Ever spoken to a 32 year old bishop?

Just had coffee - naturally - with Jon Tyson leader of Trinity Grace Church which consists of five congregations across Manhattan. He is Australian, became a Christian aged nineteen, worked in various churches, then came to NYC three years ago and started the church along with his wife and a group of friends! It now totals 600 or so members with an average age of 25!

What accounts for this extraordinary success? Well, John often prays for a couple hours a day, usually from the office roof (the office is in a building recently vacated by hookers and possibly owned by the Mafia). He does a lot of thinking, not least during his two month (sic) summer vacation. He is also in Manhattan at a key moment. Evangelical
churches are few here - Redeemer is the biggest (average age 30) - their membership accounting for only approx 1% of the population. Consequently they can start afresh offering what the others can't, don't want to, or have forgotten. Finally, Jon and his church have received training and finance from Redeemer (100,000 dollars no strings attached)

John isn't, of course, a proper bishop for his church is independent, though affiliated to the Origins movement, part of the 'emerging' church. He has, though, a strong affinity with Anglicanism and even talked of aligning his church with that of the Anglican Communion via an African Archbishop. Even more interestingly, his churches utilise the resources of the Book of Common Prayer in their meetings and individual discipline. This lends a depth and provides a historical frame of reference who would otherwise be lacking. They also follow the church's year e.g. Lent, Easter, Pentecost etc. and also aim to operate the a Parish like system of mission and pastoral care.

These observations, along with various bits of reading I have been doing, cause me to think that C of E churches have a unique missionary opportunity, being both Catholic and Reformed thus, hopefully reflecting the best of both traditions and are also both national and local, having resources to draw on from outside whilst retaining touch with the community near at hand. Finally, there is permission to experiment, given that the leadership, including not least Archbishop Rowan, are encouraging a 'mixed economy' of more traditional church and 'fresh expressions'. Get in!

The final thing to say about John is that he has has the wisdom to build a team to lead TG. He has five governing elders who run the practical side of the church. He also has a growing staff which includes Gary Wiley - Fellowship & Care - with whom I also had a coffee. Gary spoke of the challenge of a new church with so great a number of young members. Many try and fail to 'live the dream' that is Manhattan, struggling to remain afloat amongst so many beautiful and successful people. Others are searching for an identity in a culture where anything goes and so all options. Still others feel they have failed outright. Even given the difference in attitude between the UK and US when it comes to counselling, it is revealing to hear that the church has upwards of 50 people receiving specific help in these and other areas.