Dear New Life Congregation,

Welcome to a new year, 2021!  We all wish, or at least joked, that a new year could bring a clean slate to this pandemic situation. Unfortunately, it is still with us. At New Life we keep pressing into God’s calling to work for changed lives, a diverse community, and a radical impact. Admittedly, it does get frustrating to discern exactly what restrictions there are, how they apply to us, and for how long. Through it all, we are still making plans for ministry, and feeling enthusiastic about the opportunities God places before us.

Shifting Focus

Recently, staff discussed moving forward in ministry. We discerned God’s call to a more outward focus in serving the community. In the past year we placed a lot of energy and effort into producing virtual worship experiences and sustaining community through various connections and Life Group meetings. Worship and Community remain important pieces of our ministry, and in addition we want to place our initial focus on serving for the coming year. Many are already serving in various capacities, and we are glad for that. This shift in focus is not an expectation that we just do more, but that we recognize God’s on-going purposes in our life together.  Let us know that you are in:  1) send us back a reply here; or 2) comment in the staff video here.  We would love to hear your stories of serving too!

Serve Opportunity

This month our “serve” focus will land on the Abbotsford Food Bank. Not only does the food bank require on-going donations of food and money, but especially in this pandemic season, they need people willing to deliver groceries to food-bank clients. New Life deacons would like to provide teams of drivers that could participate on a monthly rotating schedule to make deliveries. If you could serve in this capacity, please contact deacon Mark Heidelberg who will direct you to the scheduler at the food bank.

Ministries

With health restrictions renewed for another month, worship services will continue to be pre-recorded and posted on our website, YouTube, and Facebook.  Though we don’t expect it for another couple months, we will be prepared to return to all live worship services when in-person gatherings are permitted for churches.  We encourage Life Groups to stay connected by electronic means.  A current public health order does allow some children and youth programming.  We are exploring how to proceed with this.

Thank you for your encouragement and support to church staff and leaders during this unusual season.  And if you are feeling overwhelmed, discouraged, or depressed, or if you need assistance in any way, make sure that you stay connected with us directly, or through your Life Group, and elder or a deacon.

In Christ,

Nathan Elgersma (Lead Pastor)

nelgersma@newlifecrc.ca

(604) 743-8001

Dear New Life Congregation,

In this time of pandemic and on-going disruption, and especially in this Christmas season, the staff of New Life want to bless you with peace and grace.  As we have been dealing with necessary adaptations to our plans at church, we know that you also have to make changes, adjustments, and even sacrifices.  This week we’ve reminded ourselves of the need to rest on God’s grace, sufficient for all that we must endure.  And so we bless you.

We have been so excited about the Bethlehem Walk that we’ve been planning since September, and have been announcing for some time now.  The idea was to allow people to go through the church building with decorated stations that tell and reflect on the Christmas story.  It would have been so exciting to welcome you through the building.  The latest restrictions from any kind of gatherings or events have forced us to make changes.

So, we hope to present to you an online version of the Bethlehem Walk that will be our gathering point for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  You will be at home, but we will virtually gather to celebrate our Saviour’s birth through video.

Weekly online services will also continue to be produced for Sunday worship in your own homes.  This virtual gathering will be the only way to meet until at least Sunday, January 10, 2021.  We encourage you to participate in these online services and keep connection with New Life Church.   If you have any needs or concerns, please don’t hesitate to be in touch with us.  Email or call the church, or use Pastor Nathan’s direct line (604) 743-8001.  We will continue to assess when we might resume in-person gatherings for Sunday worship and other ministry groups.

Thank you for extending so much encouragement to the New Life staff in this peculiar season.  At times it has been exasperating to continually adapt ministry with changing health restrictions.  Thank you also for your continued faithfulness in giving to ministry at New Life Church.  We have worked hard to keep focused on worshipping together, on sustaining a sense of community, and extending a hand of grace and mercy to the people around us.   Your donations have made that possible.

As we near the year-end please consider a gift that will continue to sustain New Life Church as we move into a new year, with great anticipation that no matter the circumstances, we can proclaim the love of God to our neighbours.

In Christ,

Nathan Elgersma (Lead Pastor)

Our mission partners are once again excited to have their items displayed in the catalogue. Please take a look at the catalogue and prayerfully consider how you can support New Life’s partners and missionaries.

Click here to see the Catalogue.

There are 3 ways to order:

1. Print off the PDF order form and bring it to the office with your payment.
2. Fill in the PDF order form and email it to the office.
3. Click here to fill out the online order form.  Once you’ve put in your online order, payment can be made by dropping off a cheque or cash to the NL office before Dec 31 or by e-transfering giving@newlifecrc.ca.

Thank you so much for your support! 

Dear New Life Members,

In light of the announcement made today by Dr. Bonnie Henry and Adrian Dix we are writing to inform you of how this will affect New Life Church moving forward and what you need to know.

