On a block of 27th Street in Long Island City, across the East River from midtown Manhattan, Evangel Christian Center fills a sanctuary built for 1,800 people. The congregation, more than ninety years old and drawn from eighty-two nations, gathers for worship each Sunday morning, livestreams the service to viewers around the world, and then pours back out into the surrounding Queens neighborhoods through a food pantry, prison visits, basketball nights in housing projects, and a monthly walk through Manhattan called Taking it to the Streets. The church, which calls itself both Evangel Church and Evangel Christian Center, sits at the crossroads of Queens - one subway stop from Manhattan - and has chosen to stay in the city when many similar congregations have moved to the suburbs.
A Church That Stayed in the City
The story of Evangel Church began in 1933, when Reverend Evan S. Williams answered a call to ministry at the age of forty-one and chose the northwest Queens area as his field. For years he and his family had been holding summer street meetings in the neighborhood, where there was no local church. The first service took place on June 18, 1933, in a storefront on 42nd Street. A year later the small group moved to Steinway Street, and in 1936 Pastor Williams incorporated the work as The Gospel Tabernacle, building the first sanctuary with his own hands.
Summer gospel tent meetings, Saturday street gatherings on Steinway, parades, and church picnics shaped the early years, and many in the congregation went on to full-time ministry of their own. In 1965, Williams' grandson Robert Johansson returned from pastoring three upstate churches to take over leadership. Williams, then seventy-four, stepped aside and went back to missionary work in Haiti, where he died a year later.
Under Pastor Johansson the church, by then known as Community Gospel Church, grew steadily. Three building programs between 1965 and 1980 produced a multi-purpose educational building, and eventually two Sunday morning services were not enough - the gymnasium had to be opened as an overflow room with video. Faced with the option of following members to the suburbs, the leadership made a deliberate decision to stay in New York City. After seven years of praying for a larger facility, the church traded its outgrown building plus one million dollars in cash for a privately owned 43,000 square foot public school (PS 4) on 1.25 acres in the heart of Queens Plaza. For two years the congregation took part in a volunteer renovation effort called Operation Nehemiah, and on March 5, 1989, the doors opened on the new location on Crescent Street. At that moment the name was changed to Evangel Church, a cooperative Assembly of God church open to all.
The Crescent Street building was soon filled again. In 1996 Pastor Johansson broke ground on what he called an impossible dream: a brand new sanctuary, offices, fellowship hall, staff apartments, and gymnasium on the same property. On June 6, 1999, two thousand people filled the new sanctuary for its dedication.
Pastor Johansson served until his death in 2016 at the age of eighty. Stefan Marko, who had worked in the church school for ten years and then in the church, became Lead Pastor. Today Carolyn Marko serves as Head Pastor, Andrew Marko as Executive Pastor, and Sham Ninah as Pastor of Community Outreach.
The Building at 3920 27th Street
Between 2013 and 2017 the facility underwent a major renovation. The sanctuary received theater seating, refinished floors, a new sound room, environmental projection, updated lighting, sound, and cameras. The Fellowship Hall was refreshed in 2017 with new lighting, a sound system, and stage. Those upgrades make it possible to livestream services to a global audience and to host the church's many fellowship events.
The campus includes the 1,800-seat worship sanctuary, the gymnasium, church offices, the fellowship hall, and the lower school and high school spaces used by Evangel Christian School.
Sunday Morning at Eleven
Sunday worship at Evangel begins at 11:00 AM and runs through 12:30 PM. Services are held in English and are led by a vocal worship team and a band of instrumentalists, with a separate dance and flag team that ministers through movement. The overall feel is contemporary and expressive - a worship style shaped by the church's Pentecostal and charismatic roots, with lively congregational praise and altar prayer ministry available during every service.
The sermon is translated from English into Spanish and Portuguese in real time for those who need it, and additional translation languages have been on the church's wish list. The 11:00 AM service is livestreamed each Sunday, and the broadcast runs from 11:00 AM to 12:30 PM. Viewers can watch online, and a Roku channel is available for those who prefer to view on a television. A full archive of recent services is also kept for catch-up viewing.
Every Sunday morning at 9:00 AM a prayer team gathers to ask that God speak through the message and that hearts be open to the Word.
Wednesday Prayer and Life Groups
On Wednesday evenings from 7:00 to 8:00 PM the church gathers for prayer. In addition, Life Groups - small groups that meet in homes and around the city - were launched in March 2018 as the church's main setting for discipleship. The premise is straightforward: in a church this large, relationships only develop at a smaller scale. Life Groups are places to study Scripture, discuss everyday issues, have fun, and pray together. Topics range from verse-by-verse Bible study to parenting, marriage, recovery, and other practical subjects. Sign-ups are handled through an online directory.
A separate Prayer Chain takes requests by phone and mobilizes immediate intercession. Trained altar prayer workers are present at every service to pray with anyone who responds to an invitation at the close of the message.
What Evangel Believes
Evangel describes itself as a cooperative Assembly of God church and lists the following convictions as its statement of faith:
- The Bible is the inspired and infallible Word of God.
- There is one God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
- In the deity of Jesus Christ, his virgin birth, sinless life, miracles, vicarious and atoning death, bodily resurrection, ascension to the right hand of the Father, and personal future return to earth in power and glory to rule for a thousand years.
- In the blessed hope of the rapture of the church at Christ's coming.
- That the only means of salvation is repentance and faith in the precious blood of Christ.
- That regeneration by the Holy Spirit is essential for personal salvation.
- In water baptism by immersion.
