City On A Hill

We support Epiphany Fellowship through our participation in the Acts 29 network.

Their Story
The story of Epiphany Fellowship begins much like the animated film The Incredibles. The cartoon begins with a little boy (Buddy) who was desperate to join the superhero, Mr. Incredible, on his mission to fight crime and “save the day.” With relentless tenacity Buddy “showed up for work” dressed like Mr. Incredible, he professed to have studied all the techniques of Mr. Incredible, and expressed a die-hard commitment to Mr. Incredible. In light of this, Buddy insisted, even demanded, that he be allowed full partnership with his idol Mr. Incredible. Well, needless to say, things went terribly wrong for Buddy as he was rejected by Mr. Incredible—but this is where Epiphany’s story deviates from the script. Jesus Christ is our Mr. Incredible, and He welcomes His children to be on mission with Him. An overwhelming drive and determination to be apart of what Christ is doing on Earth has consumed both Pastor E and Pastor Duce from the gate. We do not want to be side-lined while Jesus does His work without us (which he could do). The agenda of the missional people of God is a privileged opportunity that we do not want to miss.

Over 10 years ago Pastor Duce who already resided in Philly, was graciously awakened to Philadelphia as one of the ripest mission fields that a young urbanite could hope for. By divine design, each pastor has always sensed a divine preparation for inner city ministry as well as a special grace to pioneer a work in a major urban center. After many years of itinerate and church ministry, marriage, kids, and four years of seminary, a question in ours hearts, “what’s next?” burned in each of our hearts. We noticed some subtle shifts in both the culture around us and the church, and felt like God may want to use us in the midst of it all. One of the shifts that is often minimized or marginalized centers around the impact

Like it or not, everyone has been impacted by corporate America’s acceptance of this genre-turnedculture. It went from local to global influence and is now inescapable in major urban centers. The acceptance or rejecting the need to engage this people group, the solidarity or lack of it, causes a social, cultural, and generational gap that the church has failed to consider in any great detail.

This lack of serious consideration by the church affects many Christians in the church who socially identify with certain aspects of hip hop culture, but are unified through baptism with the people of God.

Pastor E and Pastor Duce share a conviction that no church in the city (or suburbs) should be totally ignorant of or adamantly opposed to reaching the now globally known hip hop generation. We do believe that the culture and its global influence on major urban centers is one of the most misunderstood, underestimated and neglected inner city realities that is contributing to an already divided church. It used to seem like everyone (sports, business, entertainment, religion) except the local church was displaying an interest in, and knowledge of the reality of hip hops impact on and involvement in society. As pastors, we represented a unique group of redeemed, theologically trained men from that very hip-hop context, and noticed that grace was with us to participate in the great commission in a way that reflected the Christian faith contextualized for a hip-hop influenced world.

Philadelphia has numerous churches, but the un-churched population of the city far exceeds this number. Philadelphia also has a strong religious flavoring, but not much of that flavor infiltrates the generation born under the more hip-hop oriented / postmodern era. A church was necessary that had as well as connection with the “older” generation and connection with the “new.” We never thought that a “hip hop church” was the answer, but certainly a church that had a heart, knowledge, and intention to see redeemed hip hoppers become the “beefiest of Christians.” This longing to see a redeemed contingent from the hip hop generation become weighty, mature Christians was met with an opportunity when Pastor Duce was approached by a group of men about the opportunity to plant a church in Philadelphia that would have sensitivities to the hip hop generation. Pastor Duce quickly sought Pastor E to come and lead this plant in Philadelphia. After much prayer and counsel, Pastor E and his wife agreed that the Lord was leading them to Philadelphia to take the lead in planting Epiphany Fellowship. Beginning with 9 people in Pastor E’s living room, it blossomed to a launch team of over 40. After one year of Bible study, relationship-building, and outreach, the church launched publicly on September 17, 2006 and has burgeoned to 150-200 every Sunday.

©2007 Epiphany Fellowship · 17th & Diamond St in North Philly, PA · Phone: 1-888-848-8721