Our First Year

It is hard to imagine but one year ago on April 30, I was presented with the opportunity to serve as the pastor at New Life. Can you believe it, we have made it through our first year together! There is a sweet fellowship at our church and I am honored to serve as the Lead Pastor. Thank you for making this past year an amazing experience. I am blown away by the support and encouragement that you guys offer.

I am convinced that by God’s grace, the best years are still ahead! This past Sunday was such an encouraging time together in the Lord! God used the band to prepare our hearts for an awesome time of worship. As we studied Psalm 84 together, I believe that God was connecting with the hearts of His people as He challenged us to trust in His strength. We ended our time by sharing a meal together to support the students as they prepare for summer camp. The student fundraiser was a great success! The students were able to raise $793 from the spaghetti lunch.

As I reflect over the past year I have asked myself several questions about the state of our church. What is God doing at New Life? As we evaluate our church, is there any evidence of God’s activity? Any fruit that we can recognize? I see at least five proofs of God’s activity throughout our church. 

1. Members are serving (and loving) one another. Many people in our church family are active in caring for those who are facing difficult situations. It’s impossible for me to make hospital visits without the patient or a family member talking about prior visits, calls and cards from other church members. By the way, that truly makes me thankful!

2. Attendance is higher. Facts are our friends. I’m not consistently studying attendance numbers but as a dear friend at New Life likes to remind me, numbers tell a story. We have experienced good growth over the past year in every area of our church. The past 9 weeks of our Sunday morning gathering have been especially impressive. As we get ready for our business meeting in July there will be specific numbers but just know we have much to celebrate! Thank you for your faithful participation in worship and Bible study.

3. Offerings continue to reach new levels. We set a robust budget this past year. Please take time to review our numbers from the first quarter. Also remember that summer months can be lean months for budget giving. We need to press forward and remain faithful and God will continue to bless. My goal is to end the year by exceeding the amount that we have listed in our budget. As we continue to focus on advancing the gospel to the next generation I believe we can accomplish this goal! Again, we will offer specific numbers to review at our July business meeting but please remain faithful. Thank you again for being a generous church!

4. Members are engaged in the Great Commission. Great Commission churches give, pray, and go to reach the nations. As you are aware, we are preparing to send people on the mission field in several places throughout the summer. This past Sunday we prayed for Grant (one of my Old Testament students) as he is preparing to go to Peru. The place he will serve does not currently have a church in their village. Jessica is also preparing to serve in another area of Peru. A few weeks back we were able to hear from Chelsea and Laura concerning their upcoming trips. The summer months will also bring mission activity to the Goose Creek community as we prepare for CityServe. I will provide some details about CityServe in a few weeks but please pray because it is going to be awesome! Great Commission activity is alive in the life of our church.

5. Different generations are active in our church ministries. As I walk the hallways of our facility, my heart is blessed to see children, students, and adults involved in God’s redemptive work. New ministries are being launched on a frequent basis. Our church is generationally united, not divided. It’s wonderful to see different generations teaching and learning from each other. We need more of this as we take serious the task of passing the gospel to the next generation!

What other proofs do you see that reveal God’s activity at New Life? Please email me your thoughts. I’d love to hear from you.

Church family, thank you for loving Jesus, each other, and people in the city of Goose Creek and around the world.

Pastor Billy