This is first, because everything we do is to lift up the Lord and in all things bring honor to Him. We honor God most by obeying His Word. When God is the focus of our praise, He anoints His people with favor and power. May we be known for extravagant praise, extravagant giving, and extravagant service…all in honor of our Lord. One of the best ways to honor the Lord is by honoring one another – the Body of Christ. We believe we achieve this through our faithfulness in attendance at our weekend gatherings and financial giving.
This portion really is two-fold. First, it brings the idea of evangelism. We are to witness, to share, and to serve the last, the lost, and the least in order to expand the boundaries of the Kingdom of God both at home and abroad. Secondly, we are to grow the Kingdom within the doors of the church. This encompasses the growth and spiritual formations of the believer in terms of knowledge, desire, and personal disciplines which serve the Lord’s work within our individual lives.
Through teaching the principles of the Bible, we will enable people to overcome their inherent sins, their erroneous training, their mental or emotional handicaps, their relational challenges, and their spiritual brokenness. The goal is for every believer to live a life free from the sinful values of the modern world view, free from besetting sins, and to be empowered to truly live in freedom and to enjoy a productive, happy life. We also want to empower new believers through the Scriptures to be servants of God. The greatest fulfillment in life is to know that you are working in partnership with the Lord of lords to advance His Kingdom! It is vital that we all find a place of regular service in the church.
These values help to govern the actions and direction of NLC. They serve as guardrails of our organization, helping us stay on course for the purposes we believe God has for New Life Church.
Meet the team leading with faith, vision, and a heart to serve our church and community.
Good News is Gospel: (Mt 28:19) We strive to incorporate the Gospel message in our preaching, teaching, and daily witness. The Great Commission is at the forefront of all we do.
True Worship or Bust: (Mt 4:24) Worship appears in many forms, however the only true worship comes from the heart and moves the spirit. We encourage the most sincere, enthusiastic expression of your devotion to the Lord in worship within the bounds of decency and order.
Is That the Best We Can Do?: (Eccl 9:10) Since everything we do, even the smallest job, is done ‘as unto the Lord’, we strive to serve with excellence – by being on time, by having an excellent spirit, by superseding the expectations of our guests, and by cooperating with the vision provided. We want our property and ministries to reflect how we feel about the Lord. Only the best we can do…will do.
Upward Growth Is Measured By Downward Mobility: (Lk 22:26) Service is vital to the success of any leader or church. The more we grow in Christ the easier it is to help the very least among us. Pride is the enemy of God, so we encourage humility that is manifest through the serving of others, especially the last, the lost and the least.
Anything Living is Connected: (Jn 15:5,12) True life in Christ is manifest by our willingness to connect with the family of God in meaningful relationships. We encourage connection through Connect Groups and our Serve Team. Loyalty to the vision of the church in attitude and conversation is maintained through wholesome relationships. We have a formula for forgiveness from Mt 18.
Different is Good: (Rev 5:9) Diversity of culture, ethnicity, age, gender, religious/socio-economic backgrounds is a healthy sign for the church. Heaven is a diverse place and the church should be as well. We want to reflect the demographics of our community and thus encourage people from all walks to know the Lord and walk with us on this journey of life.
We Will Be Known for What We Are ‘For’: (Lk 4:18) Often churches are known for all the things they stand against. We would rather bring a refreshing, uplifting approach. New Life Church is ‘for’ the salvation of the lost, ‘for’ the lifting of the fallen, ‘for’ the healing of the broken, ‘for’ the encouraging of the disenchanted, and ‘for’ the families in our community. We lift up the salvation of Jesus rather than using our platform as a place to constantly condemn.
Sowing and Reaping is an Inescapable Law: (2 Cor 9:6-8) The Bible teaches that what we sow we shall reap. Stewardship of time, talent, and treasure is the mandate of the believer. We believe financial stewardship is vital to the future of the church and is the responsibility of the believer. We understand tithing to be God’s plan of blessing our resources. Giving is not a matter of constraint, but a matter of the heart whereby the believer lives to assist the Kingdom in any way possible, including monetarily. We believe faithful giving into the storehouse (church) where you are fed is God’s plan.
Honor is Our Culture: (1 Pet 2:17) Scripture reminds us to honor all men. When you place honor upon someone you elevate them to their rightful position. Within the church we honor the authority and leadership structure of this house. Flow of information and directives flow from the top down. Compliance is our way of honoring those in authority and of bringing blessings upon our church. We honor elders for their place in life. We honor every soul as they all are worth the same in God’s Kingdom.
