did show up, in the form of one of our team members who handed him an invitation to Easter at the Gallery Church! He told us that is exactly what he was looking for and subsequently came back to our church that afternoon just to make sure he knew where it was. The following day he was at the church again with his family wanting to attend worship at City Uprising!

Over the next few days the attendees of City Uprising cleaned up local community centers, helped serve at other local area churches, made numerous key connections, and even served in the HIV community by providing hundreds of free HIV tests. City Uprising New York City will take place again from June 27th - June 30th. Make sure you and some of your friends register and come help us "propel the local church and
prosper the city." Make sure to bring your heart as well!

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Community of the Inconvenienced

Take the average stadium and fill it to capacity with people. There are people in every seat, people on the playing field, and even people in the in the aisles. Then give an apple, or any object for that matter, to an individual and ask them to deliver it to the person sitting in "Seat 45 Row 3 Section F". They would have a difficult time moving through the sea of people to accomplish their task. This is very
similar to the way it is in New York City.

You have 8-10 million people living within a few miles of one another. To be specific Manhattan itself is only 22.7 miles from end to end and is home to a whopping 8 million people! Sure we have subways, buses and even taxis but with the such a large population in a tiny area it can take you up to an hour or more to travel on the the island for shopping, to get a haircut, or even to go to work. Obviously, there are millions of other people who also have to go shopping, get a haircut, or go to work. In other words, you're not the only one who has to carry the proverbial apple to some person in some random section of the stadium. Interestingly enough, everyone else in the stadium seems to have a similar objective.

Lately I've been pondering this drastically different way of life I have become a part of. In a lot of ways it is truly inconvenient to do life in the city. The average New Yorker has to plan out their day significantly more than a person living anywhere else in the world. There is no quick run down to the Wal-Mart or neighborhood Target. However, if you do make a Target run you have to keep in mind how you will be getting everything you purchased back home without paying for an expensive taxi ride. On a side note, I have quickly learned that New Yorkers are really not rude. Just don't get in their way or slow them down. The sidewalks in New York City are like highways to everyone else because most of us in the city don't have cars. Our legs are our wheels. Cut someone off and you might get honked at, or in NYC - chewed out.

We have tried to counter-act this inconvenience with convenient services like grocery delivered to your door, laundromats that wash and fold your clothes for you, and "Chase Banks" on every corner. These are all services that I have taken advantage of, but they still do not eliminate all of the New York City inconvenience out of everyday life.

I paint this picture for you so that you might better understand some of the difficulties we as believers face in "church-planting" in this unique stadium called New York City. Unlike other parts of the country, church attendance is just not easy. It can be quite an inconvenient activity. For most, it takes at least an hour to get to church for a two hour worship service mixed with some "fellowship," another hour commute to get lunch with friends from church afterwards, and then an hour commute back home. The typical Sunday morning for most Americans has taken over 5 hours in New York time and that's just if you only go to the morning service!

So I ask for your prayers. Bottom line, God truly needs to burden the heart of the people of New York City so that they would be willing and wanting to get past any inconvenience they may experience when going to His church. New Yorkers really need for God to show them clearly that church should be an integral part of their life, that their life can only be what it was designed to be by making a commitment to a local church. I'm sure you can relate to the inconvenience that going to church can sometimes play in your own personal life. But understand it's even more significant and magnified for the general New Yorker.

We as New Yorkers will often go out of our way for something that we perceive to be important to us. So pray that God, Christ, and the things of Christ would become an important necessity for the people of this great city. After all, we as New Yorkers can always seem to find a way to get up on a Sunday morning, dress in our favorite outfits, commute and show up early and then stay late to spend time with friends as we fill up the stadium for a New York Jets game - many times even to capacity.

Friday, January 15, 2010

Religion is Power


The poster read, "Religion is Power." I stood there beside this poster waiting for my train and before I had time to even think about what it was actually saying a young man about my age passed by me and said to his friend, "Look at that propaganda." He was noticeably a bit unsteady on his feet from more than likely a night of drinking and thought the poster was put up by an evangelical Christian group looking to make make their best shot at what we refer to as "witnessing." However, this was not the type of propaganda he actually thought it was. It was an advertisement for a movie that is hitting theaters today, "The Book of Eli." A movie that deals with the devastation of the world and a hope for mankind during a post-apocalyptic world in year 2043. Whether he meant to or not, this random passer-by I do believe represented a mind-set of those that are put-off by the idea of organized-religion, Christianity, and certainly the church. As for me, I can understand where many of those feelings come from.

