M2 Urban Ministry

Urban Ministry Introduction
Strolling down memory lane and unearthing the archives, we will discover that The Christian & Missionary Alliance’s history began in the city.  It was in 1874 that A.B. Simpson (C&MA founder) was filled with the Holy Spirit.  He pastored Chestnut Street Presbyterian Church in Louisville, Kentucky but felt an unrest there as the Whittle/Bliss Campaign radically altered his view of ministry.  That event occurred in 1875 the year Simpson began evangelistic services in public halls – the portal for future ministry.

Simpson resigned his Kentucky pastorate and moved to NYC in 1879.  He pastored the 13th Street Presbyterian Church in New York City and was paid $5,000 per year while doing street evangelism at the docks of NYC.  Then in November 1881 he resigned from 13th Street Presbyterian Church to begin independent evangelistic ministries in NYC to reach “the unchurched and neglected masses” (these people were rejected because of their ethnicity and class in society).

In 1882 Dr. Simpson conducted evangelistic meetings in several public halls. The first issue of The Word, Work and World, forerunner of Alliance Life, appears.  The Gospel Tabernacle Church in NYC is organized and grows to 1,000 members within a few years. Dr. Simpson starts Friday afternoon meetings for consecration and healing.  The rest is history, one hundred twenty-five plus years later we have made a declaration at the Metro District, “To Change the World, Start Here” –that is– in NYC.  Will you join us?  Explore the following pages perhaps you will discover and unearth what God has already prepared for you.