Newfrontiers is a church planting movement. We believe that the most effective way to reach the nation for Jesus is to plant new churches. New Life Church is one such plant, and this is our story so far.
In 2005, the four Newfrontiers churches in Bedford found they had enough members who lived in the Rushden area to form the core of a new church. This group began meeting monthly in Rushden to pray.
In 2006, Phil and Liz Dowling felt God speaking to them about moving from Southside Family Church, Bedford, to lead the new church. The group welcomed Phil and Liz and began to meet with them weekly through the autumn to build relationships and lay the foundations of church life. We also began meeting one Sunday a month, as the run-up to the launch of New Life Church early in 2007.
In February 2007, New Life Church was officially launched, meeting on Sunday mornings in the Ferrers Specialist Arts College in Higham Ferrers, and mid-week in “Life Groups” in people’s homes. It was a year of “Firsts” – our first Alpha course, first Carol Service, First Quiz Night, to name a few.
In 2008, we held our first baptisms and grew to four Life Groups. We saw a number of people healed, and Alpha continued to impact those attending it. We built friendships with three overseas churches in Uganda, Nigeria and Russia, and enjoyed visits from their leaders.
In 2009 we have seen steady growth and recently relaunched our Life Groups, which provide the main focus for church life and growth outside Sunday meetings. We look back over the last three years with gratitude to God for our growth so far from small beginnings. We also look forward to all that God has in store as he continues to build us into a vibrant, relevant church that will play it’s part in blessing our local community and serving God’s great plan to fill the earth with the knowledge of his glory.
