Tim Keller

On July 1, 2017, Keller stepped down from his role as senior pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church. The move was part of a larger vision to shift his efforts from preaching to training the next generation of church leaders and starting new churches in global cities through Redeemer City to City.

He has since become a worldwide spokesman for the need to create new kinds of churches in urban centers to address rapid urbanization. He delivered a plenary address on the subject at the Lausanne Conference of 2010.

In 2008, Keller published his first book in 20 years (since his report to his denomination on diaconal ministries titled "Ministries of Mercy" in 1989). The book, entitled The Reason for God, was based on common objections to the Christian faith heard during his ministry in New York City. The book reached No. 7 on the New York Times Nonfiction bestseller list.

Redeemer Presbyterian Church grew from 50 people to a total attendance of over 5,000 people each Sunday as of 2008, leading some to call him "the most successful Christian Evangelist in the city." In 2004 Christianity Today praised Redeemer as "one of Manhattan's most vital congregations".

Keller was recruited by his denomination to start Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan in 1989 despite his relative lack of experience and after two others had turned down the position. Today the church's attendance is over 5,000 each week.

Keller was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania. He is a graduate of Bucknell University (BA, 1972), Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (M.Div., 1975) and Westminster Theological Seminary, where he received his D.Min. in 1981, under the supervision of Harvie M. Conn. He became a Christian while at Bucknell University, due to the ministry of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, with which he later served as a staff member. He was ordained by the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) and served as a pastor at West Hopewell Presbyterian Church in Hopewell, Virginia for nine years, while serving as director of church planting for the PCA. He also served on the faculty of Westminster Theological Seminary, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he and his wife Kathy were involved in urban ministry.

Timothy J. Keller (born September 23, 1950) is an American pastor, theologian, and Christian apologist. He is the Chairman and co-Founder of Redeemer City to City, which trains pastors for ministry in global cities. He is also the founding pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City, New York, and the author of The New York Times bestselling books The Prodigal God: Recovering the Heart of the Christian Faith (2008), Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God (2014), and The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism (2008). The prequel for the latter is Making Sense of GOD: An Invitation to the Skeptical (2016).

Keller has been described as a "C.S. Lewis for the 21st Century", although he has disavowed comparisons to his hero. He frequently draws on secular or academic sources like The New York Times, and media coverage has treated him as an anomaly: a pastor who appeals to Manhattan yuppies and intellectuals.