Every church has a particular ministry emphasis. For some it’s their music style. For others it’s their ministry programs. For NewLife Christian Fellowship, the ministry emphasis can be summed up with four important things, the Glory of God, the Word of God, the Gospel of Grace and the Worship of the Lord.
The Glory of God
The ultimate priority of our ministry is the glory of God rather than the felt needs of people. When a church becomes overly preoccupied with pleasing people rather than pleasing God, it can fall into the trap of becoming more man-centered than God-centered in both its worship and its ministry. This causes a church to focus on giving people what they want rather than providing them with what they need. NewLife is committed to maintaining a high view of God and an emphasis upon His glory. We do not believe that God exists for our pleasure, but that we exist for His. The Lord should not be viewed as a Genie in a bottle who must view our every wish as His command. He is our Creator as well as our Sovereign Lord. As such, He is deserving of our highest praise, our greatest obedience, our most sacrificial service and above all, reverential respect and worship. While lovingly ministering to people’s true spiritual needs has its place, our greatest concern must always be, “What is most pleasing to the Lord?” rather than, “What pleases the most people?”
The Word of God
The primary emphasis of ministry here at NewLife Church is the clear and accurate preaching and teaching of the Word of God. Since we believe in the absolute sufficiency of God’s Word to minister to every need we have (Psalm 19:7-11; 2 Timothy 3:16-17), we are committed to straightforward verse-by-verse, expository preaching that unleashes the transforming truths of the Scriptures to our hearts and lives. We refuse to manipulate the Bible to try and make it say what we want it to say or what appears popular to people. Our desire is to remain faithful to the biblical text and accurately and unapologetically preach the Word (2 Timothy 4:1-5). If you have a genuine hunger for knowing and understanding God’s Word, NewLife could be the church for you!
The Gospel of Grace
We do not water down the biblical gospel to appear more acceptable by solely focusing on God’s love, though we stress His love, while seeking to avoid mentioning sin, judgment, or repentance. We are committed to faithfully proclaiming the true biblical gospel of God’s grace that proclaims that:
- All have sinned and fallen short of God’s standards for their lives (Romans 3:10-11, 23);
- God’s holiness demands His just punishment of our sin (Romans 1:18; 6:23a);
- Christ’s death provides the only satisfactory payment for our sins (Rom. 5:6-9; John 14:6);
- Salvation comes by faith alone in Christ alone, not by human works (Eph.2:8-9);
- Genuine salvation always leads to repentance from sin and obedience to God (Ephesians 2:10; Acts 2:38; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Titus 2:11-12).
While preaching about God’s wonderful mercy and love toward us we don’t want to deemphasize man’s sin and God’s judgment on the disobedient. John Calvin said, “Faith alone saves, but saving faith is never alone.” True saving faith always results in a living and active faith that seeks to obey, honor and serve God. Our goal is to see change! A life full of Love, Joy and Peace is the result of the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ as we are conformed to His image.
The Worship of God
We welcome the use of every song both old and new that glorifies God, reinforces the teachings of His sacred Word and those that lead us to genuine worship. Our desire is that all God’s people, both young and old, would be able to worship the Lord in a meaningful way. Our music focuses on the spiritual welfare of others rather than our own personal preferences (Philippians 2:3-5). Therefor we seek to minister to the whole Body of Christ so all can identify with the mode of worship.
We believe that many of the great hymns of the faith possess strong messages of worship and faith that can enrich the lives of young and old alike. We deeply appreciate the rich musical heritage God has given His Church over the centuries. Today, we continue to produce music that brings us into God’s presence and expound Spiritual truth. Many of the contemporary writers and artists continue encouraging the Church with solid and doctrinally sound new songs. Praise songs, worship music, contemporary worship and hymns are a vital part of our balanced worship services.
We further understand the worship is not just in song but in a dedicated life of service to the Lord Jesus. It is necessary to “walk the talk” if worship is to be based in the beautiful mercy and grace of God.
God wants all of His children, both young and old, to have a place to offer Him worship and praise. Regardless of your age, or musical preference we hope you will find NewLife a place to grow, a place to worship, a place to belong.