The History Of New Life
The first service of New Life Christian Reformed Church was held on May 25, 1986 in a little chapel on Sumas Mountain at the Western Pentecostal Bible College.
There were many factors that contributed to this beginning. Probably the greatest factor was the desire for new life (hence the name). New Life was made up of a group of people who were searching. Some were just searching for a fresh start. Some were searching for a deeper experience of the presence and power of God. Some were searching for a more authentic expression of Biblical community. Others were searching for a safe place to bring those who were lost or wounded. Still others were searching for greater freedom of expression in worship, others yet were looking for a place where all the gifts of the body of Christ could be used in service and all the people could be ministers rather than a select few.
In the early days there was an atmosphere of experimentation as everyone took their turn in a whole variety of ministries. There was the wonderful joy of discovery and also the freedom to fail. There was a rich sense of community. New people were in our worship every week. Worship services became a draw for all kinds of people. An atmosphere of love and acceptance pervaded the church family.
As the New Life family continued to grow we found that there were enormous challenges being presented to us in relation to that growth. From the beginning New Life had believed that the role of staff in a church was not to do all the ministry, but to equip the people of the church to effectively minister. We needed more godly, gifted people set aside for that task. We have developed a staff that is firmly committed to raising up and training leaders for ministry.
We also realized that we had to grow smaller and larger at the same time. We could not abandon our vision of gathering God’s growing family, but we had to build community in a way that people could become connected and experience the love and warmth of God’s family. Much restructuring was done and New Life became “a church of churches”. We became a church of mini-churches or small groups. We began to see small groups not as a program, but as the church itself. We began to intentionally train leaders of small groups of all ages. Our vision is that every person that considers New Life their spiritual home would find a place to love and be loved, to serve and be served, to grow and help others in their growth. God has blessed this transition in amazing ways.
New Life has become a sending church. Many people, young and old, have gone out from New Life to touch lives with the love of Jesus all over the world. Some have planted new churches in North America. Many have served in service-related missions throughout the world. Recently we decided to lend support to a Korean church that is just being started by offering our facilities to them.
While we can’t solve all the world’s problems or meet all the needs of our community, we believe that, through the power and love of Jesus Christ at work in us, we can make a significant impact in our hurting world. We believe that there is no more powerful force on earth than the love of Jesus being expressed through a community of Christ-followers.
The first service of New Life Christian Reformed Church was held on May 25, 1986 in a little chapel on Sumas Mountain at the Western Pentecostal Bible College.
There were many factors that contributed to this beginning. Probably the greatest factor was the desire for new life (hence the name). New Life was made up of a group of people who were searching. Some were just searching for a fresh start. Some were searching for a deeper experience of the presence and power of God. Some were searching for a more authentic expression of Biblical community. Others were searching for a safe place to bring those who were lost or wounded. Still others were searching for greater freedom of expression in worship, others yet were looking for a place where all the gifts of the body of Christ could be used in service and all the people could be ministers rather than a select few.
In the early days there was an atmosphere of experimentation as everyone took their turn in a whole variety of ministries. There was the wonderful joy of discovery and also the freedom to fail. There was a rich sense of community. New people were in our worship every week. Worship services became a draw for all kinds of people. An atmosphere of love and acceptance pervaded the church family.
As the New Life family continued to grow we found that there were enormous challenges being presented to us in relation to that growth. From the beginning New Life had believed that the role of staff in a church was not to do all the ministry, but to equip the people of the church to effectively minister. We needed more godly, gifted people set aside for that task. We have developed a staff that is firmly committed to raising up and training leaders for ministry.
We also realized that we had to grow smaller and larger at the same time. We could not abandon our vision of gathering God’s growing family, but we had to build community in a way that people could become connected and experience the love and warmth of God’s family. Much restructuring was done and New Life became “a church of churches”. We became a church of mini-churches or small groups. We began to see small groups not as a program, but as the church itself. We began to intentionally train leaders of small groups of all ages. Our vision is that every person that considers New Life their spiritual home would find a place to love and be loved, to serve and be served, to grow and help others in their growth. God has blessed this transition in amazing ways.
New Life has become a sending church. Many people, young and old, have gone out from New Life to touch lives with the love of Jesus all over the world. Some have planted new churches in North America. Many have served in service-related missions throughout the world. Recently we decided to lend support to a Korean church that is just being started by offering our facilities to them.
While we can’t solve all the world’s problems or meet all the needs of our community, we believe that, through the power and love of Jesus Christ at work in us, we can make a significant impact in our hurting world. We believe that there is no more powerful force on earth than the love of Jesus being expressed through a community of Christ-followers.
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