New Life News
Praying 24-7
During the week of August 15-20 we are opening a prayer room at New Life for people to come each hour to pray. Then on Saturday August 20th at 7pm we will have a night of worship and testimony to thank and worship God.
24/7 Prayer is a Network of families, churches, and communities worldwide who are committed to praying intentionally for God’s mission, justice, and healing to come to the world. New Life is joining this network of people to pray 24/7 for one week.
We are excited to create a space at New Life that encourages and allows people to pray wholeheartedly for our families, our church, our community, country and world.
Please visit the sign up table in the lobby of New Life and pick the time slot you wish to pray during. You are welcome and encouraged to bring your friends and family to pray along with you. The prayer shifts are intended to be a minimum of one hour but there is no maximum if you want to pray longer. If you are unable to come to New Life to choose your slot, please email Shayna Bruinsma at sbruinsma@newlifecrc.ca and she will be able to help.
The prayer room will be located at New Life upstairs in room 301. This prayer room will be a place that promotes and encourages creative worship. There will be journals, paints, maps, instruments and more available to you. The prayer room will be a place where you can enter into God’s presence in whichever form you feel comfortable.
We want to celebrate and praise God for the prayer time and invite you to join us for a worship and testimony finale on Saturday, August 20 at 7:00pm at New Life. We are excited to join together in praise to God and to hear what He has done in and through us during this time of prayer.
For more information or to sign up contact Shayna at sbruinsma@newlifecrc.ca.
Update August 15, 2016 8:54am: During Sunday’s worship service (yesterday), we looked at Psalm 27 and learned from the writer about prayer – prayer during the confident times with God and prayer with the desperate times with God. Shayna, Jeff and Kenzie shared their experiences with prayer. Going into the service there was 40 slots of the 144 needing to be filled and after the service there was a crowd around the 24-7 sign up table. By the end of the day there was just two slots left to fill. This morning there is only one left. The first prayer slot began at 7am this morning. Psalm 27:8 “My heart says of you, “Seek his face!” Your face, Lord, I will seek.” (MVK)
Update August 16, 2016 7:19pm We are 36 hours into the 24/7 prayer week. We started 7am yesterday and each hour a new person is entering the prayer room to pray. We have seen individuals spend the hour in the room, sibling groups, or husband/wife teams. I had my first expereince 8-9am this morning. When I came there I connected with the person before me and he was surprised how fast the one hour time went for him. The room is wonderfully decorated and very peaceful. I found my prayer time to be a blend of inspiration and peace. I’ve noticed a couple people who have left the prayer room emotional, some amazed. The church building feels a bit different today. (MVK)
Update Wednesday August 17, 2016 1:45pm: We are 56 hours into our 144 hours of continuous 24-7 prayer. We started Monday 7am and today is Wednesday. Our staff at New Life met today and they reported the following. They noticed that the one hour time in the prayer room goes very fast and when the time is up, it is not unusual for a person to be surprised and a bit disappointed that it is over. People are looking forward to their time in the room, anticipating time with God. It has been a place of uninterrupted and peacefilled time with God – a welcome break from a hectic life. It has been inspiring for some to see the entries in the prayer journals, the verses on the wall, the prayers for our missionaries written next to their picture. The flow of people, of all ages and all stages of life is remarkable as people enter and exit the building on the hour. Staff also note they can feel the presence of God more in the building. (MVK)
Update Thursday August 18, 2016 10:05am: We are at 75 hours of continuous 24-7 prayer. It’s a beautiful day today. Prayer in the room occured all last night, reports are that it was “amazing.” Some of the experiences I have heard since yesterday of the prayer room are “This room is a place of inspiration … From the writings in the prayer journal and on the wall I can tell that people pray for different things, for themselves, for others, for confession/forgiveness … I don’t remember a time where I have sat and prayed for 1 hour like this, except in hard times … I am praying for family members that they would see the love of God … Hope we do this again.” Note: We now have an overflow room so that if you want to come and pray but haven’t signup for one of the time slots you can still come. (MVK)
Update Friday August 19, 2016 9:50am: We are currently on the 100th hour of continuous prayer. The scheduling continues until 6pm on Saturday and then at 7pm Saturday we will have worship / testimony night at New Life. All are welcome to come and share the goodness of God with others. I have had the opportunity to be in both the prayer room and the overflow room a few times this week and this has been one of the more profound times of prayer that I have experienced in 23 years of ministry. Thankful. (MVK)
New Life Live – June 8th Recap
New Life Church was invited to gathered on Wednesday, June 8th at 7:30pm for New Life Live. The meeting was held in the auditorium at New Life and hosted by Board of Elder’s chair, Eric VanEgmond.
Eric began the meeting with prayer and offered guidance on the manner in which we communicate at New Life Live meetings. He encouraged openness and honest conversation and noted that when there is evidence of contrary behaviour, it becomes difficult to continue to have healthy dialogue.