First, let me say that I am and will always be an advocate for Christ and His church. Secondly, I love people and would not want to do anything intentionally that would seem in any way to be unloving. However, I feel that some have misunderstood what the local church, or organized religion is all about. Hopefully to that end I will endeavor to address some important questions or at the least get some positive discussion started through this post. Obviously through the course of this post whenever I reference "religion" I am referring to the "Christian church." I certainly realize there are many other religions out there, but it wold take much too much time for me to cover all of them in my discussion. So this blog will be limited to Christianity and the Christian church. Please understand that in many ways I am still on a learning journey with regards to many of the aspects of my Christian walk. Also, I will be the first to admit that in some cases I may need some adjustment to my thinking and reasoning, and I will humbly say that I believe I am moldable.

Many in our culture feel that the church is out-dated. Moreover, some feel that it is or can be a very cold, harsh, judgmental, and controlling institution. Unfortunately, I would have to say I understand why they might feel that way. The church can be that way, especially when it is not acting as a church should act. What you see then is a church serving itself and doing whatever it can to make itself look good. I'm not going to go into specific examples here, but each of you can probably think of your own personal example. It's this type of attitude within the church that causes people to walk past a movie billboard such as this and say the things this inebriated young man would say.

Fortunately, the church, Christianity, and the Christian religion can be very powerful and relevant in a great and marvelous way! The way that Christ intended it to be and died for it to be. Think of the power the church could have in impacting lives for good when and if it sees its role as a servant to people in such a way that it simply glorifies Christ. Think of the healing that can take place when believers come together and strategize about how to effectively reach out to those who are in need. For example, I would hope that organized religion would find it extremely hard to be hateful or indifferent when it comes to the current disaster that has befelled Haiti. 55,000 people have died and thousands more are without food and shelter. This it a time when the power of the Christian church (organized-religion) serving others is more than welcomed, it is needed. So we need to make sure that we do not miss this opportunity!

Lastly, it is through the Christian church, the bride of Christ, the local gathering of believers that the powerful gospel message is preserved, nurtured and best understood. As the church embraces the power it has to help others it should also do so with the understanding of the ultimate power it has to deliver a message that sets people free from sin and its enslaving power.

It is my hope that I, and others that are a part of the church that Christ died for, do not misuse its power, but instead recognize the impact we could have in the lives of others. If we were to embrace this power correctly maybe the next guy that walks past a movie poster would smile instead of scoff when he reads that "Religion is Power." For when it comes to the religion of Christ and his church there is power. Wonder-working power!

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Tuning into Haiti


As the world continues to tune in and listen to the myriad of news reports about the devastation caused in Haiti by the worse earthquake suffered in 250 years, many in Flatbush, Brooklyn have already spent untold hours frantically dialing all the phone numbers they know to check on family and loved ones back home.

I cannot begin to imagine what my Brooklyn neighbors from just down the street are going through during this time. I believe I know what pain, loss, and uncertainty feels like, but this event has been catastrophic and the people of Brooklyn's "Little Haiti" can do little now but wait. Waiting to hear if their loved ones are safe and doing okay.

I have not been able to be around the internet that much, as I have just recently moved to my new apartment in Brooklyn. Even so I have already found myself surrounded by such great need that I had to find a way to write. I'm asking each of you to pray for and to consider giving to the relief work in Haiti.

FIrst, you can visit the website for Gallery Church and under online giving set up an account and give money to the Haiti relief work. You can do so by indicating Haiti in the memo and 100% goes straight to the relief work there. Secondly, you can make a $10 donation to the American Red Cross by texting the word "HAITI" to 90999. I will also be venturing into Brooklyn's "Little Haiti" tomorrow and seeing what needs they have there. This area has the largest population of Haitian descent outside of Port-au-Prince. While there I may be made aware of more ways for you to be able help, so I will keep you posted.

Please take some time out of your day and think about what these people must be going through. Then ask yourself what you can do to help as you tune in.