Welcome to Metro!
My name is Peter Ahn and I am the lead pastor here at Metro Community Church.
We are a contemporary, multi-ethnic, multi-generational church located in Englewood, NJ – about 5 miles outside of New York City.
We are a far-from-perfect church – in fact, that’s what makes Metro so special! While our culture (and often the church) typically celebrates strength, success, and "shininess" – at Metro, we embrace imperfection and weakness, knowing that God's life-transformational strength is made perfect through our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9).
What this means simply is – you are welcome at Metro, no matter where you are on your faith journey. We are not about strong-arming you into a particular belief system, but rather about having an honest and open conversation concerning our relationship with God and with one another.
Please continue to browse our website to learn more about our church. Here are some quick links that might be helpful:
If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to email me at peter.ahn@emetro.org.
Welcome again to Metro!
Blessings,
Pastor Peter
Lead Pastor
Vision, Mission, Values & Beliefs
Our Vision
Life transformation through community – shaped by God, people, and the culture.
Our Mission
To be relevant to the unchurched and to bring them into an authentic relationship with Jesus and the community, growing together into the reflection of Jesus Christ and passionately responding to the needs of the hurting.
Our Core Values
1. Relevance: Connect Jesus with today’s generation by incorporating creativity and integrity in all that we do.
Allowing people to see that Jesus Christ is relevant in their lives is our chief task. We truly believe that life with Jesus is far better than anything else the world has to offer. We believe that in order to impact our generation the presentation of the Gospel must be relevant. We do this by first acknowledging the suffering in our world, not hiding behind religion but allowing suffering to enter our spiritual journey.
We recognize that we need to constantly seek new ways of doing church. One way is by embracing creativity in how we express our worship to Jesus by embracing the arts. In a world where the arts have dictated the pace of the culture, we too are committed to the arts, striving to impact culture rather than react to it. With an ever-increasing global village, we also believe the church should be the model for racial diversity. Since Jesus came to remove the racial and socio-economic barriers that separate us, we will keep ourselves from perpetuating those barriers by passionately embracing each other’s culture and background and celebrating this diversity.
2. Relationship: Foster authenticity in a diverse community through Jesus’ love and grace.
With the genuine love and acceptance Jesus has shown to people from all walks of life, we desire to be a community that will welcome people from all the rich diversity that exists in the NY/NJ area. We want to be a safe place for people to ask questions and engage in conversation about Jesus. We believe that genuine love and acceptance can only happen in a spirit of authenticity, so we must first be honest with ourselves, our hurts and our pains, and then allow Jesus to be a part of the reality of our brokenness. We seek to be authentic in the expressions of our faith, not merely partaking in religious practices. We must also be real and honest in our interactions as a community. We believe it is through facing the difficulties and the joys that we can truly celebrate the richness of our relationship with Jesus and with our community. And as we do this, we firmly believe that these relationships will last a lifetime.
3. Reflection: Grow as Jesus’ representatives to the world through training, discipleship, and service.
As followers of Jesus’ teachings, we seek to reflect the love, passion, and message of Jesus to the world around us. While recognizing our reflection of Jesus may be less than perfect, we desire to grow in commitment to training and disciplining ourselves in every area of life. In order to do so, it requires us to move towards a deeper understanding of the life of Jesus as our model and of our present relationship with Jesus as our constant motivator.
In celebration of the unique value and giftedness of each person, we encourage each member of our community to serve in the areas of their passion and gifting. It is through our acts of service that the growth of our faith and the building up of the community will flourish.
4. Response: Demonstrate Jesus’ compassion through catalytic initiatives of entrepreneurship, empowerment, and restoration.
Like Jesus, we are passionate about helping people who are hurting. We firmly stand against racism, sexism, and classism, because we are all one in Jesus Christ. We firmly believe that following Jesus Christ in the 21st century means having compassion and taking action for the poor and oppressed. We want to be a voice for people whose voice is not being heard. We want to offer hope to those who have lost all sense of hope. Whatever hurt life presents to us, we want to be a place where anyone can feel loved. We want to be entrepreneurial in our approach, which means creating innovative ways in meeting the needs of the poor and oppressed.
As we seek to be in solidarity with the hurting people of this world, we want to champion the task of empowering and restoring the disenfranchised, and celebrate with them the amazing grace of Jesus Christ.
What We Believe
1. The Scriptures, both Old and New Testaments, are the inspired Word of God, the complete revelation of His will for the salvation of men and women, and the divine and final authority for all Christian life and faith.
2. Jesus Christ is God’s eternal Son. As true God and true man, He allowed Himself to be born of a virgin, taught men and women how to live through a sinless life, was crucified as a penal substitute for our sins, arose bodily from the dead, ascended into heaven, where, at the right hand of the Majesty on High, He is now our High Priest and Advocate.
