Texas Baptists New York City church plant’s “deepest desire” is: “Train up people to make disciples”

TJ Stoudt, pastor of Harlem Community Church (HCC) in Harlem, New York, first felt God’s call on his life to serve in “large, diverse cities” when he served on staff at Waterfront Church in Washington, D.C., a church plant out of Southcrest Baptist Church in Lubbock. 

“After years of prayer and preparation, my wife and I moved to Harlem just over a year ago. Within three months, God opened doors for us to launch weekly services in a historic gym in Central Harlem,” said Stoudt. 

Stoudt said because of the mentorship and Texas Baptists background of Zack Randles, lead pastor of Waterfront Church in Washington, D.C., he built relationships with “several Texas [Baptists] churches” who became “invested in our planting journey here in Harlem.”

When Stoudt and his wife arrived in Harlem in the summer of 2024, he knew “we had to get to work,” as their launch date was set for just three months later in September 2024.

“I was meeting with one of my coaches, and he was like, ‘Man, your timeline, it makes me a little nervous,’ and I just laughed with him, and I said, ‘It makes me a little nervous, too. But it's something where it feels like a train that's going, that the Lord has set in motion, and I couldn't stop it if I wanted to. So I just have to trust him,’” said Stoudt.

Stoudt said, “the Lord really was moving” amidst the quick launch.

“We pretty much hit the ground [running]. We started reaching as many people as we could. Any person we met in the park, we tried to let them know about the church. We did some canvassing, and then we would host these interest parties [and] had really great turnouts… It felt like we were reaching a lot of people,” said Stoudt. 

When Stoudt tried to host a launch team gathering with the folks who attended the interest parties, “we continually saw that almost all of our people were unchurched,” so they were unsure what a church plant or launch team was. Nevertheless, their interest in attending church persisted. 

“The thing we kept hearing time and time again was, ‘When does your church start? We would be interested in attending a service, but a launch team, we're not really interested in that.’ So, it was a short runway, but… we had a good launch team [already established]. We had a good, solid base. Then the Lord even opened up an opportunity for us to have a meeting space. He opened up an opportunity for us to have really great worship, day one,” explained Stoudt.

Communicating the gospel everywhere

Stoudt said over the past year, HCC has prioritized discipleship, to “help [members] learn how to communicate the gospel [and] how to leverage gospel conversations everywhere they go.” 

“Because most of our people are locals, they have family, they have friends, they've maybe even recently received Christ. So now they're like, ‘All my family is confused by why I'm going to church or why I'm not going out and partying now.’ And I'm like, ‘These are opportunities for you to share the gospel,’” explained Stoudt. “So we're getting to see that 2 Timothy 2:2 passage lived out [with] a lot of personal evangelism.”

Stoudt said because sharing the gospel is “so new” for many members, he has recently preached a “Kingdom Rhythms” sermon series about spiritual disciplines, and sends the church out each Sunday with a specific encouragement: “Church, you are sent.” 

“[We’re] reminding our people that they are to be living sent on mission, to communicate the gospel when they're here, but also give our people just really practical evangelism training, because our people want to share the gospel, but… there's still that hesitation,” said Stoudt. “We want to cut through that because we are seeing our people reach the lost, and that's what we want to continue to see.”

Because “the amount of lostness is so massive” in New York City, Stoudt said HCC “utilizes mission teams” and “a bunch of our Texas Baptists partners who have come up” to “do street evangelism, set up prayer booths, [and evangelism] in the park.”

“Those connections [I have] made it clear that Texas Baptists had a genuine heart to see the gospel advance in places like New York City,” said Stoudt. 

Salvation and “genuine community” 

Stoudt said HCC sees an international “population that we weren't prepared to be reaching” on Sunday mornings. 

“Because of where we are, we have international tourists who come to our neighborhood all the time. So, on a typical Sunday, we probably have somewhere between 5 to 15 international tourists that attend our service, which gives us a [unique] opportunity… to present the gospel,” said Stoudt.

“The spirit is moving so powerfully, and we're seeing so many people spiritually curious. We're seeing people who maybe walked away from the church, who are returning to the church. So, we're continuing to see more and more salvations,” said Stoudt. 

Since October, Stoudt has baptized fourteen. 

“The greatest joy has been watching strangers become family. People from all walks of life—long-time Harlem residents, newcomers to the city, and first-time churchgoers—have come together in Christ to form a genuine community,” said Stoudt. “Today, more than 120 people now call HCC home.”

“If I try to out-entertain New York City, I'm going to fail” 

Stoudt said the task of winning New York City for Christ “is daunting” as “it's estimated that there are 6.7 million lost people.” He said Barna put out research that stated about “64% of people in New York City identify as Christian. And then when you dig into the numbers and then it was like 1 in 5 of those individuals are actually practicing.” 

“[We are] in a city that can be so overwhelming with the just amount of lostness [and] when you look at the expanse of the city, when you look at how much entertainment there is– When you pop up a church in New York City, really, there's a lot stacked up against you,” explained Stoudt. “You have to realize, ‘If I do this in my own strength, in my own ability, if I try to out-entertain New York City, I'm going to fail.’ I have to rely on the Spirit.” 

He said in moments when he wants to “go as hard as I can,” he’s reminded to “slow down and pray through this and ask the Lord to do what only he can do.” 

“I have to rely on the Lord for everything… because I think that's the only way to church here,” said Stoudt. 

Texas Baptists “constantly advocating” for gospel advancement in New York

Stoudt said he “didn't know exactly what I was getting into when I came on board with [Texas Baptists], but I truly can say it has been a great blessing.” He said he has “been blown away with what a great community I found.” 

“Larry Mayberry, who has a church in Queens and is also the association director here. We’re the two Texas Baptists church planters in the city, and just having him as a friend [is so great]. We [also] get to go to a conference every year with Texas Baptists Church Starting,” said Stoudt. “Texas Baptists stands out because you don’t just send resources, you walk with planters through the ups and downs of ministry. That kind of genuine connection has meant the world to us.”

He said their Texas Baptists church partners have “come alongside us and just supported us” and are “constantly advocating and just letting people know about what the Lord is doing here.” 

“[Our church partners are] sometimes our best cheerleaders. They're letting other people know, ‘Hey, the Lord is doing something amazing in New York City, you should be a part of it,’” said Stoudt.

Stoudt said as he looks ahead to year two of Harlem Community Church, he and his staff’s “deepest desire is to train up our people to make disciples.” 

“Our theme for year two is Rooted—rooted deeper in Christ, in God’s Word and in one another so that multiplication can take place,” said Stoudt. “We’d love for the Texas Baptists family to rejoice with us and pray with us as we step into this next season of mission in Harlem.”

He said he is also praying that Texas Baptists would continue to share the work Harlem Community Church is doing and “even send people from Texas to join in the work the Lord is doing here.” 

“The spirit is moving. People are so curious. If we invite them to church, a lot of times they'll show up or at least have a conversation with you,” said Stoudt. “God is doing something in New York City. Don't get so caught up in what's being said on the news because there's some really cool things happening here.” 

For more information about Texas Baptists Church Starting, visit txb.org/churchstarting.