Pastor Nathan presented a summary of the previous New Life Live in April where we went through a guided process to help us discern future priorities. There are positive steps forward as the Board of Elders works to create a new strategic plan.
Representatives from the Joshua House gave compelling presentations and testimonies on how God is using Joshua house to bring freedom from addictions.
Pastor Mike gave a presentation on the proposed budget. He walked through each portion of the budget and explained the ministry of the church. He fielded questions after the presentation. The budget financially supports the ministry of our congregation for the next fiscal year starting in September 2016. The budget was voted on Sunday, June 12th and passed with an 88% majority.
Eric then noted the communication that was received from the members of the church and discussed each. We closed in prayer and adjourned. We are grateful to God for his work in and through His church.
Summer Review
June 26 – August 14, 2016
This past ministry year there have been several topics that we have been pretty intentional on addressing. “Oh really?” you say, “I didn’t notice. What were they again?” And when I remind you what series of messages we covered you might say, “I must have been on vacation when you did that series.” So let’s do a summer review.
We’re going to highlight in a single worship service each of the series that we did this past year. We want to make sure that you “got it” and provide a second opportunity to develop some of what we learned in the year’s messages.
There’s the old joke about a pastor who kept preaching the same sermon week after week and when someone asks why, the pastor replies, “I’m going to preach this message until the congregation practices it.”
Everyone always seems to agree that the joke expresses a good sentiment. This “Summer Review” series is our aim to express that treasured sentiment.
FAMILY FUNdamentals Sermon Series
Wisdom for Growing Your Family
May 08-June 19, 2016
Raising a family is challenging. But it’s also a great joy.
How can we rise up to the challenge, and at the same time grab hold of that joy? Is that possible?
One of the suggestions we pick up in our culture is that you just need the right expertise. It’s as if there is a special formula, or “these four secret steps” to family success.
The Bible doesn’t try to sell us that bill of goods, it is much more realistic than that. Just look at Bible stories that involve families, and you’ll know that the Bible isn’t trying to make your family look and behave in one particular pattern that will result in success. The Bible doesn’t suggest there is a guarantee. Rather, the Bible presents what we would call “best practices” that we can incorporate into all the different designs and choices that our families take.
By using the book of Proverbs (the Bible’s version of a “best practices” manual) we’ll examine the values and perspectives that are foundational to building up your family.
New Life Fun Family Movie Night
New Life Fun Family Movie Night
Saturday, February 6, 6:30pm at New Life Church
Kids, Teens, Young Adults, Married, Retired, all are invited to come!
Entrance Is Free
Street Lights
Jesus told us to love God and our neighbours. He also told us to help others become followers of him. And so in our immediate neighbourhoods we want to shine the light of Christ, creating ways for others to see what God is all about in this world.
In the book of Acts there are some amazing stories and episodes of people loving their neighbor. And when they did, the church flourished and became a light in the world. In this series we will explore what it means for us to lead people into the light of Christ, right in our own neighbourhoods.
We’ll learn habits, attitudes, and actions by which we can shape our life to be missionaries on our own street. How can we be “street lights” so that our neighbor can experience God’s love and salvation?
This series will begin on January 31st and runs till March 13, 2016
Cure For The Common Life
This new year we are entering a season of discipleship and mission. For January 10, 17, and 24th we will be looking at what the bible says is the Cure For The Common Life.
Most of us put up with a cold or two in the winter season because there’s just no cure. Like the common cold, we put up with “the common life” with all its annoyances and dissatisfaction because, well, that’s just the way it is. But what if there was the opportunity to live an exceptional and full life? Wouldn’t you want to grab hold of it? What if, instead of always wishing for something better or something more (a better job, a nicer house, more money) we would live our lives in the abundance that Jesus promises. In John 10:10 he says that he came “so that [you] would have live, and have it to the full.”
That sounds like a cure to the common life!
In these messages we will look at this “cure for the common life,” and explore what it means to live an exceptional life.
Everyone is welcome to come.
Coffee For Missions
Our Honduran Coffee has arrived and is available for purchase. The coffee will be available at New Life on Sundays and you also can order by emailing missions@newlifecrc.ca.
We are excited about the partnership between New Life, our mission partners and this coffee from Honduran farmers.
The New Life Mission Team desires to encourage missions, support missionaries, and to help everyone focus on serving in God’s kingdom in some capacity. We seek to inspire all people to participate in missions by promoting multiple opportunities and methods of involvement (prayer, hands-on work, financial support, etc.) to touch lives with the transforming love of Jesus.
We are committed to making local, regional and global missions an integral part of our church. Whether your mission field is your home, your work, the homeless and less fortunate in our city, or further abroad to the far corners of the world, we want to encourage everyone to actively participate in missions.