3. Men and women are created in the image of God, tempted by Satan and rebelled against God. As a result of their rebellion against God, men and women are dead in their sins. Through repentance and personal faith in Jesus Christ, we are forgiven our sins, reborn by the Holy Spirit, and we become children of God.
4. Jesus Christ will return to earth to raise the dead, judge the world, and establish His glorious Kingdom. This is the hope of the Church and its encouragement for ministry. At the end of time the redeemed will go on to eternal life whereas the unredeemed to eternal hell.
5. There is one God, Creator of all things, infinitely perfect and eternally existing in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
6. The Holy Spirit persuades us to repent of our sins and confess Jesus as Lord. He lives in us, teaches us, gifts us, and enables us to live godly lives.
7. The Church is the living Body of Christ on earth; Christ is its head and source of life. The Body is composed of those who have received Him personally. The Church exists to celebrate the living God, cultivate personal growth in Christ, love one another in Christ, and communicate Christ to the world through words and deeds.
8. Baptism soon after accepting Christ as personal Savior is a testimony to sin and resurrection to a new life, and the Lord’s Supper is a time of thanksgiving and communion with Christ, setting forth in sacred and symbolic manner the death of the Lord Jesus Christ and the unity of His Church; all true believers and only believers should share in it. Infant baptism is appropriate of believing parents as a testimony of the expectation of the future grace of Christ in the life of the child.
9. Because God gives us eternal life through Jesus Christ, the true believer is secure in that salvation for eternity. If you have been genuinely saved, and trusted in Him, then you cannot lose your salvation. Salvation is maintained by the grace and power of God, not by the self-effort of the Christian. It is the grace and keeping power of God that gives us this security.
Frequently Asked Questions
We understand that attending a new church can sometimes be an intimidating experience. To help put your heart and mind at ease, we've answered some of our most frequently asked questions related to the Metro experience...
What can I expect to find at Metro?
At Metro, you can expect to find a dynamic community, relevant teachings, contemporary worship, a world-class children’s program, and a place to grow relationships in a multicultural, judgement-free environment.
Where is Metro located?
For church services, we meet every Sunday at 9:30am & 11:30am at Dr. John Grieco Elementary School, located at 50 Durie Avenue in Englewood, NJ (Bergen County). For more info regarding our service, click here.
Is it OK to come to Metro if I’m not a Christian?
Absolutely! While we desire for everyone to meet and follow Jesus, we've had many people from a variety of religious backgrounds attend our church over the years who simply enjoyed the community atmosphere that our church provides. Rest assured that if you are not a Christian, you are welcome at our church.
Metro seems pretty big, how do I get plugged into the church?
There are three main routes for getting plugged into Metro as quickly as possible.
1. Sign up for one of our Community Groups, where you'll get to meet members of our community, while engaging in some form of Biblical study.
2. Serve in a ministry team. We believe God has given everybody unique skills and passions to help make the world a better place. If you're interested in using your talents at Metro, you can check out all of our ministries under the "ministries" tab in the top navigation menu on this website. When you’re ready to serve, head over to emetro.org/serve, let us know what ministries you’re interested in, and someone will be in touch with you asap!
3. There are always a lot of events happening at our church. You can learn about all of our upcoming events, by selecting News & Events in the Community section of our website.
How accessible is the pastoral staff?
Generally speaking, our pastors – including our children's pastors – are fairly accessible throughout the week and you can find all of our staff contact information on our team page if you have a question, input, or would like to set up an appointment to meet with them.
If you're brand new to Metro, we recommend stopping by the "Newcomers Quickstop" at the conclusion of the service on any given Sunday, where you can meet the "speaking" pastor from that day, who can answer any questions that you may have regarding Metro and give you an overview of our church.
Lastly, if you need prayer, we have a team of pastors and staff ready to pray for you at the conclusion of the sermon every service.
Am I too young or old for Metro?
Not at all! While the average age group hovers somewhere in the mid-thirties, our church is comprised of a spectrum of people from all age groups and stages of life – from college students to the elderly. Everyone is welcome!
Is there a dress code?
The only requirement is that you come clothed! Some churches stress wearing your "Sunday best" (e.g. suit and tie), but at Metro your Sunday best is simply being yourself. Come as you are!
Do I have to give money to the church?
Nope! The offering that we collect on Sundays is for people who call Metro their "home" church. If you're new to Metro, your gift to us is your presence!
What services do you have available for children?
Metro has been blessed to have a world-class children's and youth program with some amazing teachers. In addition to our children's nursery, we have classes for two-year olds all the way up to high school students.
To learn more about our kids ministry, visit our Student Ministries page.
What Christian denomination does Metro belong to?
Metro is part of a denomination called the Evangelical Covenant Church. To learn more about the ECC, you can visit their website at covchurch.org.