This Sunday at NewLife, we’re going to be celebrating what God has done in the life of our church over the past sixteen years as we dedicate the new building to which he has led us and cast vision for the future into which He is leading us.  In preparation for this Sunday, I wanted to share briefly some of the story behind why NewLife even exists, as well as what was the original God-given purpose and vision as laid out by the founders of our church.  Over the next few weeks, I hope to continue to share some of the history of our church, so that we might celebrate what God has done as well as learn from some of the hard lessons He has taught us.

NewLife began in the early 1990’s in the hearts of Eddie & Jan Alexander, a Glastonbury couple who believed there was room in Glastonbury for a church that would be dedicated to the ministry of God’s Word, open to the leading of the Holy Spirit, and reaching out with the love of Jesus Christ into the community.  At the time, the only church close to that profile in town was Glastonbury Community Church, which had been going through some difficult times, and was more traditional in style than what the Alexanders believed God was leading them to.  As the calling grew stronger, the Alexanders began to look around for possible partners, and found one in Pastor Mark Santostefano of the Worship Center in Hebron, a Glastonbury resident with a heart for the town.  A second partner was found through Graham Ingram, a friend of the Alexanders who was pastoring in South Africa and knew of a pastor named Peter Dewberry who had come over from South Africa to minister at a church in Virginia and might be open to this new endeavor.  With no guarantee that this dream would ever become a viable reality, Peter & Sheila Dewberry took the step of faith and moved their family up to Glastonbury to work with the Alexanders on planting this new church. 

While Pastor Mark of the Worship Center was very supportive, the rest of the church leadership at the Worship Center decided not to involve the church in birthing this new Glastonbury church, so the Alexanders and the Dewberrys began a home fellowship in Glastonbury with a few others in the hopes that God would bless their little group.  Peter began to make connections in the area in order to discern how God might be leading their little group.  Through the pastor of the First Congregational Church of Hebron, Peter wound up teaching regularly at a Sunday night home fellowship made up of members of that church.  As some issues caused division in First Congregational Church, this group eventually decided to join the Dewberrys and the Alexanders in pioneering a work in Glastonbury.  The two other original elders, Peter Baldwin and Ron Say, came out of this group. 

The young church, which decided to adopt the name “NewLife Christian Fellowship,” began worshiping in the basement of the Gallery Restaurant on New London Turnpike in 1992.  But after a short time there, they sensed the need to find something a little nicer, and moved to Academy School on Main Street, where the church began to grow and find its niche in the community. 

From the very beginning, NewLife demonstrated the ability to hold the Bible in high regard as the Word of God, while believing strongly that the Spirit of God can and does speak to us today.  As a result, the church has always been open to the Holy Spirit and flexible to new ideas and initiatives, while remaining true to the Bible.  Another important characteristic was that the church was a friendly and accepting group, a characteristic that has continued to the present day.  I still remember my first day at NewLife in 1997, and feeling like I had never been a more welcoming church.  The early NewLife also placed a great emphasis on family life, but balanced it with a sincere desire to reach out to the Glastonbury community. 

Next week, I will continue my reflection on the history of our church, meditating on what we can learn from the way NewLife began.  If you are in the area, we invite you to come to NewLife this Sunday.  We will be using our morning worship service to celebrate what God has done in our church as we place our trust in Him for the future.    

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