CITYLIGHT CHURCH
Meeting Sundays from 8:30am – 10:00am at 1801 Spring Garden Street beginning on 9/12
Who We Are - One church, three congregations…
Citylight Church is one church with three congregations, one of which will begin gathering for worship at 1801 Spring Garden St on 9/12. What unites us as a community across racial, cultural, political, and other differences is our shared faith in Jesus Christ and our shared mission to make disciples of Him for the glory of God. We believe there is a real God who out of HIs infinite goodness, made us for the glorious purpose of loving Him and one another. However, we also believe that we all have turned from that glorious purpose and shrunk in on ourselves, so that now our only hope for forgiveness from God and freedom from our self-centeredness is the life, death, and resurrection of the truly selfless one, Jesus Christ. United by faith in Him, we seek to make disciples (followers) of Him by gathering to worship Him, committing to love one another as He has loved us, and going out into the world to do good works and proclaim the good news of what He has done.
Our Story
Citylight Church began as a group of 10-15 people in Northwest Philadelphia in 2011. As they began sharing the good news of Jesus, God began saving people and adding them to that number, to the point where they began gathering for worship on Sundays in 2012. From the beginning, the goal was not merely to grow one big church in Northwest Philadelphia, but to start more churches throughout the region. On October 4, 2015, that goal took a big step forward when we held our first worship gathering as Citylight’s second congregation at 1336 Spring Garden St. God has now grown us from the original 40 members to over 100. In order to continue gathering those members in one service and to make more space for new people, that congregation is now moving its services to Highway Tabernacle.
Why Come to Church?
If there is a real God, wouldn’t you want to know? What if the 4th century African theologian Augustine was right when he said that God made us for Himself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in Him? Have you ever really evaluated the claims of Jesus and just said no to Jesus? At our services, we present the claims of Jesus clearly as they are revealed in the Bible. Furthermore, when you come to a church service, you not only hear the Christian message, you see the Christian community that message creates. The Christian church is more than a few people on a screen or a stage; it’s a whole community gathered to proclaim the greatness of the one who saved them. And all are welcome to come and see. Why not you?
Common questions
In accordance with the city of Philadelphia’s mask mandate, we are asking all attendees to wear masks for the duration of their time in the building on Sundays. We will also have 4 air filtration units running to increase the air changes per hour in the room. The large size of the room in which we gather also mitigates the risk of transmission.
We have the IBEW 98 union parking lot available to newcomers and families with children at 1719 Spring Garden St. You can enter it on the north side of Spring Garden St when heading west on Spring Garden St, just before you hit 18th St. If you do use that lot, please plan to move your car from the lot by 10:30am to make room for Highway Tabernacle’s 11:00am service.
We have childcare provided for children up to age 5, separated into two classrooms. Each classroom is supervised by two trained volunteers with full background checks. The 3-K class also includes a Bible lesson and activity. We rejoice to have children over age 5 join us in the service!
8:30am is the time that enabled our congregation to still gather on Sunday morning while also making it possible for Highway Tabernacle to gather for worship on Sunday morning as well at 11:00am. If 8:30am sounds early to you, fear not: We will have freshly brewed coffee available to help you wake up when you arrive.
Wear whatever you feel comfortable wearing. Most men at our church wear collared shirts or a nice t-shirt and most ladies wear casual dresses or shirts with skirts or pants
Our service includes readings aloud from the Bible, singing songs of praise to God, prayers (some said in unison, some said by one person from up front), a sermon based on a reading from the Bible, and taking what’s commonly called communion or the Lord’s Supper. We provide explanations along the way and you are always free to watch any parts of the service in which you don’t feel comfortable participating. We are used to having new people every Sunday.
We’d love to have you! None of us were born believing in Jesus, and Jesus calls all people everywhere to come to Him (Matt 11:28-30), whatever their beliefs at the moment. We strive to be a church where you feel like you can hear and explore the Christian message before you believe it. You may disagree with us sometimes, but we are committed to treating you with kindness and respect, even when you do.