NEW YORK—Michael and Kyndi Rudzena realize some people thought they were crazy to move from a comfortable home on a corner lot in North Dallas to a simple apartment in New York City. But the couple sees it all as a divinely inspired dream.
Rudzena, a former minister at Park Cities Baptist Church, experienced a critical turning point after attending a conference in Austin.
Michael and Kyndi Rudzena enjoy their transition to life in New York City after moving from Dallas. The Rudzenas are starting a church, Trinity Grace TriBeCa, in Lower Manhattan. (Photo / Lauren Larsen)That turning point led to conversations about how burden, passion and need collide to form a sense of calling, and ultimately resulted in the birth of a new church in Lower Manhattan, Trinity Grace TriBeCa.
The Rudzena family credits the journey to God, noting the intentional way they pursued a sense of confirmation God was guiding them to New York.
When the couple initially prayed for God’s direction, they were drawn to start a church in one of two cities—San Francisco or New York. After a few trips to each city and much deliberation, they decided to table their decision for six months while committing to a few spiritual practices. Both felt inexplicably drawn to New York, but they decided to seek further clarity on specifics.
They remembered a text message from a friend, Jon Tyson: “Wonder if you’ve considered TriBeCa, mate?”
Rudzena responded by saying he didn’t know much about the neighborhood, but he promised to look into it. The text put that neighborhood—which borders Ground Zero near the heart of Manhattan’s financial district—at the forefront of his mind. The Rudzenas now see the way God used it to give them direction.
“We wanted to live somewhere where Christianity is marginal,” he said. “We sensed God’s personal guidance.”
The Rudzenas planned a vision trip to TriBeCa to learn more about the area.
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“We met with as many people as we could to begin to understand the neighborhood’s values and narrative,” he said.
‘In TriBeCa as it is in heaven’
As the couple continued to explore the possibility of starting a church in Manhattan, they adopted the slogan, “In TriBeCa as it is in heaven” adapted from Jesus’ famous phrase in the Lord’s Prayer.
One of Rudzena’s mentors in Manhattan, Mark Reynolds, advised the couple to approach the situation as a family, telling them, “You need to have a sense of calling, so you can anchor yourself in that calling.”
The Rudzenas: “We wanted to go somewhere where the church is on the margin.” (Photo / Lauren Larsen)“We wanted to always be able to frame our challenges as obedience to our calling rather than constantly looking for variables,” Rudzena explained.
He sensed God confirm this calling when he was walking around his neighborhood in Dallas.
“I had an encounter with God,” Rudzena said. “I felt a profound sense of his love and specific direction.”
At that point, the Rudzenas had no financial sponsors for the church start. But stepping out by faith, in the coming months the family received the first phase of funding they needed, a partnership with an established family of churches, Trinity Grace, and a partnership with a church planting organization, Redeemer: City-to-City. They made the move to New York City in August 2011. It meant significant adjustment for their children, Jack and Lucy.
“We are a lot further away from family,” Kyndi Rudzena said. “The rhythm of life is different in the city.”
Even so, the children adapted quickly.
Sense of adventure
“The kids have a sense of adventure,” she said. “We love the diversity of cultures and how that will shape our children.”
The Rudzenas focused on building community in the TriBeCa neighborhood and learning the daily rhythm of the city. Michael Rudzenas insisted it was important to plant his family before planting a church.
Eventually, a core group for the church developed, meeting for prayer at Pier 25 and gathering every-other week for brunch on Sundays.
“That’s where everyone really got to know each other,” Rudzena said.
During the summer of 2012, a group from Park Cities Baptist Church in Dallas traveled to New York to conduct prayer-walks in TriBeCa.
During one prayer-walk, Brandon Boyd, minister of missions at Park Cities, and Philip Davis saw a “For Rent” sign on a building. They didn’t tell Rudzena, but weeks later, he received information about the building, which is now home to Trinity Grace TriBeCa. The church is housed in two floors of the Bogardus Mansion, seven days a week—a rarity for new churches in New York.
Putting the pieces together
“God has put all the pieces in play for this to work,” Kyndi Rudzena said.
Since the neighborhood has no historic church buildings, neighbors viewed the new congregation with curiosity.
“We did zero advertising,” Rudzena said. “We put the sign up in the window, and there was lots of rubber-necking. Everybody recognizes our building, and we’ve had a lot of foot traffic.”
This summer, another team from Park Cities returned to Manhattan to facilitate a weeklong pilot Vacation Bible School-style children’s program at Trinity Grace TriBeCa.
A slow process
The Rudzenas are praying for people to experience the truth, beauty and goodness of Jesus. They admit this can be a slow process in a secular, pluralistic environment.
“Rarely do people jump from intense skeptic to passionate, engaged follower of Jesus in one giant leap,” Rudzena said. “It happens at the pace of a trickle, and perhaps one day we will see something like a faucet turn on.”
In the meantime, Trinity Grace TriBeCa continues to love and serve its neighborhood relying on the strength God provides.
“We deeply desire to see a spiritual awakening in Western culture. What better place for it to take root than TriBeCa?” Rudzena said.
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