ABOUT

OUR VALUES

WE ARE A CHURCH FOR THE UNCHURCHED

God has called us to be a family that's all about people meeting Jesus. We are less concerned about maintaining the nets of tradition and more concerned about people having a life altering encounter with Jesus and experiencing His love for them. We started this church for people who believe in God but don't believe in church. 

WE BELIEVE IN SAVING SOULS AND BODIES

The Gathering is a church that is deeply committed to the work of justice. Too often the church has built ministries that are geared towards saving souls, but not bodies. We believe that Jesus resurrected with a body, and that image transforms everything that we do as a church. It means that Jesus dignified life in the body, both on earth and now in glory. So we fight to be a church that's on the front lines of conversations, movements, and strategies that will dignify and save souls and bodies.

WE ADVANCE UNITY THROUGH DIGNITY AND DIVERSITY

One of the greatest gifts that God has given us is diversity. He's made us all with different skin colors, genders, languages, and cultures, and yet so often the world has only dignified the dominant narrative. We believe in the beauty of the other and we are a family that's committed to the work of dignifying that which is different. We want our church to look like Heaven, and that's what we will build until Jesus returns. 

OUR BELIEFS

THE GOSPEL

We believe that Jesus didn't come to found a religion but a relationship with lost and broken people. Which is why we believe that the Gospel isn't about going from bad to good, but about going from death to life. With that being said, we believe that salvation is the free gift of God that we receive by faith in the finished work of Jesus. We believe that the Gospel not only changes people's lives, but it changes communities, cities, countries, and the world. (Mark 1:14-15; Romans 10:9; Ephesians 2:8-10)

THE KINGDOM

We believe that Jesus has called us not just to start a church but to lead a Kingdom movement. We believe that the Kingdom of God is about God's people, in God's place, fulfilling God's purposes. We are consumed by the question: What would Harlem look like if the Kingdom of God was fully present? (Matthew 6:10; Luke 13:18-21) 

THE TRINITY

We believe in one God that eternally exists as three persons: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, each of whom is fully God, co-eternal, co-equal, and yet come together to make one God. (Deuteronomy 6:4; 2 Corinthians 13:14)

THE BIBLE

We believe that the Holy Scriptures are the God-breathed, inspired word of God, and the final authority for faith and life for a Christian. (2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20-21)

OUR STAFF

Our Partners

The Gathering Harlem was started in 2017 through partnership with the Orchard Group, an organization with more than 60 years of experience starting churches in major cities, as well as with the partnership of several other churches.