From Europe’s post-Christian landscape to Africa’s need for gospel transformation, leaders across the globe are embracing unique challenges. The movement has shifted from “the West to the rest” to “everywhere to everywhere,” with leaders from Latin America and Asia now supporting efforts in the U.S. and Africa. As a younger, more diverse generation takes the lead, the future holds a renewed commitment to unity and gospel-driven impact in cities worldwide.

The years 2020-2023 tested City to City like never before. The pandemic upended church planting efforts, forcing churches to close and limiting in-person training. At the same time, the murder of George Floyd sparked nationwide protests, exposing deep divides within society and the church. Adding to the turmoil, Tim Keller was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and two founders—Jay Kyle and Keller—passed away within a year. Amid these challenges, City to City embraced a collaborative process of discernment, re-configuring itself into a smaller, more focused organization.

Through training programs like the International Intensive, the influence of Tim Keller’s books, and the creation of networks like City to City Asia Pacific, the movement spread around the world as leaders adapted its model to their own contexts. By 2018, this decentralized, global network empowered regional affiliates on six continents to lead, ensuring City to City’s vision thrives far beyond its New York beginnings.

In 2012, Dominican American pastor Robert Guerrero joined as the New York City Church Planting Catalyst, pushing for structural changes such as diversifying leadership and redesigning training to support Black and Brown planters. This work was an instrumental part of The New York Project, launched in 2014, which aimed to plant new churches, train diverse leaders, and establish a permanent home for Redeemer East Side and a leadership development center.

When tragedy struck New York City on September 11, 2001, Redeemer Presbyterian Church saw its attendance surge as New Yorkers sought solace and answers. The church stepped into the pain of a grieving city with compassion, support, and hope, while the Redeemer Church Planting Center began training leaders in global cities, laying the groundwork for what would become Redeemer City to City.

In the early 2000s, Tim Keller envisioned a new way of approaching global missions—one that avoided the pitfalls of traditional models. Instead of sending American missionaries to foreign countries or simply funding local leaders, he proposed a partnership model: pairing supportive “cultural outsiders” with empowered “cultural insiders” to plant churches that were rooted in their own cities’ contexts.

In the 1990s, Redeemer Presbyterian Church grew rapidly, reaching over 1,000 attendees within a few years. This episode explores how that growth led Redeemer to shift its focus from building a megachurch to launching a church-planting movement.

Step back into 1980s New York City—a time of high crime, economic instability, and rising poverty. Amid these challenges, Manhattan was also becoming home to a wave of ambitious, young professionals drawn to lucrative careers on Wall Street. Sensing a unique opportunity, the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) invited Tim Keller, a seminary professor in Philadelphia, to explore church planting in Manhattan.