In her briefing this afternoon she communicated that seeing as our numbers in B.C. have continued to rise, they have made the decision to implement more restrictions. What this means for us as a religious organization is that all our in-person gatherings, both mid-week ministries and Sunday services, are put on hold until December 7. They will revisit their decision in the next two weeks. Our Marriage Night set for Friday November 20 will be postponed to a date in the new year.

During these 2 weeks of added restrictions, we want to encourage you to stay connected to New Life Church and community through our virtual Sunday worship services, our virtual Sunday kids’ services, our prayer wall on our New Life app, through your Life Groups virtually, and by reaching out to one another via phone or text.

We encourage New Life members to abide by the restrictions laid out for us by our government and do our part to ensure the safety of everyone in our community. We know that this is not ideal and not how we would desire for our community to move forward at this time, but we are living in the reality of a worldwide pandemic. Let us be the examples of Christ by our lifestyles, our actions, and our attitudes in these difficult times.

Lastly, we ask that you would reach out to us to let us know of your situation. We want to know how your family is doing, what life is like for you, what does work look like for you in light of these new restrictions, how are you growing your faith, and how can we serve you and your family? Connect with us via, phone, email, social media.

God bless you and keep you,
New Life Staff

New Life Family,

Please be advised that recent health regulations restrict all social gatherings, however Dr. Bonny Henry said the restrictions don’t apply to churches and other religious centres.

We will proceed with the worship service as planned for tomorrow (Sunday, November 8), and further assess our activities in the week to come.

Please stay safe and observe the recommendations that have been made.

Dear New Life Family,  

We are praying for you and hope that you are walking with Jesus in this most unique time.  We sure miss seeing all of you, worshipping and serving together.  Along with this update we send our best wishes to you, hoping you had some refreshing times this summer, and encourage you to press on with faithfulness to God.   

Since our June update not a lot has changed with the pandemic conditions.  We continue to follow the health authority guidelines and we will adjust if and when guidelines change.  A guiding principle in all of this is to love our neighbor and ensure the health and safety of our church family.  We are also committed to praying daily for the church as we love and care for each other. Daily prayers are offered through the New Life smart phone app so you can join us in prayer.  It’s a great way to bless the congregation. 

VIRTUAL WORSHIP SERVICES 

Through the end of the 2020 year we will worship together by way of pre-recorded worship services online.  That will be re-evaluated at the beginning of January 2021.  This fall we will upgrade our YouTube channel (through which you view the online services) to increase opportunity for online interaction.  Our stage lighting upgrade is progressing and will be finished by the end of this month.  This upgrade will improve the viewing quality of our online services in addition to improving the over-all function of our auditorium.   Our main goals are to be faithful to the Word of God, engage the congregation in worship, and reach more people.  Producing virtual worship services has introduced quite a new task within our ministry.  We are thankful to staff for working hard each week to produce the weekly videos.    

FALL EVENTS 

In addition to virtual worship services, we plan once a month to host churchwide events for this fall.  Sunday, September 20 is the date for our fall kick-off service and we are busy making plans for that to be an outdoor event in the church parking lot.  With multiple services, we expect be able to host everyone.  Registration for the event will open soon.  Watch for it.   In October we’ll host another event on Thanksgiving Day in lieu of a worship gathering that will feature a food drive (for Abbotsford Food Bank) and opportunity for testimonies of thanks.  Plans for a November event and for some great Christmas specials are also in the works.  It’s going to be an exciting fall after all!   

CONNECTION 

One of our endeavors throughout this pandemic is to provide ways to connect to God and to one another.  We hope to develop some kind of online opportunities this fall by which we can grow in faith and encourage one another to follow hard after Jesus.   Life Groups continue to be a key component for connection as well.  Some groups are meeting together for the virtual worship services as well as other occasions.  Pastor Justin and the Life Group elders are available to assist your group in gathering appropriately, or in helping you get involved in a group.  Make sure you stay connected.  And as always, contact a pastor or drop by the church, we’d love to encourage you and bless you.   

 For Christ and His Church,  

 Pastor Nathan and Pastor Mike  

Dear New Life Congregation:

We are all coming to grips with the challenge that the Covid-19 pandemic has introduced a new reality to us.  Now we have to find our way around in that new reality.  In addition, the work of ministry goes on; in fact we are past the stage of acquainting ourselves with how to carry on and now we must adapt our vision and ministry plans to this new reality.

USE OF THE CHURCH FACILITY

The big question for everyone is when and how we will meet together in person again.  While we are fortunate here in BC to have relatively low infection rates the Covid-19 virus is not gone.  So we will remain diligent in keeping everyone safe and take necessary pre-cautions in accommodating people.  Here are some basic guidelines that will likely be in place for the foreseeable future (that is, into 2021):

• We can have in-person gatherings of 50 people, and we are allowed to have multiple groups of fifty, provided there are separate exits and entrances and no cross-flow of the groups.
• We must maintain social distancing of two (2) meters for all in-person gatherings, and provide sanitizing stations, and keep all surfaces sanitized at all times.
• Singing during in-person gatherings will be restricted if allowed at all.
• A registration of people in attendance will be mandatory for tracking purposes.

