New Roxborough Church Shines 'Citylight' on Neighborhood

With a growing congregation, Roxborough and Manayunk's newest church is ready to go public.

Founded by Pastors Matt Cohen and Pete Horning, Citylight Church will hold a kickoff service March 4 at n on Freeland Avenue in Roxborough.

The Christian group has steadily grown since its June 2011 founding, and is prepared to become part of the the community.

"We want the neighborhood to really know we're here. And we're hoping residents and friends check it out and decide that this a place they want to call home," Cohen said.

Church Origins

Cohen is from California and grew up culturally Jewish and Roman Catholic, but lacked any real attachment to a church. In training as a gymnast, he came to his faith. He attended Penn State University on a gymnastics scholarship and studied philosophy, working more and more with a local church.

He completed theological training at Southern Seminary in Louisville, KY, and practiced at State College. That's where the Citylight idea formed.

"We primarily worked with students and got used to not having a permanent building—a decentralized ministry. We saw Penn State graduate tons of people who moved to Philadelphia. So we thought, 'What if we took a group and moved to the city and harness that momentum to start a church from the ground up?'"

Cohen and Horning founded the church in June 2011, and moved to Philadelphia. Cohen felt the area is full of church buildings but that many were just relics to the past. With experience working with college students and young adults, Cohen liked Manayunk's appeal.

"Not only is there a need for a church to appeal to these young professionals, but we think we fit, personality-wise, really well," he said.

BBQ Background

Initially, Citylight started as an informal Bible reading group that met on Sundays to barbeque and read scripture at Cohen and wife Andrea's apartment.

"We started playing ladder golf and eating burgers, but then would sit on our back patio and realized we want to make this church" a reality, he said.

What began as a dozen friends on a porch began increasing to 40, 60, 75 people gathering at a more traditional service, now held at the synagogue. That Sunday service, with Cohen preaching anf Horning leading music, evolved into midweek Bible study groups, called "City Groups." 

As the congregation began growing, Cohen said people realized that a lack of space was their main obstacle. So they began planning a public launch.

Beliefs

"Stylistically, we try to be as culturally relevant as possible. But at the same time, from a theological, doctrinal, philosophical level, we sort of just stand in the tradition of 2,000 years of ancient Christian tradition," he said.

Cohen described the church as a Protestant, evangelical congregation, practicing under the belief that the Bible is the word of God.

"Basically, we're all about Jesus and praising and celebrating him," he said.

Citylight also aligns itself with Christian and Missionary Alliance and the Acts 29 Network.

Public Launch

Officially, March 4 is Citylight's coming out party. Through Horning's design, the website was updated and includes testimonials promoting the Sunday kick-off service. The service will began at 4:30 p.m., now in a much larger room.

The group also will begin promoting itself more, as opposed to its word-of-mouth origins.

"We're not really all about getting a certain head count. Our goal is to help people become more authentic followers of Jesus," he said. 

In addition, Citylight wants to expand its community outreach and help out in the neighborhood.

"Our goal is to identify some of the key physical needs in these six neighborhoods that makeup Northwest Philadelphia and create some strategic partnerships with organizations already meeting those needs, so we can come help alongside them," Cohen said.

For more information on Citylight, visit its website.