We are proud to sponsor a number of mission opportunities, including trips, projects and partnerships. New Life also supports several long-term and short-term missionaries who serve around the world with various organizations. By purchasing coffee, you help suport these endeavors.
100% of the proceeds from the sales will be used for mission work, so we THANK YOU for your support!
Honduran Coffee
Honduran coffee is smooth and full-bodied in flavour.
Rio Olancho direct trade coffee is free from brokers and middlemen which means a substantially larger portion of the proceeds is paid to the growers. In turn, the growers pay premium wages to their pickers who carefully select only the finest berries. And the beans are cleaned, processed and hand-sorted in Honduras to ensure that the Rio Olancho coffee that is exclusively exported to Canada is of consistent high quality and outstanding flavour.
These hard-working farmers take tremendous pride in their coffee, and they can see God’s hand in making this dream a reality. They give thanks to God for the success of the coffee project, and are ex-cited and motivated as they look to future possibilities. The green coffee beans are medium roasted for full-bodied flavour at Java Works, then packaged in 1-lb vacuum sealed bags in your choice of beans or ground coffee.
The producers have been taught to protect the environment where their crop is grown. This means that the green coffee beans are shade grown with organic fertilizer, natural insect control methods, and the natural habit is protected for tropical and migratory birds and other wildlife. By adhering to these principles of fair wages and sound environmental practices, the coffee has earned the Diaconia Nacional de Honduras distinction of being ‘Certified Ethical.’ The hard work these farmers have invested into their crop has certainly resulted in superb coffee — so good that the Honduran Coffee Institute, which inspects and grades the coffee before it is allowed to leave the country, commended them for their hard work and commitment to quality.
Introducing Dean Maerz
It was an exciting week at New Life since Dean Maerz began his new role as Worship Pastor. Please pray for Dean and his wife Adeline as they join the New Life family!
Dean is beginning his role as Worship Pastor and he comes to us with extensive experience as a musician, teacher and pastor with years of experience in music ministry. Dean and his wife Adeline have recently sold their home in Langley and are planning on moving to the Abbotsford/Chilliwack area soon. Dean will be serving in a part-time capacity (60%) and Amy Thiessen will dedicate part of her time assisting Dean with the worship ministry.
Dean’s heart is to be a worshipper of God and to be a mentor to those seeking to lead in worship. Most recently he has served with that passion in his role as Worship Director at Christian Life Assembly in Langley. He served there for 10 years. He also served in worship ministries prior to that in Coquitlam and in Calgary. Dean also taught Worship Ministry at Pacific Life Bible College, instructing students in the theology of worship as well as in music. As a musician he plays multiple instruments, writes songs, and has much experience in sound and recording technology.
Dean comes from a church background in the Evangelical Free Church (his father was a pastor). His passion in ministry stems from eagerness to disciple people, and to help them grow in their faith. As a pastor he loves to train up worship leaders not just as musicians, but also as followers of Christ. When you meet Dean, you will notice he is a person of depth, experience and loves the Lord.
As part of the interview process we asked Dean some questions. We thought we would share the questions and his answers with you.
How did you get into music ministry and what kind of training did you receive to be a worship leader?
Dean: I have been involved in music ministry since I was a child. As a youngster, I learned to play multiple instruments and our family was always traveling and singing at different churches. To date, I hardly remember a Sunday that I wasn’t in the House of the Lord ministering in some way. I have also attended Bible School as well as many other training arenas. I also have a strong technical background.
Who is your role model or who are you most influenced by as a worship leader?
Dean: My role models are really not the big name worship leaders of our time but the ones who weekly exemplify the term “servant leader.” There are many of these in my life who pour their heart and soul out week after week for their church and congregations, never asking for accolades or glory in return. They selflessly give hours of their time to follow the leading of their hearts, worshipping when no-one is watching. These are my heroes.
How do you prepare for a typical worship service?
Dean: There is a yearly, monthly, weekly cycle to worship directing. The first step is to be in sync with the overall church leadership, goals, and vision. . . It is out of this environment that worship is released and prepared for in a church. Once direction is known for a certain service, preparation can begin. It is both mechanical (the practical element of deciding song etc.), as well as spiritual (preparing hearts of the worship team for leading in the worship service). This is done in an environment of prayer, community, and humility.
What is your philosophy of worship as a worship leader?
Dean: I don’t believe that a worship leader is the person out front doing the singing. I believe that every member of a worship team is a worship leader. A worship leader is a person who is first of all, a worshipper, and second, called to help lead the congregation into the presence of the Lord.
What do you expect from the congregation as you lead?
Dean: There is no real expectation that you can put on a congregation. They will respond as they have been taught, as is their culture, and as they have been encountered by worship. The journey with a congregation is one of trust, longevity, safety, and hunger for the presence of God. As this is established over time, they will respond to God and His presence in a deeper way.
When do you find your ministry most fulfilling?
Dean: When I am able to pour what I have into others rather than make it about myself.