The collection of 66 books was authored by God and written by men who were divinely inspired. Scripture is God’s revelation of Himself to mankind. We believe all Scripture is true and trustworthy, revealing the principles by which the Eternal God judges us. The Word of God is enduring, will last until the end of time, and is the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be tried.
There is only one living and true God. He is an intelligent, spiritual, and personal Being, the Creator, Redeemer, Preserver, and Ruler of the universe. God is infinite in holiness and all other perfections. God is all powerful and all knowing, and His perfect knowledge extends to all things past, present, and future, including the future decisions of His free creatures. To Him we owe the highest honor, respect, and obedience. The eternal God, complete in triunity, reveals Himself to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being.
God as Father reigns with providential care over His universe, His creatures, and the flow of the stream of human history according to the purposes of His grace. He is all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-loving. God is Father in truth to those who become children of God through faith in Jesus Christ. He is fatherly, in both grace and discipline, in His attitude toward all men.
Christ is the eternal Son of God. In His incarnation as Jesus Christ, He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. Jesus perfectly revealed, did the will of God, taking upon Himself human nature with its demands and necessities and identifying Himself completely with mankind – yet without sin. He ascended into heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God where He is the one Mediator – fully God, fully man – in whose person is effected the reconciliation between God and man. He will return in power and glory to judge the world and to consummate His redemptive mission.
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, fully divine. He inspired holy men of old to write the Scriptures. Through revelation He enables men to understand truth. He convicts men of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. He calls men to the Savior, and effects regeneration. At the moment of regeneration, He baptizes every believer into the Body of Christ. He cultivates Christian character, comforts believers, and bestows the spiritual gifts by which they serve God through His church. He seals the believer unto the day of final redemption.
Man is the special creation of the Almighty, made in His own image. He created them male and female distinctly as the crowning work of His creation. The gift of gender is thus part of the goodness of God’s creation. Man lost his position of innocence when, by his free choice, he willfully sinned against God and brought sin into the human race. Through the temptation of Satan, man transgressed the command of God and fell from his position, now inclining his posterity toward sin. Therefore as soon as man is capable of moral action, they become transgressors and are under condemnation. Only the grace of God can bring man into His holy fellowship and enable man to fulfill the creative purpose of God. The sacredness of human personality is witnessed in that God made man in His own image and Christ died for man; therefore, every person of every race possesses full dignity and is worthy of respect and Christian love.
Salvation is a broad term for the redemption of the whole man, which begins at the bidding of the Holy Spirit and culminates in our final, eternal state of being with Christ forever. Salvation is freely offered to all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, who by His own blood obtained eternal redemption for the believer. In its broadest sense, salvation includes regeneration, justification, sanctification, and glorification. There is no salvation apart from personal faith in Jesus Christ as Lord.
This is the experience of New Birth and is a work of God’s grace whereby believers become new creatures in Christ Jesus. It is a change of heart wrought by the Holy Spirit through conviction of sin, to which the sinner responds in repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Repentance and faith are inseparable experiences of grace. Repentance is a genuine turning from sin toward God. Faith is the belief in Jesus and His atoning work on the cross for one’s sins and a commitment of the entire person to Him as Lord.
While repentance and turning is a willful act of the human being, justification is the work of God in salvation. Justification is God’s gracious and full acquittal upon principles of His righteousness of all sinners who repent and believe in Christ. It further brings the believer into a relationship of peace and favor with God.
Sanctification is a process, beginning in regeneration, whereby the believer is set apart for the purposes of God and is enabled to progress toward moral and spiritual maturity through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit dwelling in him. During this portion the believer is often baptized in the Holy Spirit with the speaking of tongues and/or other signs of the Spirit’s control.
This is the culmination of salvation and is the final blessed and abiding state of the redeemed.
Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water at the command of Christ. Being a memorial of the death, burial, and resurrection, we typically use the name of Jesus as the formula, in congruence with the pattern of the early disciples. It is a testimony to the believer’s faith in the final resurrection of the dead.
The Lord’s Supper is a symbolic act of obedience whereby members of the Body of Christ, through partaking of the bread and the fruit of the vine, memorialize the life, sacrificial death and resurrection of the Redeemer. Further, it is a looking forward to Christ's second coming.
God, in His own time and in His own way, will bring the world to its appropriate end. According to His promise, Jesus Christ will return personally and visibly in glory to the earth; the dead will be raised; and Christ will judge all men in righteousness. The unrighteous will be consigned to Hell, the place of everlasting punishment. The righteous in their resurrected and glorified bodies will receive their reward and will dwell forever in Heaven with the Lord.