Who We Are
OUR STORY
It started with a few people.
In December 2015, a few people in New York came together to worship and build their relationship with Christ. Tobi and Bukky Atte led the fellowship and grew it into a community that has now become part of the global Church.
Our mission here is simple:
“Build a community where people discover a family, discover the purpose of God for their lives, develop spiritual tools to live that life, and then become catalysts to help others in the city do the same.”
Today, Ignite Church NYC is a Manhattan church plant of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) and part of a global network of over 20,000 parishes in 196 countries. RCCG has an amazing legacy of God working through the most unexpected and ordinary people — like us!
OUR CULTURE
Worship. Love. Evolve.
WORSHIP
We adopt a lifestyle of declaring how awesome God is in every area of our lives.
LOVE
We are in awe of God’s love for us so our only response is love. We love God. We love ourselves. We love you!
EVOLVE
We believe there’s always room to grow. No one is stuck in their ways if they let the life transformation of a life in relationship with God happen.
Where we want to walk with you.
OUR HEART
To see that look on your face when you realize that you are so deeply loved by God that He put his life where His mouth was by giving up His life on the cross.
TEACH
EMPOWER
We want to help you discover that you can; that you have the grace (empowerment) of God to truly achieve your destiny in life.
DISCIPLE
To see you live your life by the assistance of the beautiful Holy Spirit of God inside you; helping you make good decisions, showing you opportunities to touch others, and helping you live a life that is a reflection of the the loving example of Jesus Christ.
DEPLOY
We want to help you develop to the point where you are not only grounded in who you are in God, but also are capable of being a source of love, inspiration and direction for others too.
OUR VALUES
What we hold to.
THE BIBLE ADDS.
Following the instructions in the Bible doesn’t somehow take away from us. It adds. No, it does more — it secures, it protects. If we understand what it says and we apply it correctly, we end up with better relationships, better satisfaction out of life, and more peace in our hearts.
JESUS CHRIST IS THE STANDARD.
Following the example of Jesus Christ is the absolute best way to manage our relationships with each other, and our relationship with God.
WE ARE NOT.
We are not the standard. So if you think you’re coming to see a bunch of perfect people, you’ve got the wrong church. We are just like everyone else — needing God to teach us how to love and how to live.
AND WE’RE SORRY.
We are sorry that, in an attempt to live passionately for Christ, many of us in the global body of Christ may have made you feel inferior, neglected you when you needed help the most, or used you to feed our own natural need for self-righteousness. This is not right. While we are uncompromising in our passion for Jesus Christ, we constantly try to remind ourselves that no one was (or is) deserving of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, and yet He did it anyway. So, we must follow His example of love for all; otherwise, we disrespect His sacrifice.
WE ARE DRIVEN BY RELATIONSHIPS AND COMMUNITY.
Yeah! We are high-fivers! We are huggers! And we love to build relationships. The relationships we build drive the budget, the building, and the programs — not the other way around.
We want to build authentic friendships and relationships. We want everyone to feel that they have arms around them when they need it, and we want everyone to feel that they can be that for someone else.
WE ARE GOD’S CHILDREN AND CREATIVITY IS IN OUR DNA.
We are always looking to create better ways of “doing church” and reaching people. We stay flexible and watchful for what God is doing and inspiring us to do. Who knows, things might be totally different next Sunday, so pardon the occasional “spiritual construction” as God helps us creatively “do church” and community.
WHEN IT COMES TO PEOPLE, WE CARE ABOUT THE CONTENT MORE THAN THE CONTAINER.
You don’t have to be ‘put together,’ and you don’t have to be a ‘church person.’ If you love what we are about and what we are trying to be about, we’d be privileged to have your help in any way.
IF GOD USED A DONKEY, HE CAN USE US AND HE CAN USE YOU.
We are happy that you come and less concerned about what you look. Come as you are comfortable.