Meet the Team

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.

James joined the CityLight Church staff in 2021 with over 20 years of full-time ministry experience, serving as Worship Pastor, Executive Pastor, Chief of Staff, and Lead Pastor of some of America’s largest churches. Prior to serving in ministry, James worked as a Vice-President, Wealth Strategist with Bank of America for over 6 years. James has an undergraduate in Biblical Studies, and postgraduate in Business Law from Cornell.

I’m 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. What drew me keeps me 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! I’m extremely grateful that we both found a place to worship, learn, grow and serve, first as singles and now together as a married couple. I hope to see you soon at one of the services, please stop me and say hi!

Shawn is a multi-genre singer-songwriter that has a heart for worship and a hunger to see God impact New York City. Soon after getting married in 2014, he and his wife Tamme 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 since January 2018. He believes that NYC is on the cusp of a revival unlike ever before and is eager to build up a generation of passionate seekers of His presence and glory.

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!

I was born and raised in Puerto Rico with a Catholic background. I moved to NYC in 2012 by myself and for the first time in my life I was in a place that I was not familiar with and did not feel like home. Ironically, living in a city with millions of people, I felt like the loneliest person in the world. Between going through hardships in my life alone and missing my loved ones I felt very distant from God. In my brokenness and loneliness, God led me to CityLight Church in 2015 where I had the opportunity to feel the love of community and encounter the tangible love and grace of God. Hearing the truth about who I was, my identity in Christ and who God truly is, everything started to make sense and my hope and faith grew. Knowing how to live a life under God’s grace changed everything. CityLight became my family and since then I’ve committed to serving the Lord and serving Him is truly what has helped me to grow spiritually. In attending Life groups, volunteering in the Citykids team as a teacher and traveling to Guatemala on a mission’s trip, I have experienced the Lord taking me from glory to glory. Currently, I am one of the Citykids Coordinator in the Children’s Ministry, as the Lord has given me the passion to work with children and keep them rooted in their true identity in Christ.

Growing up Catholic I always knew there was a God, but I didn’t know how to get close to Him. It was when I came to CityLight that I learned not only was I created by the Creator of the universe, but that I matter to Him. Psalm 139:13 says that I was knit together by Him in my lmother’s womb and that He knows me so well, He knows the number of hairs on my head (Luke 12:7). The same is true for you. I struggled for most of my life with low self esteem and perfectionism, so hearing this truth gave me great confidence. It wasn’t until I began a relationship with Jesus that I learned I can heal from these sin patterns and show others the goodness of God. He drew me in at a young age; I just didn’t know how to respond. My aim in CityKids is to show the children God‘s great love for them and how to live their lives in relationship with Him.

Andrew serves as the church’s controller besides being part of the pastoral staff. He had a +20 year career in accounting/financial services before following his calling into ministry. He studied both Biblical Literature and Accounting at Taylor University. He loves serving CityLight Church as a Care Pastor and hopes 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!

My story on this planet began in 1989 in the countrysides of Cayey, Puerto Rico. In 1995, after spending the first few years of life on a laid back Caribbean island, my family decided to trade it in for the fast-beat concrete jungle of Queens, New York. It was a new world for me that came with its own unique blessings and challenges.

Not long after life started to spiral out of control. I grew up with very few or no friends at all and would often face physical and emotional abuse both at home and in school. Despite being raised believing in a higher power through Catholicism, I never felt worthy of love, much less God’s.

That all changed one day in high school.

A friend of mine invited me to a youth group at a local church. I was a bit skeptical at first, but eventually I decided to skip that night’s episode of Battlestar Galactica and give Jesus a chance. I ended up accepting Him a few months later one Saturday night in my room through a televised evangelism event aimed at teens. After accepting Christ that night through believing in what He had done for a pitiful soul as mine through His sacrifice on the cross, I soon heard the song “Savior” by the Christian rock band Skillet play on the TV (a song that still resonates with me and my personal testimony till this day).

Throughout the following years I visited various churches and ministries and served in missions trips to Mexico, Brazil, and Ecuador, and while my zeal was there, my walk with Christ was rocky due to difficult events that attempted to discourage me away from continuing on my faith journey.

However long story short, my wife, Lisa, and I found CityLight during the height of the pandemic lockdowns in 2021. What we found was a church that was bold, gracious, and absolutely committed to presenting the gospel message of Christ against all odds on top of finding the best spiritual community and family that we can ever ask for that loved and supported us through a tough season in our world.

Months after, I was led by the spirit of the Lord to step in to serve as a volunteer in CityKids before joining the CityLight family as an official team member. My goal during my time here at CityLight Church is to reach the newer generations through Christ and give them the grand hope of the cosmic savior in an ever-increasing fallen world just as He Himself did for me all of those years ago.

Outside of ministry, I have been working as a Teacher Assistant in special education preschool settings for over a decade. I also love traveling and adventuring and engaging in arts and culture such as films, books, video games, writing, music, and (at least according to my wife) perhaps a bit too much caffeine.

I was born and raised in southern California and I moved to New York City in 2013. I was raised Catholic, attended Saddleback church, two Foursquare churches, a Vineyard church, an Assemblies of God church, and a Foursquare church plant by my stepfather and mother. While I attended a Christian college, I became atheist for a period, then agnostic. In my senior thesis on my place in the church, I described myself as doubting Thomas. I wanted to know that what I believed about God was because it was true – not just because of how I was raised and had been taught.

After many years, the Lord used his Word and a number of experiences to draw me back to Him. I first attended CityLight in Brooklyn in 2017 and started regularly attending in August of 2020 in Queens. Since joining CityLight, my life has changed in ways I previously thought too far beyond me. I sometimes surprise myself by how I handle a situation compared to how I would have prior. The love and grace of God brought me back to Him – and all I had to do was show up and spend time with Him.

If you are looking for a church family, this is a great place to experience the love and grace of the Lord. I have a B.A. in Business Administration from Vanguard University and a J.D. from Loyola Law School. I am barred in California and New York.