I love New York, and Im learning to love Mosaic Manhattan Church Never heard of it? You will, I predict.

Its one of those innovative new congregations thats birthed from a specific need, an encouraging phenomenon in our cities, where on mission Christians are finding fertile ground for evangelism. With 80 percent of North Americas citizens living in metropolitan areas (50,000 or more residents), cities are ripe mission fields.

Mosaic Manhattan grew from the massive grief of 9/11. As Christians prayed for ways to respond to the brokenness of this proud American city, an idea was born: establish a church close to Ground Zero, one that focuses on people, not bricks and mortar, which New Yorkers know too well can crumble.

I went there to lend a hand. A dozen of us from my church passed out free doughnuts, bottled water, newspapers and even movie tickets. With each item handed to the New Yorkers dashing by, we included a small card inviting them to help us re-define church

The idea was to create a sort of buzz. Heres something free (like grace). This church is a community where you can talk, share and grow. Authenticity is valued. We want to serve. Mosaic Manhattan is here for you.

My favorite event was the neighborhood survey. We spent hours at a park, asking questions to gather ideas about what New Yorkers thought a new kind of church could offer to the community of Lower Manhattan. Some answers I jotted: provide acting or backstage opportunities for people hungry for experience to add to their theater rsums; sponsor 12-step meetings for residents who seek daily accountability for substance abuse; reach out to the gay community.

The survey included questions encouraging respondents to articulate why people might choose to sleep in on Sunday mornings rather than attend church. Most recognized this as an invitation to talk about themselves. As a journalist whos been collecting such stories for years, I found the candor of Manhattanites to be fascinating.

One man is an analyst who works at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) a few blocks away.

Nothing lasts, he said wistfully. He lives within sight of Ground Zero and sprints to the NYSE thats now off limits to visitors. He laments the decline of the market, telling me the towers fell, the price of stocks fell, everything goes caput. I want to hope, but its hard.

I got the impression he wants to invest somethingmaybe himselfbut hes afraid. Hes depressed. Caring is a personal risk, and hes bruised. He actually pointed to his heart when he said nothing lasts.

A New York University graduate student told me she had never in her life set foot in a church except for weddings and funerals and wouldnt know what to do. Dont you have to act a certain way when youre there?

I wouldnt know how to begin.

This woman whos pursuing a doctorate in a subject Id frankly never even heard of was admitting to me that shes intimidated. Attending church to her meant going inside something, a big place, a scary environment where people know certain rules and shean intellectmight feel dumb.

A commercial banker told me he didnt want the guilt. Several people at my office are involved in churches and synagogues. They see attendance every week as a duty. If I got involved, Id feel guilty if I didnt go, so Im better off uncommitted.

He said he was raised in a church in his Pennsylvania hometown. But in New York church isnt on many peoples radar screens. So if you dont join one, you dont think about it. And, if you do join one, youve got to attend. In the city that never sleeps, where stimuli is cranked to a volume several decibels above what many non-New Yorkers can tolerate, this man doesnt want a must do to compete for his time and attention. So he avoids the subject.

 Ive been here nine years, and this is the first time Ive ever thought about attending church.

By listening to non-Christians talk about what keeps them from the faith, we can identify some of the barriers that we and our churches can strive to dismantle.

Carolyn Curtis is editor of On Mission.