I was born in Sarajevo, in the former Yugoslavia, but my family and I moved to New York City on January 17, 1981. Having my roots in a country that was under communism, I was primarily raised as an atheist. I have vague memories of going to church three or four times while I was growing up, and that was more out of a traditional, cultural obligation. As a teenager, my spiritual hunger awakened and I found myself being drawn to spiritual things - including dabbling in the new age and occult for several years. I always called myself a Christian, but that was more out of a nationalistic and cultural pride, rather than an authentic relationship with God. Thankfully, when I was sixteen, several teenagers came into my life that were genuine Christians. They took the time to explain the Gospel, and how Jesus acted as a substitute for us, receiving the penalty for our sin so that we, through faith in Him and what He did, could be completely accepted by God. On August 14, 1992, at a church in the heart of Brooklyn, I prayed out loud for the first time in my life, telling God that I believed in what Jesus accomplished for me on the cross. I instantly felt that my entire life had changed with that one prayer. That same night I got baptized in water and was baptized in the Holy Spirit. My entire world was turned around for the better as God began to reveal His goodness more and more to my family and myself. Prior to this, the thought of being a pastor never even entered my mind, but several weeks after I became a Christian it was all I could think about. All I wanted to do was share the amazing love of God that had completely renewed my family and me. Having encountered His amazing love and transforming touch, I have a deep passion to see others experience the same. My life mission is to see you enjoy the freedom that a genuine relationship with God brings. CityLight is a place where Jesus is revealed, people are built up, and the Holy Spirit is alive and active among us. I have a B.S. in Business Management and English Literature from SUNY Stony Brook; B.A. in Theology from the River Bible Institute; M.A. in Theology from Life Christian University; currently completing my dissertation for a Ph.D. in Pastoral Ministries.

We are the directors of the CityLight Astoria Healing Rooms and we're both awed at what God is doing at CityLight Church and in New York City as a whole. I was first invited to a CityLight singles conference back in June of 2011, while Tiffany found us by way of Google shortly after in March of 2012. What drew us individually and what collectively still keeps us coming back every week is the crystal clear presentation of the gospel of God's grace. The good news is presented without all the extra baggage of religion, guilt, shame and condemnation. One can easily pick up the phrase "God's in a good mood" when in one of our services. The teaching & preaching is Biblically sound, the worship is phenomenal and the community is super inviting and inclusive, well that and not to mention it is also the place where I met and married my best friend and wife! After meeting at one of the Friday night services on March 23, 2012, we would get engaged two years later during the same Friday night service on March 21, 2014 and married by Pastor Bojan later that year on August 30, 2014. We're extremely grateful that we found a place to worship, learn, grow and serve, first as singles and now together as a married couple. We hope to see you soon at one of the services.

Shawn and Tamme Samuel are multi-genre singer-songwriters that have a heart for worship and a hunger to see God impact New York City. Soon after getting married in 2014, they took a leap by moving across continents from their roots in New York to serve in missions in Kochi, India. Using songwriting, they brought together young adults and children from every part of the socioeconomic spectrum to express themselves through song. The duo released their first collection of songs as the band MG & Main - a unique blend of folk, soul, and pop. Their desire for the project was to unveil the power of music and the gospel to the unchurched. Coming back to their roots in NYC, Shawn has been serving as the Worship Director of CityLight Church along with his wife since January 2018. They believe that NYC is on the cusp of a revival unlike ever before and are eager to build up a generation of passionate seekers of His presence and glory.

We are thrilled to be serving CityLight Church as Care Pastors and hope you take the time to get to know our church. It's easy to experience God here – we invite you to come and try it out for yourself! We were both initially drawn in by the warm and welcoming community at CityLight (Andrew in 2016 and Alice in 2017). As we spent more time here, what set CityLight apart in our eyes was the balance it has between sound biblical teaching and its deep desire to experience God’s presence. Some more about us - we were married in 2018, ordained to serve as Care Pastors in 2019, and had our first child in 2020. Pastor Andrew serves as the church’s controller besides being part of the pastoral staff. He had a +20 years-career in accounting/financial services before following his calling into ministry. He studied both Biblical Literature and Accounting at Taylor University. Pastor Alice has served in ministry since 2014 with a focus on counseling and prayer in the areas of inner-healing, struggles as a single, prophetic activation, and speaking truth/breaking ties to false religions and the new age. She has been in the fashion industry for +20 years, traveling to +20 countries, while witnessing God's ministry in the marketplace. Alice is currently completing an M.A. in pastoral ministry at Global Awakening Theological Seminary. We’re available to counsel and pray with you about anything, but especially have a heart for singles in search of marriage, pre-marital counseling, and marital counseling.

I began attending CityLight in 2014 after recently moving to New York City. I was struggling in my relationship with God and felt unloved. I knew I needed to find a church and CityLight happened to be across the street from where I was living. I began attending CityLight and learned what it means to have a personal relationship with Jesus and to truly live a life under God's grace. CityLight gave me everything I needed - solid biblical teaching, amazing worship and the best community I could ever ask for! For the first time, I understood and tangibly felt the love of God. I'm passionate about seeing the lives of children at CityLight be transformed by the love and grace of God, just as my life was transformed!