Why August 17th Will Change Everything for Our Church

It was so good to be back at New Life this past Sunday. Worship via streaming is good, but it

certainly is not like being there. It was a wonderful service. Jill Johnson sang “Majesty,” a song that was written by Jack Hayford, a minister in California, in 1981. It's 42 years old and still a powerful song of praise. Lynn Bowman closed our service with the song “Speak to the Mountains,” a song written by Chris McClarney and released in 2021. Two songs written 40 years apart, yet both declare the greatness and power of God. Thank you, ladies, for blessing us with these declarations about God.

On Sunday, August 17, we will gather in the revamped fellowship center for a brief time of prayer, thanking God for providing us with such a valuable tool for His church to use. At the same time, we want to pray that God will help us use this new space for His glory. So it is a dedication of a new facility and a dedication of ourselves. We will do the service after each of our worship services.

Back in the summer of 2017, we made it possible

for our folks to go into the new worship center to see how things were moving along. We heard several people say, “Why did you make the foyer so large? and “Why is the stage so large?” To be sure, each of them are probably larger than what a lot of churches have. A minister friend of mine, Mark Jones, who will be speaking at our 20th anniversary celebration, stopped by for a visit last year. He had not been here before, and when we walked into the foyer, the first thing he said was “I am jealous already!” In spite of the fact that in 2017 the stage and foyer seemed out of proportion, I can unequivocally say that I wish we could have made them larger. Mike would love a larger stage, and we could certainly use more foyer space on Sundays.

I tell you that story because when you see the finished product of the Fellowship Center, you might be tempted to question why so much room! I am not a prophet, but I can’t help but think that in a short time, we all will be wishing we could have made the facility even larger. I am totally confident that we will make great use of the large meeting room and the three large classrooms. It is space that we have needed for some time.

I want to thank you for your generosity, which has made this facility possible. While it isn’t completely paid for yet, I am confident it will be soon. I hope that you will take a few minutes after worshiping with us on August 17 to join us in the Fellowship Center for a time of offering prayers of thanksgiving and praise to our good, good God.