New York City’s population is 8.1 million people. Nearly 43% of the state’s population lives within the city’s 305 square miles.

Church planters in New York City face unique challenges — even amongst other inner-city churches. Churches, theaters, and offices often occupy the same building or spaces at various times, which presents difficult communication challenges to church planters building community in the city. This spring, students with Palmetto Collective flew to New York City from South Carolina to join the church planters on the ground.

What is Palmetto Collective?

Palmetto Collective (PC) is a two-year program with the South Carolina Baptist Convention that prepares college students to make disciples around the world and in their community. Students who apply and are accepted to PC are taken on two trips during their tenure: an international and a domestic trip. 

“New York City is built straight up,” stated Mary Callahan, a recent college graduate and Palmetto Collective student whose focus is inner-city ministry. “There are a lot of people on top of each other, and many of them rarely leave New York.”

The Melting Pot of New York City

Thirty-six percent of New York City’s population is foreign-born — the highest percentage in any U.S. city. With so many different people groups crowded together in the densest city in the U.S., there is an endless, overwhelming need for churches.

“We were there to strengthen the efforts of the church planters and spread awareness for these new churches,” shared Callahan. “We worked with two churches in the city, and the second was located in Jamaica, Queens. It was located underground, and the language barrier was difficult.”

Sharing the Gospel Everywhere

Callahan recalled a sense of camaraderie. “The Palmetto Collective students don’t get to see each other often, so when we do, it’s special.” They shared the Gospel, made new friends around the city, and invited their new friends to church. The students also gained insight into the brokenness of New York City.

“There’s a Gospel need everywhere,” Callahan emphasized. “I have a burden for people who are behind or misplaced. I think that is why I’m called to inner-city ministry. The trip just confirmed that for me.”

For Mary Callahan, Palmetto Collective enhanced the dreams God had already placed within her heart. “I would encourage anyone to branch out,” she laughed. “Go somewhere where people don’t look like you or talk like you.” 

Callahan’s ministry has spanned all over the world — from spending time with refugees in the South of France to ministering to a Muslim population in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. “This is genuinely the only thing I could see myself giving my life to: the Church and the mission of God in the world,” Callahan stated. “It doesn’t feel like a sacrifice to do this; it feels like the best job in the world.”