Rev Timothy Keller, one of the most popular and influential conservative Christian thinkers in the US, will step down this summer as senior pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York.
The announcement came during Sunday services at Redeemer’s three Manhattan locations. It was tweeted first by Bethany Jenkins, a CFW Fellow at the church, and confirmed by Christianity Today.
Rev Keller’s last day as senior pastor will be 1st July, Ms Jenkins tweeted.
Afterward, he will continue working with the Redeemer City to City church planting network, including teaching in its partner program with Reformed Theological Seminary, according to Christianity Today. He also will remain involved in the church’s mid-week events, it said.
The church’s three congregations will become independent churches, and each will launch three more congregations for a total nine churches, according to Christianity Today. That follows a decades-old plan the church had put in place so as not to become a megachurch.
Rev Keller founded Redeemer in 1989 as part of the Presbyterian Church in America, according to his website. Since then, it has grown to a weekly attendance of more than 5,000 young professionals in Manhattan.
He also is co-founder of The Gospel Coalition and a New York Times bestselling author.
Redeemer could not immediately be reached for comment.
