Redeemer Presbyterian Church

Love the worship music & the sermons are always thought provoking & life challenging. If you want some fellowship, the coffee/​tea/​lemonade/​cookie time is the best place to meet new friends.

Some of my friends love this church. Others, not so much. Part of it comes down to personal preferences and part of it comes down to where you believe God is leading you. What I can say about Redeemer is that you will get good, solid, biblically correct teaching. This church does not ride the health and wealth gravy train but rather gives sermons that engage the mind and heart while being consistently biblically sound. People I know and respect love this church. Me, it’s not my cup of tea but that doesn’t mean it’s not a good church (it is!) and so my advice to those who are currently seeking a good church is to check out Redeemer for yourself. You may be glad that you came & even make this your home church! Or at the very least feel glad that you paid a visit even if at the end of the day you find this church is not for you.

Churches with a huge following can be discouraging especially from the lack of person connection, but the words of Timothy Keller are rather assuaging. While the college ministry serves its purpose to a great extent, it has unfortunately been a magnet for people who assumed to be entitled. Although, it is not a defining issue for the entire community, it is contagious regardless.

Redeemer is not my home church, but I love and appreciate its presence in New York City, and especially its rich offerings in Work and Faith.
In this city especially, we are so often defined by our work, which spills into countless other aspects of our lives (much of which ends up documented on Unilocal). We are often asked immediately after meeting someone: Where do you work? What kind of work do you do?
While I don’t attend Redeemer on Sundays, I am a part of their email list for Faith and Finance related events. This past fall, I took their Faith and Finance course, which runs for 8 weeks and is offered twice a year. The fall course meets on Sundays from 12pm-​2pm in a classroom at Hunter College, right after the 10:30am service.
The class I took was a mix of Redeemer members and folks from other churches. During the course of the 8 weeks, there are readings to do for discussion the following week. Nothing too long, but usually very interesting and thought provoking. I really enjoyed the course’s instructor, who works in finance (I believe at a hedge fund) and also has a background in theology, having gone to seminary as well. The class time was usually a combination of lecture for an hour, followed by discussion. Often questions and comments from other participants were mixed in with the lecture component.
Overall, a fairly relaxed but intentional way of exploring the role of faith in our work, and vice versa. The total cost of the course was $ 119, which I thought was extremely reasonable. Lunch was provided at each class, so I imagine this is where the cost for the course went.
There are also various events throughout the year that are not so class-​based. For example, I think at least once a year they go hiking at Breakneck Ridge.

I’ve been listening to his sermons online on and off for more than 10 years because i don’t live in NY anymore. I love Dr Keller’s intelligent sermon style (perfect for left brained people) and the convenience of access to them. We have to pay for the online ones but it’s nothing compared to transportation/​parking fee and gift i will give anyway if i physically go there.
There are some free ones here.
Back when I used to physically go there, I loved the music part of the service because people who sing/​play music there are sooo talented.

I am a member of Redeemer NYC and I obviously love it there. I just wanted to say that Pinky And The B’s critiques are bogus. Please come and check it out for yourself.

People mentioning the lack of diversity aren’t being practical. It’s Presbyterian. Black and Latino evangelicals are use to more emotionally charged worship services. In addition, Keller, s approach is down to earth but also very intellectual… many blacks and latinos associate that with a ‘lack of the Holy Spirit’ in the preaching.

Went to the Upper West side service at the Ethical Culture Society and HOPED that Tim Keller was speaking since they do not tell you in advance which of the 5 service times he does or does not speak.
So glad to finally visit Redeemer. I’ve heard great things about Tim Keller and Redeemer.
Really enjoyed the service — more classical and «old school» in nature. Loved the music — orchestra instruments like trumpet, violin, etc. Great sermon as well from Dr. Keller..

Sermon cut me in half! Contextual, yet faithful. People were kind and I enjoyed the cookies after service!

I recently attended Redeemer (Hunter) on May 29^th. Although it is not my regular church, I took a friend there for a different worship experience from his own Spanish Pentecostalism. We both enjoyed Dr. Keller’s preaching and the worship experience was more to my more traditionalist liking, but my friend did not recognize any of the classical hymns nor could he relate to the very scripted liturgy. Of course, we were there primarily to worship God, not to «savor» the worship style or the preaching. Thankfully, the church leadership works hard to prevent the kind of celebrity status the public accords to Keller and the focus is definitely pedagogical as the worship leaders tend to make instructional remarks before the various prayers, readings, and other liturgical elements. It is this commentary that I find distracting. It gives the whole experience a kind of infomercial feel. The more liturgical churches do not explain nor apologize for what they do in worship; they just worship. People can ask questions about worship in another forum.
The thing my friend and I found disconcerting was the distinct lack of black and latino at Redeemer. It seemed more of a nice, midwest megachurch with lots of Asians and whites making up the majority of the congregation. Perhaps this is due, in part, to Redeemer’s srong nexus with Campus Crusade-​a very mid-​American, evangelical movement that targets a largely educated, upper-​middle-​class audience. It is in this regard, that Redeemer fails to show the catholicity of the historic Christianity it preaches. But then, that is why there are Spanish Pentecostals and white «Wheaton-​esque» churches, not to mention churches based around other ethnic and socioeconomic groupings. A Protestant church which better exhibits this catholicity is Times Square Church on 51^st St. & Broadway. But then, no church is perfect, and every church bears the responsibility to become «all things to all people» in order to reach the world for Christ.

