New Life Church

Our story is more about Providence than planning. What I mean by that is, since the Lord put church planting in our heart, we are open to help whoever he puts in our path. So rather than presenting our 10 year plan to the Lord, we watch and listen for his plan. We believe that will translate into us helping to financially support a number of church planters each year, that we have yet to meet. We are also open to other locations in the East Bay, as the need arises. The dream then is more about reaching more people, however we can, then it is about various methods, plans or current ways of thinking.

OUR VISION

VALUES THAT DEFINE US

1. EXTRAVAGANT GRACE

We celebrate and share life that is saturated by the extravagant grace of Jesus. We fixate on his perfection not our performance. Our entire ministry overflows from this reality.

2. BOLD FAITH

When it’s too big for us, it’s just right for God. We do not believe the lie that “God will never give us more than we can handle.” God will often give us more that we can handle so we are forced to depend on his power and sovereignty. We will not insult a big God with small thinking or safe living. So we pray big prayers and keep stepping into the greater things God has for us.

3. RIDICULOUS GENEROSITY

We will lead the way in generosity, out of recognition of how ridiculously generous Jesus is to us. We all start as spiritual consumers but soon we can’t help but become spiritual contributors. We learn that we will never out give God, as his blessing will always surpass our giving. Our staff and congregation joyfully put God first, and we feel honored to watch him advance his work through us: locally, regionally and globally. We believe that bringing our tithes and offerings is an act of worship and we do this with great joy.

COMMITMENTS THAT DEVELOP US

1. CELEBRATING

Celebrating Jesus through irresistible worship services. We boldly celebrate Jesus and his extravagant grace, passionately honor God’s Word, and attract people who are far from him. We design services where all ages leave filled up and fired up to take on a new week. Whether you are exploring who Christ is, or have been following him for years, you will find it easy to grow in the Lord and experience the life-changing and healing presence of the Holy Spirit, and attract people who are far from him.

2. CONNECTING

Connecting with each other through relationally-based life groups. Life happens best when you get connected. We structure for relationships because we cannot become or accomplish everything God wants by ourselves. We do this through relationally-based small groups called “life groups.” All ages can experience the personal growth, joy, and care resulting from our ever-expanding groups. We sit in rows to learn how to live; we come together in circles to learn how to love. Our primary pastoral care happens in our life groups. Life groups happen both on and off campus.

3. GROWING

Growing in grace through intentional discipleship. We are committed to helping more people mature in Christ. Maturity isn’t about age or information, it’s about becoming more like Jesus and more effective for him. We love having people at all stages of their spiritual journey.

4. SHARING

Sharing God’s love through joy-filled life teams. We love to serve and do it joyfully. Our best energy and resources go into developing and deploying great servers and leaders. We are honored to have dirty jerseys and refuse to ride the bench or sit in the bleachers. Serving not only makes us better individually, but enables our church to advance its mission.

CONVICTIONS THAT DIRECT US

1. NO CHURCH EXPERIENCE REQUIRED

This is an easy place to attend and invite friends. We love new people! Our VIPs are our first time guests, not those who have been here the longest. We unapologetically tilt towards the needs of the outsider, rather than the preferences of the insider. We welcome you just as you are! No church background. No special clothes. No Bible knowledge required. No matter where you are on your spiritual journey, you are welcome and encouraged to explore the Bible, Jesus and the Christian faith with us, at your own pace.

2. EXCEPTIONAL HEALTH AND UNITY

We are contagious with joy, honor, and gratitude. This is a positive joy-filled place. We love to laugh. We believe the best in people, speak vision and life over them and help them discover the dreams God has for them. We are a generation of honor, known for what we are for, not against. We are for seeing broken lives changed by Christ. We are for new beginnings. We are for loving and serving others. We are for communicating in gracious rather than judgmental ways. And we are for seeing all churches rise up and advance the gospel. We are united around our mission, and aggressively defend our unity.

3. A MINDSET OF ‘GET TO’ NOT ‘HAVE TO’

We minister from a mindset of God’s goodness and favor, and see all serving and giving as something we “get to do” rather than “have to do”. Nothing is more fun and rewarding than advancing the good news of Jesus, with people you love. This is our highest calling and we get to do it!

4. INTENTIONAL SIMPLICITY

We limit our platform so we can unleash our ministry. We believe we can accomplish more through the simple platform of groups and teams, than through a multitude of programs and events. This enables us to leverage our resources and people for maximum results, both inside and outside the church. This includes “Shadowing” and “Apprenticeship” for serving inside New Life Church, and “Strategic Partnerships” for serving outside New Life Church. Our simplicity enables us to reach more, accomplish more and enjoy more.

5. MULTIGENERATIONAL COMMITMENT

We are church-family committed to equipping, empowering and mobilizing all ages of people, with special emphasis on the younger generations. Uniting the wisdom of the “more experienced” with the zeal of “younger believers” allows us to grow from strength to strength. United, we will model our passion for Christ, his church and making a positive difference in the world.

6. PERPETUAL GROWTH

We are here to be part of a movement in our generation, and believe the best is yet to come. We will never stop growing—neither individually nor collectively. People matter too much, to do anything less! We unapologetically measure our progress, and adapt what we do, so that it is culturally relevant and highly effective.

7. ALL FOR HIS GLORY

It’s not about us. It’s all about Jesus! So we walk humbly before our God and others, give him our best, and never stop celebrating and promoting the riches of being filled with new life in Jesus Christ.