Looking back over 2017, we are excited to see what God is doing here at New Life. It’s because of the amazing people who call New Life home that these things can be accomplished. Scroll through the report and check out the numbers. Maybe read a few of the stories. See what we are so excited about. Perhaps consider where you can join us to make 2018 even better!
There have been some amazing events this past year. The Story, Easter Egg Drop, Sgt. Eversmann, Starlight Cinema, Fall Fun Fest, Kentucky, Ecuador, Celebrate Recovery, Financial Peace University, Life Groups, Breakfast for Dinner with Santa, Pictures with Santa, and to cap it all o , our Christmas Eve production: Have you Heard, It Happened!
Yet those in and of themselves are just activities. It’s people like Will who humbled himself before Christ and before us to share his story of life change that gets us up every morning. Thank you for being a part of what God is doing in Chantilly!
Yay God! What else is there to say as we look back on 2017 and see the growth we’ve experienced as a campus. Lots of new faces, including a Children’s Minister, our redecorated worship space, all our outreach events, not to mention 37 people baptized! We have been so glad to see God working in the lives of so many New Lifers.
Consider Matt. His wife asks about a church on Facebook in part because their daughter was looking to reconnect to God. Next thing you know Matt is helping with set up at 7am, joined a Life group, and started asking more questions. Now he’s inviting friends to join him at New Life.
The Online Campus continues to grow and expand. We are seeing more people in our online groups, and more people watching our services live. We love seeing New Lifers who are spread over the globe forming a community as they celebrate birthdays and anniversaries with each other, and have formed friendships that span thousands of miles. Our online Life Groups continue to grow numerically and in depth of conversation.
Consider Tina who has written in our blog a number of times about the growth she has experienced being a part of New Life even though she lived in Slovenia when she joined us and now lives in Wales. Then there are New Lifers like Tim who connects faithfully whenever work takes him overseas. We love staying connected to people no matter what life throws at them.
The nZone has continued to help us connect with our community. Hundreds of people come through our doors every week. Often thousands. But what we love seeing is the community that continues to be built in Adrenaline, CrossFit, tness classes, on the courts, and in the elds. One highlight was that over 100 Adrenaline members participated in the Savage race. The comradery shared honored God.
We continue to have new New Lifers share their nZone to New Life stories. Whether it’s employees like Audrey who gave her life to Christ this year, vendors who continue to ask questions about God and why this place is so di erent, or the woman who just came to New Life after having such a great experience at a birthday party.
No matter the path, people are experiencing Jesus before they even know He’s who they are looking for. It’s amazing to be a part of a place where we can serve and connect with our community.
As we re ect on 2017 we’re thankful for ministry opportunities we have been a part of in our region, our nation, and globally. This year alone we helped plant five new churches, trained hundreds of church planters, and o ered free church planting resources to thousands of church planting leaders around the world.
We have been especially thrilled to see God work through Michael Bartlett, who came to Christ at New Life 20 years ago, to start Collective Church in Frederick, MD. But God is doing so much more. He’s working in our plants in Washington, D.C., Knightdale, NC, Jacksonville, NC, and Owings Mills, MD.
Through KidZone Sundays, Mothers of Preschoolers, American Heritage Girls (AHG), Trail Life, Parent Commitment Celebrations, Family Services, and Christmas Shop, families are connecting with Christ, each other, and the community. All these activities challenge kids and families to apply God’s truth in their lives through out the week. Nathan, a toddler, is learning to worship through giving by “feeding” Snarf, the new O ering Bot, before heading to his class. KidZone kids helped raise nearly $1,000 to support Jordan, KidZone’s sponsored child from Compassion International.
God is changing lives through Mothers of Preschoolers as the moms grow in a fun, faith community. Several have given their lives to Christ! One mom shared that her son learned “stealth control” in the Mopettes Fruit of the Spirit lesson. She said he was so inspired, that when he was throwing a tantrum about washing his hands, he stopped mid outburst and said, “Stop. Self-control” then ran to the sink to wash his hands.
Our Worship & Arts teams have had a great year. The Linton Hall Campus got an entire worship environment overhaul and the Chantilly Campus installed a video wall on stage and new overhead “house” lighting. These have helped us make our worship services even more inviting to new comers and less distracting overall. We are grateful to the donors who helped make these upgrades possible.
We’ve seen some great growth in students this year. We have a number of students attending New Life who rst got involved by attending a home group with their friends. We’ve seen amazing growth in other students as they’ve rejected some of the lies the culture has told them and made God honoring choices in their dating relationships, school activities, and in their homes. We’ve also enjoyed seeing more and more students serving in many areas including the tech team, the camera team, KidZone, and others.