The other 2 things which are cultural and not spiritual but are off putting to me are this 1. most of the members and regular visitors to Redeemer are transplants not New Yorkers so the church is a large city church but run like a small town church where there are very few native New Yorkers. It seems most of the members are not established in the city and are just passing through. It does not have a NYC vibe the way Brooklyn Tabernacle does, it has a small town vibe.
The other thing is that it seems the majority of the congregation is looking for a spouse and very aggressively. When you walk in the first thing people do is look at your hand for a ring and then are bold enough to ask if it is a wedding ring. That experience is not unique to me but happens to all of the guests I bring here. There was an article about 2 years ago in the New York Times on where to go to find a spouse and Redeemer was one of them. Too much emphasis is placed on that but it is not the pastors fault. He addresses it in his sermons.
In addition any volunteer group I have been to the small talk from both men and women of all ages centered around trying to find a spouse. Then the few married people were usually complaining about their marriages. The Pastor knows about this and does see it as a problem because he addresses it in his sermons. But people don’t seem to listen.
It is not wrong to talk about those things but I have never heard anyone talk about anything else in groups. When I was single I was not obsessed with finding a spouse and do not want to be around people who have no other goal il life but to land a spouse. It is like they are all living in 1950’s rural America.
One other major problem I have with the church again is not the pastors fault and the Pastor has addressed it in his sermons that the church is mostly white and Asian. At Times Square Church they claim to have over 106 nationalities represented there. Since this is NYC I have to ask where are the African Americans, Puerto Ricans and other cultures? The answer they are at other churches. I believe the reason is the congregation again not the pastors fault they seem to be focused on making money and their careers and not on God at all .God is there to bless their agendas this is how they seem to operate I believe this is for a few reasons. One is the church started at Hunter College where college students are focused and rightly so on their future careers. There was one African American guy on staff and I don’t know what happened to him but he is gone now. So the culture of the church and focus of the congregation seems to be on White and Asians who make good money and have high end careers rather than on God. A huge basic of the Christian faith is death to self. Now you are a new person and your focus is to please God not yourself. But at Redeemer in the congregation when you hear testimonies that are approved by the pastoral staff they usually start with their professional credentials. I do not see any death to self but actually the opposite. Look at what I can do «for God’ because of my high income and education. A true Christian church is focused on God and how you are now a new person because of Christ. It is not wrong to have a high income or education as a Christian. But the focus is wrong. Here are a few scriptures on that– Galatians 2:20 «I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.» John 12:24– «Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.» So for these reasons I think the church is best for those who are not Christians yet who are seekers of God or for those established in the faith already. It is not good in my opinion for the average believer looking for a home church. But by all means purchase Tim Keller’s sermons and do something the congregation fails to do. Learn from his sermons. The church in my opinion is more intellectual than spiritual.

I absolutely adore Tim Keller. He connects with his congregation on such a personal level. It’s so easy to relate to his sermons. Another great thing about Redeemer is that there are three services on UES and UWS, so depending on your schedule, it’s possible to attend a service. However, the only thing I would have to complain about is the praise. It usually consists of either hymns or jazz music. They’re always the same songs. The praise never changes and as someone who loves contemporary Christian songs, I just wish there was more variety. Other than that, it’s a great church to attend.

Redeemer is not only a church (whatever that word invokes in your mind) but the one place you haven’t heard of that does a great deal to serve the poor in the city of NYC. While other charities and organizations throw cocktail parties and make t-​shirts, Redeemer quietly goes about mending the broken hearts and spirits of this amazing city. I didn’t intend to stay this long when I first arrived here over 6 years ago, but the vision of Redeemer and what they are doing just might make me grow my roots here.

