Sunday, December 29, 2013

Advent Season and Christmas 2013


As a church this year we encouraged each other to work through John Piper's daily devotional "Good News of Great Joy"
You can download this free Advent daily devotional for Christmas 2013 written by John Piper and provided by the people at Desiring God from here:
http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/books/good-news-of-great-joy

The ladies of New Life celebrated a trip “Around the World” at their annual Women's Christmas Celebration. It happened Saturday December 7thfrom 3-6pm at Brenda Bolenski’s home.

Our Community Groups held a combined Christmas Party on Wednesday December 18th from 6:30-8:30pm.

Our family and friends celebrated Christmas Eve at 7pm during our annual Christmas Eve Candlelight Service. 

Friday, November 29, 2013

Serving the Poor and Homeless in Rural Appalachia

We sent team to Athens, Ohio to help with Good Works Community of Hope the weekend of November 15-17th. Good Works is an organization that serves the poor and homeless in rural Appalachia.  It is the only homeless shelter in a 9 county radius in Southeast Ohio.

Sunday, November 24, 2013


We had our annual Thanksgiving Dinner on Sunday November 24th. This is a great annual tradition of fellowship at New Life where everyone brings their favorite traditional dish to share. 

Saturday, November 16, 2013

Operation Christmas Child 2013


A note from Samaritan's Purse: 
Thank you for all your partnership with Operation Christmas Child last year. We are very grateful for the opportunity to join with you to spread the love of Christ through the power of simple shoebox gifts.

Your service was critical in the collection of more than 7.5 million gift-filled shoeboxes in the United States that will create avenues for local churches to share the Gospel and begin Operation Christmas Child’s discipleship program called The Greatest Journey with millions of children. Together, we are seeing God work to impact the lives of children and families all over the world. We could not have done it without faithful partners like you!

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Autumn upon us

October was filled with church bonfires, hosting the annual Summit Baptist Association meeting at New Life, preparing for Operation Christmas Child, and the My Hope with Billy Graham broadcast. We distributed invitations to people in out neighborhood on Halloween night for a viewing party of the My Hope broadcast on November 8th. This was when the program aired on ABC in the Cleveland market. It was a very powerful message that I wish more people could see. We have also been partnering with Love, Inc to help stock and serve at a local Personal Care Item Pantry with several other local churches. We have been collecting and distributing items that cannot be bought with food stamps/EBT. Last month we helped to serve nearly 100 families in our local area through this outreach.
We have been growing on Sunday mornings, so we have added more chairs to the sanctuary to provide more seating capacity. When we first came to Medina we had about 60 seats out. We expanded early on to make room for 100 seats. Now we can seat just about 140. The Lord continues to bless us and provide for us. Please pray that we would serve Christ well and represent Him well to the community and world around us.

Monday, September 30, 2013

Kingdom Kids Starts Tuesday October 8

We are starting a new weekly program for elementary school kids. We now have a weekly opportunity for learning and fun starting Tuesday October 8 from 6:30-8pm. The evening will include fun activities, Biblical teaching, scripture memorization, Bible drills, and more. This is a new ministry led by Jeff Smith. For more information go to http://newlifemedina.org/kingdom-kids/

Friday, July 19, 2013

We're Starting a New Soccer Club

Ohio Fusion is a new soccer club in northeast Ohio starting in the Fall of 2013. It is a competitive and affordable alternative, developmental club team for anyone born between August 1, 2003 and July 31, 2006 (U8, U9, U10). For more information, go to ohiofusionsoccer.com

Getting Ready For VBS

Roller Coasters & Jesus = Colossal Coaster World
July 22-26 6:30-8:30pm at New Life in Medina, Ohio
Register Here

Thursday, June 27, 2013

Cups Cafe

In July we helped to put together two fundraisers to help raise money for Cups Cafe. The building was up for auction on June 26th. On June 15th there was a Family Fun Day from 12-4pm in front of the Cafe. We also hosted an open mic night at the cafe on Saturday June 22. Although Cups was unable to win the auction, there is much hope for the future of this local ministry. 
Cups Cafe is a non-profit organization where all donations go to feed hungry people, help the homeless, and serve the elderly, disabled and those on fixed incomes. Cups serves 50-80 guests a day. They rely on donations from businesses, churches, organizations and individuals to serve those in need.

Thursday, May 2, 2013

National Day of Prayer

I had the privilege of participating in my first National Day of Prayer service in Medina. During the evening service held at the Medina United Methodist Church, I prayed with Mike Van Arsdale from Love, Inc. for the families and community of Medina. Cassy Mathews represented New Life as she prayed for the students of Medina, and Buck Wilford, a member of New Life and the founding pastor of Brunswick Community Church prayed for the military.

Thursday, April 11, 2013

Two New Elders Appointed

On April 11th, the members of New Life Christian Fellowship voted to approve the appointment of Frank Haugh and Patrick Pinkerton as Elders. Including myself, we now have 3 elders at our church. I am looking forward to seeing how God uses these men to help shape and lead our local church. Please pray for us.

Saturday, March 30, 2013

Enrolled in the DD Program at TNARS

I have just been accepted as a student into the doctoral program at The North American Reformed Seminary. Larry Bray is going to be my mentor. I will be working toward a Doctor of Divinity in Puritan Studies.

Thursday, February 28, 2013

Christianity Explored

From 6:30-8:30pm on Wednesday nights March 6th to April 24th join us at 733 Twin Oaks Blvd for a short-term study called Christianity Explored. It is a video-based, introductory Bible study working through Gospel of Mark. You don't need to know anything about the Bible. You won't be asked to read aloud, pray or sing. You can ask any question you want. You are welcome to invite others! 

Thursday, January 31, 2013

Super Weekend

Friday night we will have our monthly Parents Night Out at New Life from 7-10pm for those who want to have an evening out on the town. We'll watch the kids for you. On Saturday February 2 from 8am-4pm we are hosting a men's conference at New Life. We are partnering with New Beginnings Church from Wadsworth for this event. It is part of the national Stepping Up Super Saturday event. As usual we will have Saturday night church service at 5pm this weekend. Then, Sunday morning New Life will have our usual Sunday School classes for all ages starting at 9:30am followed by worship service at 10:45am. Later in the afternoon at 4:30 we are scheduled to have a congregational meeting to discuss the state of the church and the vision for the next year. Following that we are scheduled to have a pot luck dinner while we watch the NFL world championship bowl game on the big screen!