- That the redemptive work of Christ on the cross provides healing for the body in answer to believing prayer.
- In the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit, by whose indwelling the Christian is enabled to live a holy life.
- That the baptism in the Holy Spirit is given to believers who ask for it.
- In the resurrection of both the saved and the lost, one to everlasting life and the other to everlasting damnation.
- That each child of God is called to be a witness to the saving grace of Jesus Christ and committed to the ministry of reconciling the world to God.
The mission statement of the church reads: "The Mission of Evangel Church is to glorify God by making disciples who love Christ and His Church, and being empowered by the Holy Spirit will impact the world with the Gospel and a lifestyle of compassionate service."
The church is staff-directed and board-protected. Lead pastors and key staff drive the vision, while a board of advisors protects it, oversees the calling of the Lead Pastor, approves the annual budget, reviews salaries, and cares for the church's properties.
Taking It to the Streets
A signature ministry of Evangel Church is its homeless outreach, called Taking it to the Streets. On the last Wednesday of every month a team loads up and walks through Manhattan - stopping for people lying on street corners, sitting in storefronts, or moving through the major transportation hubs - to hand out meals along with socks, hats, scarves, gloves, blankets, and coats. Each month more than two hundred people living on the street are served. The team prays with those they meet and shares the love of God.
The Community Pantry is open every Saturday from 9:00 to 10:00 AM, giving out meat, eggs, fruit, milk, cereal, rice, and other staples to hundreds of families and individuals each year. Coats and clothing are also distributed as needed.
A separate Shelter Outreach brings a weekly basketball night to those staying in shelters and housing projects, opening a relaxed evening of fellowship and friendship. The Prison Outreach sends volunteers to Rikers Island once a week, where many come to faith and are followed up with afterward. Park Outreach, branded Music, Message, and a Movie, sets up an inflatable twenty-foot screen in a local park for a family-style service with face painting, balloon animals, popcorn, and cotton candy for the children, followed by music and a message for everyone. A Sports Outreach rounds out the portfolio, using athletics as a bridge into the surrounding community.
A Care Ministry supports the wider congregation and neighborhood with cards, phone calls, visits, and practical help such as cooking, shopping, and cleaning for the sick and elderly. A Visitation Team specifically visits the hospitalized, and an Elderly Care team offers ongoing companionship and encouragement to older members.
The Next Generation
Children are present at every level of Evangel's ministry. A staffed Nursery is open during the Sunday morning service for babies and infants, and the service is streamed live into the room so parents do not miss the sermon. Kidz Church, for children from PK3 through Grade 5, meets during the same 11:00 AM service with worship, teaching, crafts, snacks, and activities. A Kidz Choir (PK3 through Grade 5) rehearses on Saturday afternoons and sings at special holiday services such as Easter and Christmas.
On Friday evenings from 6:30 to 9:00 PM, two long-running programs give the church a strong presence in the neighborhood. Royal Rangers is for boys from kindergarten through Grade 5 and focuses on badges, activities, crafts, outings, and an annual camping trip. Girl Clubs (kindergarten through Grade 6) follows a parallel track with its own badges, activities, crafts, outings, and an annual sleepover. Both programs depend on a steady stream of adult volunteers.
For Grades 6 through 12, Youth Programs meet on Fridays at 7:00 PM with teaching, activities, and trips. Each summer a Vacation Bible School-style outreach called Summer Zone runs for one week in July or August with skits, crafts, puppets, snacks, and worship for church and community families.
Evangel Christian School
Sharing the 27th Street campus with the church, Evangel Christian School opened its doors in 1985 and now educates more than 550 students from Pre-Kindergarten through High School. The school holds an absolute charter from the New York State Board of Regents covering Kindergarten through Grade 12, and is one of the only evangelical Christian high schools in New York City.
The school's stated character is multicultural, Christ-centered, and academically rigorous, with an emphasis on moral integrity and the full potential of each student. Christmas programs at the elementary, middle, and high school levels are a regular part of the church calendar and draw the wider congregation.
Newcomers, Baptism, and Membership
First-time visitors are welcomed with a free mug and a free coffee at the Newcomers Desk in the central lobby, where a team helps orient them to the building, the ministries, and the schedule. From there, monthly Newcomers Luncheons invite newcomers to enjoy lunch in the fellowship hall with members of the leadership, hear the church's story, and learn about next steps for connecting their family to the church.
Water baptism by immersion is offered regularly, and anyone who has made a commitment to Christ is invited to declare their faith through baptism. Membership Orientations are held throughout the year, generally right after the Sunday service, with lunch provided.
Men's and women's fellowships meet monthly on Saturday mornings from September through June. R.E.C.O.N. (Reaching Out, Empowering, Connecting, Overcoming, Never Quitting) is the men's group, and B.F.F. (Beautiful, Forgiven, Free) is the women's group. Both include breakfast, fellowship, a love offering, and special events throughout the year.
The Pastoral Team
Carolyn Marko serves as Head Pastor. She is joined by Andrew Marko, who serves as Executive Pastor, and Sham Ninah, who serves as Pastor of Community Outreach. The church is governed by a board that protects the vision, oversees the calling of the Lead Pastor, approves the annual budget, and reviews staff salaries and long-range financial planning.
Whether someone walks in off 27th Street in Long Island City, logs on for the Sunday livestream from another time zone, or meets an Evangel volunteer on a Manhattan sidewalk the last Wednesday of the month, the same family of believers is behind it: a congregation that has been in Queens since 1933 and has chosen, generation after generation, to keep its work rooted in New York City.