Get Our App
Click here to find out how to get the ethNYcity mobile app on your phone!
Use Our Widget
Get our widget for your website! Our widget displays our daily people group with instructions on how to pray for them. Click here to find out how to get it.
Purchase Our Book
For more information about purchasing ethNYcity, click here. All proceeds go toward church planting in Metro New York.
From The Blog
posted 2016/04/21
For up to date blogs, visit https://globalgatesinfo.wordpress.com/. Muslims in Metro New York I recently completed a fresh research update on the Muslim population of Metro New York. There are nine separate blogs complete with descriptions of... read more
An open door
posted 2014/11/06
Fifteen years ago, the relationship between Saudi Arabia, homeland of Islam, and the United States was cool at best. Opportunities for Christians to live there were limited and difficult. Thirteen years ago, with the violence of 9/11,... read more
A whole new Perspective
posted 2014/10/23
The Colombian man works a late shift washing dishes in a busy restaurant surrounded by Bengali people. He has picked up a few words of their slang and they treat him like a brother... read more

Welcome to ethNYcity

The 2019 Global Cities Index ranked NYC as the world’s top global city. At a time when technology has connected the entire world, New York’s large and diverse immigrant population coupled with its global influence make Metro New York one of the most strategic places at the most strategic time in history to “make disciples of all nations.” Consider this…

  1. If the members of unreached people groups living in Metro New York were collectively counted as a city, they would form the second largest city in the United States.
  2. There are over 2 million Jews in Metro New York, which makes up the 2nd largest Jewish population of any metropolitan area in the world.
  3. There are over one million Muslims in the New York City area (see this blog series for a breakdown). Based on figures from a Pew Religious Landscape Study in 2014, 23% of Muslims in the United States live in the New York metropolitan area.
  4. Over 500,000 Hindus live in Metro New York with little gospel witness.
  5. Metro New York is home to some of the best universities in the US including Columbia University and NYU. Over 70,000 international students and scholars, many from unreached people groups and least evangelized countries, study here every year.
  6. There are 800,000 Chinese living in Metro New York–the largest number of Chinese in the Western Hemisphere.
  7. Queens is the most ethnically diverse county in the US and half of the people in Queens were born in another country. Around 60-65% of NYC is foreign-born or children of foreign-born.
  8. Approximately 800 languages are spoken in NYC making it one of, if not the most, linguistically diverse cities in the world. Over 48% of New York residents speak a language other than English in their homes.
  9. NYC serves as the American hub for East Asians, South Asians, West Africans, Caribbeans, South Americans, Russians, and others.

Trends indicate that by the year 2030 over 75% of the world’s population will live in major cities. Because cities are the influential centers, the effect of ministry to unreached people groups residing in these cities goes beyond the borders of the city into the world. The world’s demographics continue to change as people groups migrate and move into foreign international cities. Many of these people represent the influential thinkers and policy makers of their nations and networks. This gives us a wonderful opportunity to reach people with the gospel who can have a powerful voice to their own people and in their native lands. Enter into ethNYcity and enter into God’s plan for the world!

People Group of the Day



Tibetans in Metro New York

Place of Origin: Tibet (China) via India (mainly Dharamsala) and Nepal
Location in Metro New York: Queens (Jackson Heights, Astoria); Brooklyn (Crown Heights); Manhattan (Morningside, Tudor City, Murray Hill, Gramercy, East Village); New Jersey (Newark)
Population in Metro New York: 3,000 (Community Estimate)
Population in New York City:
Primary Religion: Buddhism (Tibetan)
Secondary Religion:
Status of Christian Witness: Less than 2% evangelical. Some evangelical resources available, but no active church planting within the past two years.
Primary Languages: Tibetan, Multiple dialects of Tibetan, English, Ladakhi, Nepali

Significant Notes:

  • The largest number of Tibetans outside of China, India, and Nepal is in Metro New York, and around one-third of Tibetans in the United States live in Metro New York.
  • The Tibet House is a non-profit organization in New York devoted to the preservation of Tibetan culture. Its president is Robert Thurman, an author and academic who is the father of actress Uma Thurman.

How To Pray: Due to the plight of their people, Tibetans are very open and willing to talk to outsiders about their culture and struggles. Pray that God would create opportunities for conversations between Christians and Tibetans that would lead to sharing the gospel. Behind the fade of serenity and peace that often typifies Buddhism, doubts and superstitions prevail. Pray that Tibetans would yearn for the peace that only God can give. Many Tibetans migrated first to India, where there are Christians, and then to the US. Pray for Indian and other South Asian churches in New York to reach out to the Tibetan community.