Redeemer’s pastors often invoke the Blaise Pascal quote, «There is a God-​shaped vacuum in the heart of every man.» I feel the same about Redeemer. I left NYC nine months ago and still miss this church. Redeemer kept me sane and hopeful while working for Devil Wears Prada bosses in the magazine industry.
Sure, it’s invigorating for Democrat-​voting Christians like me to hear a pastor mention a recent piece from The New York Times or The New Yorker. But I think Dr. Tim Keller’s magnetism stems not from his political and cultural savvy (that alone wouldn’t keep thousands of busy New Yorkers coming every Sunday), but from his ability to gracefully and intelligently stroll the theological line.
His sermons fall neither into the emotions-​based, Christianity-​lite camp of many evangelical and charismatic churches. But neither are they the Jesus-​less, social justice apologetics of many Episcopalian and liberal Protestant churches. Whatever the topic — money, forgiveness, tough times — Dr. Keller steers his teachings back to the Cross. He says, «Look at the world — isn’t it a mess?» as well as «Look at your own heart — isn’t it a mess? But there’s One who came to save both.»
I appreciated that his sermons are more like conversations and lack any whiff of performance. His voice doesn’t break into EKG crescendos of emphasis. He never stomps around the stage like Thumper.
Even though I have a good church now in Chicago, I still log onto my Redeemer sermons account and listen and take notes as his soft voice and «it’s not about you» message deflate whatever frustration, tension, hurt, or disappointment I come to the table with.
For service info:
P. S. Redeemer’s three associate pastors (Scott Sauls, John Lin and David Bisgrove) are wonderful, too.

I’m one of those people who refuse to go above Midtown (where I work) into UWS or UES unless it’s for a very good reason. And the 6pm service at Hunter College is a good enough reason. Tim Keller is awesome. And I know I should really be better about scheduling my Sunday life around church, but somehow I have major problems waking up for an earlier service due to Saturday night activities. The sermons are intellectual, quality food-​for-​the-​brain. I’m always thankful for having the opportunity to go here. I also prefer the more traditional music selection intermingled with more modern, as well as sitting in the balcony where I tend to have a bit more arm space. If you have more time, they also have tons of events going on all the time. I’ve taken non-​Christian friends here before and they’ve liked it. No pushy people.

So get this: when I return home to beloved Gotham, the only two things I make sure to do are 1) take dance class at Alvin Ailey and 2) go to Redeemer.
And I’m not even a Christian.
That’s right. I’m one of those pluralist Christian-​y-​Buddhist-​y-​New-​Age-​y fusions who has a hard time finding a Christian church that accepts all of me (I know, Unitarian Universal much?) or a pastor that is smart, logical, and sounds like an Ivy League professor.
Tim Keller is that. (not the accepts all part, but the pastor part)
Tim Keller MAKES Redeemer. (Sorry, other pastors, he does.) My Jesus-​loving ex and I accidentally went to one of the other pastors’ sermons and I nearly fell asleep. I will chase Tim Keller all over Manhattan to make his sermon, Upper East (Hunter College), Upper West (81^st St. church), I don’t care. Even when I disagree with him, I don’t care. I just love so much how he delivers, how he formulates his arguments, how compelling they are. Even if you’re not Christian, go to hear a great orator hearken back to the Roman Forum.

This wonderful church started when a group of believers got together to pray about building a home church in the heart of Manhattan for very busy working professionals. The church has since flourished and has planted sister churches in other states and countries.
Service is held inside the Hunter College of the City of New York. This still remains my family’s church even though they now live in New Jersey where there’s two sister churches.
I was blessed by Dr. Tim Keller’s message. The congregation is very diverse and the church is very active in missions inner city outreach, church planting and counseling. It is nice and very important to know that this church teaches the Bible, emphasizes the need and power to pray and the importance of extending grace and giving to others. It is also nice to visit another church and see how God is moving through the broader body of Christ.
I would recommend this church to believers of all ages, opinions and lifestyles alike, for all are welcome.

Tim Keller teaches here and he is very respected, academic and intelligent. Something about the vibe of the Presbyterian church doesn’t seem like a «fit» for me, but I met so many people who went here and then found their «roots» either by growing more involved in a Redeemer small group (like a small bible study, they usually meet in members’ homes) or by growing involved in volunteering in one of their ministries… or settling down elsewhere like I did!
It’s a really well known, well respected church and for good reason. I respect Kellers’ teaching and what God is doing with him in New York City. They have some wonderful programs /​public lectures and performances. There is an upcoming IAM (International Arts Movement http://
)) that I believe began within one of the Redeemer church communities downtown…
My impression of IAM is that it’s an international arts movement looking at art as a means of reconciliation in the world — artists as reconcilers… which resonates with my image of artists as story tellers and truth tellers in society… people to create visions of the future, to sense change and currents in society and cry out for the oppressed in the world…
I’m getting sort of arty now, but, they have fellowships for artists, business people and others (doctors… teachers…) a wide network of resources… Check them out. I ultimately found my home-​church elsewhere but it was a good experience to encounter Redeemer.