Bay Ridge

For those of you who are unaware of what Kaleb and I are doing in NYC for the whole summer, let me explain. His internship allows us the opportunity of working with North American missionaries following the first year of seminary/internship. We have the privilege of working in a small section of Brooklyn called Bay Ridge. (While we are here, we are staying in a basement apartment of another church planting family in this area.) Bay Ridge covers 2 square miles and has ~70,000 residents. The community is a predominantly white, middle-class community with a mixture of white and blue collar workers. Bay Ridge functions as a haven from "big-city life", and is home to a large number of families and elderly residents looking for a slower pace. Only 3% of residents are believers, and only 5 evangelical churches reaching this area.

Because of this great need for evangelical churches, Nathan and Lesley Tubbs moved to the area with the goal of planting a church. Nathan is currently a 7th grade science teacher and Lesley is a stay-at-home mom of their two children, Sophia and Caleb. After three years of living in New York, making new friends, seeking God's will, and coming along side The Gallery church to learn the needs of urban church planting, they began Cornerstone Church in Bay Ridge. They held their first service on Easter Sunday, 2011. They initially met once a month until they began holding weekly services September 11, 2011. Cornerstone has grown from an initial core team of 7 people to a weekly gathering of around 25. The church meets at the Gregory Hotel on Sundays at 10:30am for worship.

The Tubbs have also formed a partnership with the Shore Road Park Conservancy, helping to revitalize the green space in Bay Ridge. In this way, the church serves the needs and desires of the community in order to build gospel relationships. The park is a good means of doing this because New Yorkers love their green space, because they don't have much of it. The Tubbs utilize many teams of volunteers for keeping this park beautiful which has led to numerous opportunities to introduce people in the community to the gospel and Cornerstone Church.