We are working on plans that will eventually allow us to extend our ministry beyond the current levels and limitations of doing things solely by electronic means.  Given the above guidelines we are currently looking at:

• how to offer weekly worship services with in-person gatherings concurrent with our virtual services, likely some form of “multi-site” worship services, with attendance registration,
• how to allow ministries during the week to function in our facilities, especially in the fall

– currently there will be no in-person pre-school ministries;

– ministry teams can meet at church for committee meetings, but with social distancing and confined to the foyer,

– ministries with open invitations must submit a plan that incorporates public health guidelines to host in-person gatherings at the church facility or, as a church function, anywhere else.

• how to allow outside groups to use our facility, e.g. weddings, funerals, rentals (currently addressed on a case by case basis and following public health guidelines).

STAFFING

We extend a huge welcome to Janessa Gritter, the newly hired worship pastor intern.  She will begin work in July.  We are excited to introduce her to the congregation and will do so through the course of the summer.  Also, we congratulate her upon her graduation from The King’s University earlier this spring.  We are thankful to God for Janessa coming on staff.  She had been hired on staff already back in February, 2020, before all the concerns and restrictions around the pandemic.

We also extend grateful thanks to Pastor Koenraad Beugelink who is wrapping up in his official role as Pastor of Faith Formation in the month of June.  Koen’s credentials as a commissioned pastor will remain with New Life Church and he and his family will remain a part of the New Life congregation.  There will be an opportunity to thank Koen at an upcoming event, and you are encouraged to send Koen a note of thanks for his 16 years of faithful service to New Life Church.

BOARD ACTIVITY

The Board of Elders requires a member to replace Stuart Bakker.  Stu has served a three-year term faithfully, and also was the board representative on the Finance Team.  We are grateful for his service, his wisdom and his humble discernment.  You are welcome to send Stu a note of thanks for serving the board so faithfully.

Bernie Huizing has agreed to let his name stand as the nominee to replace Stu.  Bernie has previously served as a board member for New Life Church.  He will be appointed by the board to serve until we have an opportunity to take a congregational vote at an official New Life LIVE meeting (bylaw 4.9).

CONGREGATIONAL CELEBRATION & CARE

Sunday, June 28, 2020 is our Year-end Ministry Celebration.  We are planning to have a reverse parade where you will be invited to drive through the church parking lot and greet and thank people in the various ministries of New Life Church.  Watch for Instructions, procedures, and more details that will be given closer to the date.   We are excited to celebrate the ministry that we have accomplished in this past year and to provide a way for you to participate in that.  Perhaps it is difficult to think of anything that happened before March, but we had a very good fall season.  Let’s give thanks to God for his faithfulness, and to all the ministry leaders and volunteers.

If you have any questions or concerns about our path forward through the COVID19 pandemic, please feel free to contact us anytime. As mentioned before, we are happy to receive prayer needs and offer spiritual and emotional support in this difficult time.

On behalf of the board and staff we extend God’s grace and peace to the congregation of New Life Church.  Together we press forward, seeking to be a witness to the gospel power of redemption and renewal.  To God be praise and glory.

Sincerely,

Eric Hoogenraad (Board Chair)

Nathan Elgersma (Lead Pastor)

Mike VanderKwaak (Executive Pastor)

Our office hours have been adjusted to protect you and our staff. The office is open and the times are Monday-Thursday 9am-2pm and Friday 9am-12pm. You are welcome to come by anytime within these hours. We will keep the doors locked during this time, but ring the doorbell and someone will come open the door for you. 

In a time like this, especially with the realization that the Covid-19 reality may last for some time I want to urge you to keep on keeping on.  Here are some “keeps” to keep in mind:

Keep faith — this includes gathering for worship with our online services (see our website), but it also includes maintaining or starting ways to stay spiritually healthy (the spiritual disciplines we have been talking about in our current message series). 

Keep your schedule – so many things are up in the air, or discontinued, and your own daily routines are probably quite different; try to keep a schedule, including bedtimes, wake times, meal times; and don’t overdue your screen time, stay creative with your activities.

Keep your distance – please observe all public health recommendations; that’s part of loving your neighbour!  There are no physical gatherings at New Life Church, the facility is essentially closed to the public.

Keep praying – we have initiated a virtual prayer wall on the New Life App (go to the menu at the bottom of the screen), we’ll keep reminding you to be in prayer and we’ll keep praying for you and your loved ones, just send us your prayer requests. 

Keep reaching out – we have to stay connected by whatever means; we have redesigned our website for this purpose, check it out; the deacons are ready to help if you need any kind of physical or financial assistance; the elders of the church are making contact with members in the congregation just to reach out, enjoy the conversation when they call; and make sure that your Life Group stays in touch with each other.