New Life Church is a non-denominational charismatic Evangelical Christian megachurch located in Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States. New Life Church has more than 10,000 members. The church is pastored by Brady Boyd, and has multiple congregations that meet throughout the Colorado Springs area. The church is well-known for its worship music, having produced and released over a dozen worship albums.
Video New Life Church (Colorado Springs, Colorado)
Congregations of New Life Church
New Life Church has multiple congregations, similar to campuses, that meet in Colorado Springs. Each congregation has a Pastoral team and Preaching team.
All congregations join together for monthly First Wednesday Services as well as Good Friday and Christmas Eve.
- New Life North, meets at 11025 Voyager Parkway, Colorado Springs
- New Life Downtown, meets on the campus of Palmer High School, Colorado Springs
- New Life Friday Night, meets at 11025 Voyager Parkway, Colorado Springs
- New Life Manitou Springs, meets in Manitou Springs, Colorado
- Iglesia Nueva Vida (Spanish & Bilingual services), meets at 801 N Circle Drive, Colorado Springs
Maps New Life Church (Colorado Springs, Colorado)
Church Plants
New Life Church has planted multiple churches around the United States. Often in partnership with the Association of Related Churches.
- ONEChapel, led by Pastor Ross Parsley
- Denver United Church, led by Pastor Rob Brendle
- Mill City Church, led by Pastor Aaron Stern
- Boulder Street Church, led by Pastor Joseph Winger
- The House, led by Pastor Gregg Hampton
- Radiant Church, led by Pastor David Perkins
Campus and facilities
The church established its present campus location in the early 1990s and added buildings and added onto existing buildings in this location. The initial sanctuary on the campus, now referred to as the "theater," seats 1,500 and is used primarily for the New Life Friday Night congregation and New Life Kids on Sunday mornings. The current main sanctuary (referred to as the Living Room) can seat over 8,000 but is currently set up to seat 5,000.
The New Life campus is also home to the World Prayer Center. The World Prayer Team organization, founded global internet-based prayer efforts among its participants out of this building. The World Prayer Team is currently under the direction of Modern Day Missions. The building currently hosts prayer rooms for various groups including Families and the Military.
The smallest building on the campus is The Tent which is used for various ministry gatherings including the Junior High Sunday Service.
Children's classrooms are in a Bible story-themed area.
New Life Worship
New Life Church is well-known for its prolific songwriters (Ross Parsley, Jon Egan, Dr. Glenn Packiam, Jared Anderson, Corey Asbury, Dr. Pete Sanchez) and worship leaders, having released over a dozen albums (My Savior Lives, Counting On God, You Hold It All, Strong God, Soak) and hundreds of songs (I Am Free, Great I Am, My Savior Lives, Here In Your Presence) through New Life Worship and Desperation Band.
New Life Worship is now under the direction of Dr. Pete Sanchez while Jon Egan leads most Sundays at New Life North.
Desperation
Desperation Ministries is a national youth ministry that was born out of New Life Church.
Through its local student ministry, annual conferences, ministry tours, Desperation Ministries calls students to live lives of Passion, Mission, Intercession, and Consecration.
Desperation Ministry Academy is a training program for young leaders under the direction of Pastor Brad Baker.
Dream Centers of Colorado Springs
New Life Church, under the leadership of Brady Boyd, founded and launched Dream Centers of Colorado Springs which serves Colorado Springs in several ways:
- Women's Clinic, offering free medical care to uninsured or underinsured women.
- Mary's Home, houses homeless single moms and their children and offers support for education, medical care, life skill training.
Influence
New Life Church, along with Focus on the Family, established Colorado Springs as a conservative evangelical center in the 1990s. In 2005, Jeff Sharlet claimed that while New Life is "by no means the largest megachurch...[it] holds more sway over the political direction of evangelicalism" than any other church in America.
Under Pastor Brady Boyd the church has intentionally not involved itself in political activities rather focussing on ministry to their communities and abroad.
History
New Life Church was founded in 1984 by Ted Haggard. The church started under his leadership as an independent church meeting in his home. From these origins, the church grew through a succession of larger meeting spaces including strip mall office space and other non-traditional church locations.
Ted Haggard scandals and resignation
On November 2, 2006, Haggard was accused of paying a male escort for sex for three years and of also using methamphetamine. Later the same day, Haggard voluntarily stepped down as pastor so "the overseer process can be allowed to proceed with integrity", and that he would be seeking "spiritual advice and guidance". Two days later, New Life Church's Board of Overseers announced that they had decided to permanently dismiss Haggard from his role.
In January 2009, new allegations emerged that Haggard, while pastor at New Life, had an inappropriate relationship with a former attendee. Haggard's successor, Brady Boyd, said the church reached a six figure settlement with the man, who was in his early 20s at the time. According to a News Channel 13 report, the man said the contact was "not consensual".
Pastor Brady Boyd
Following a pastoral selection process, Brady Boyd became the Senior Pastor in August 2007. Under his leadership, New Life Church has planted 6 churches around the United States, established 5 congregations within New Life Church and launched the Dream Centers of Colorado Springs. In addition to pastoring New Life Church, Boyd has also written several books, including Fear No Evil, Sons & Daughters, Let Her Lead, Addicted to Busy, and Speak Life.
Pastor Brady had served Gateway Church in Southlake Texas and Trinity Fellowship in Amarillo Texas. He still has strong relationship with and speaks at both churches.
Shooting
On December 9, 2007, Matthew Murray, age 24, opened fire in the New Life Church, striking five people and killing two, sisters Rachel and Stephanie Works; their father David Works was one of the individuals injured. Jeanne Assam, a church security volunteer, shot and wounded the gunman who then killed himself. Several hours prior, the same gunman opened fire at a Youth With A Mission training center in Arvada, Colorado, striking four people and killing two. He was formerly a missionary-in-training with Youth With A Mission and was from a devout Christian family.
About the shooting, Jeanne Assam said, "I just prayed for the Holy Spirit to guide me. I said, 'Holy Spirit, please be with me...' My hands weren't even shaking." Assam's shots were non-fatal. The Coroner's report identified that the fatal shot was self-inflicted. Police found a letter from the shooter addressed "To God".
At a congregational recovery meeting three days after the shooting, Boyd told parishioners they "will not be governed by fear." Boyd appeared with Jeanne Assam on a host of media appearances following the tragedy. On April 17, 2008, the Colorado State Senate honored Jeanne Assam passing a resolution calling her a "true hero". After the shooting New Life made a memorial for Rachael and Stephanie Works with a stone and 2 benches.
New Life Church allegedly fired Ms. Assam after she came out as a homosexual.
In popular culture
Ted Haggard and other members of the church were featured on a 1997 episode of the PRI radio program This American Life, as well as the documentaries Jesus Camp, Friends of God, Constantine's Sword, and The Root of All Evil?.
Notes
External links
- Website of New Life Church
- Max Blumenthal, The Nightmare of Christianity The Nation (September 9, 2009)
Source of article : Wikipedia
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