A message from Matt
Mike and I walked into the first service together last Sunday and I told him, “Let’s close out a great September with a great morning of worship.” That is exactly what we did! We had a wonderful crowd and a great offering and a uplifting spirit. I hope you were able to be with us, but if you were not, you can watch the service on our web site.
I was pleased with our attendance all through the month of September. Our average was 381 per Sunday which was up by more than 100 per Sunday from last year’s average of 265. All praise goes to God who keeps bringing us new people.
Well, the Food Pack was a huge success on two fronts. First, we were able to pack 62,208 meals for the people of the Ukraine, and we did all of that in about three hours. . .Things like this just don’t happen. It takes a huge amount of work from a great many people. Gary Serago headed up this project and did a fantastic job. He has been working on the details and coordinating things with IDES for months. Of course, Gary didn’t do all of this by himself either. He had a great group of volunteers who took care of all the details. Thanks Gary and thanks to all who contributed in every way.
I was pleased with our attendance all through the month of September. Our average was 381 per Sunday which was up by more than 100 per Sunday from last year’s average of 265. All praise goes to God who keeps bringing us new people.
Well, the Food Pack was a huge success on two fronts. First, we were able to pack 62,208 meals for the people of the Ukraine, and we did all of that in about three hours. . .Things like this just don’t happen. It takes a huge amount of work from a great many people. Gary Serago headed up this project and did a fantastic job. He has been working on the details and coordinating things with IDES for months. Of course, Gary didn’t do all of this by himself either. He had a great group of volunteers who took care of all the details. Thanks Gary and thanks to all who contributed in every way.
(Above are excerpts from his article in the newsletter. See the front page for the complete article)
First, we were able to pack 62,208 meals for the people of the Ukraine, and we did all of that in about three hours. The other thing was the giving to support the project. We needed a minimum of $12,500.00 to fully fund everything. However, because of your generosity we surpassed that number in a big way. Along with the many packages of meals, we were able to send a check to IDES for $18,247.00! The additional amount will be used to defray the expense of shipping all of these meals overseas.
A message from Mike
The music ministry is in full swing and getting ready for our annual Christmas Worship Celebration. One of the things we are trying to do this year is add a little more decorations to the platform area. We are in need of some Christmas trees. We are looking to add at least 8 trees in various sizes from 4’ to 8’. If you have been thinking about getting a new one, or would like to donate yours to the church, I would love to speak with you. We would like them to be in good condition. If you have one that you can donate please feel free to contact me at 407-683-0137, or email me at mike@nlchristian.org
This year's [Christmas] presentation is called "Our Joy Has Come". We will had a Christmas kickoff on Saturday September 3rd in the Fellowship Center. . .with rehearse from 9 a.m. until 11 a.m. Our performance dates will be Sunday, December 4th and Monday December 5th. We will also be working on the music every Wednesday.
Come join us as we celebrate the birth of our Savior.
This year's [Christmas] presentation is called "Our Joy Has Come". We will had a Christmas kickoff on Saturday September 3rd in the Fellowship Center. . .with rehearse from 9 a.m. until 11 a.m. Our performance dates will be Sunday, December 4th and Monday December 5th. We will also be working on the music every Wednesday.
Come join us as we celebrate the birth of our Savior.
Blessings, Mike
A message from Catherine Daugherty
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This banner is from the new women's ministry newsletter we launched this week. The monthly newsletter will arrive via email to each New Life woman around the 15th of each month. My heart behind the newsletter is to use whatever tools I can to stay connected with the church's women.
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Click to see the web page.
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Catherine Daugherty
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I LOVE my job at New Life! Recently when I asked who would write the news article about the New Life “mugs,” I glanced over at Gary, and he said, “you can do it!” Matt quickly agreed. That’s when we took this mug shot to show off the new NLCC mugs! |
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The New Life mugs are part of the goody bag of gifts and information given to first-time visitors! This past Sunday, our welcome center workers gave out the new gift for the first time. Welcome Center ministry leader Debbi Ragsdale reports that 12 bags were given to visitors.
During Sunday services, Matt shared with everyone the contents of the bag. I suspect he gave the bag and contents back to Debbi, sans the candy!
Maybe you would like to have a New Life Coffee Cup to fill with candy, coffee, or hot chocolate, and then “mug a friend!” Or maybe you would like to add one of these stylish, highly sought-after mugs to your coffee cup collection! No worries! You can purchase a mug for $5 at the New Life Café counter! Your purchase will help us cover the cost of providing these mugs for visitors. Check out the NLCC mugs at the Café!
During Sunday services, Matt shared with everyone the contents of the bag. I suspect he gave the bag and contents back to Debbi, sans the candy!
Maybe you would like to have a New Life Coffee Cup to fill with candy, coffee, or hot chocolate, and then “mug a friend!” Or maybe you would like to add one of these stylish, highly sought-after mugs to your coffee cup collection! No worries! You can purchase a mug for $5 at the New Life Café counter! Your purchase will help us cover the cost of providing these mugs for visitors. Check out the NLCC mugs at the Café!
Click for video clip
The Clothesline Conference is coming to New Life women on Saturday, October 15. (For information and registration go to the Women's Ministry page) Michele Pillar is a Christian singer, songwriter, author, and beautiful woman-of-God. She will be presenting her program called The Clothes-line Lady. We want our snowbirds to be sure and mark their calendars to return to The Villages in time for this event on October 15. I researched scripture, looking for God's Word on why gathering together is essential. God has a lot to say to us about being together. Paul told the Thessalonians, "Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing" (1 Thessalonians 5:11.)
A message from Gary Serago
WOW! September 22, 2022 New Life CC hit a Grand Slam Home Run with our IDES food pack. We told IDES we were prepared to pack 50K and you donated so much money that we increased the amount to 60K meals. We packed 62,208 and $18,247 came in to pay for the food pack. We had scheduled 4 hours to accomplish the packing of the 60K meals. We packed the 62,208 in 3 hours and 15 minutes. This reminded me of a scripture: Nehemiah 4:6 - So we built the wall and the whole wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a mind to work. (NASU) You all had a mind to work and it showed. May God pour out a blessing on all of you. We were blessed to have Tom Thomas, the minister of First Christian Church of Inverness and 19 members join us. J.D. Hatfield, the minister of Riverside Christian Fellowship came. They brought 21 of their members and Mandy Goforth is a teacher at the Rock Christian Academy and she brought 30 of her High School students to participate in the pack and they worked non-stop for 3 hours and 15 minutes. They all want to know when we are going to do this again. I don't have a date at this time but I will keep you informed.
Riverside Christian Fellowship did a video of the event that you can view at the link below:
https://www.facebook.com/voiceofvision.org. A huge thanks to you all for being the hands and feet of Jesus.
Riverside Christian Fellowship did a video of the event that you can view at the link below:
https://www.facebook.com/voiceofvision.org. A huge thanks to you all for being the hands and feet of Jesus.
In His Grip, Gary
It was another amazing week at New Life! Our newest Elder, Lyle Pettigrew, had a busy first week of serving our church. His area of oversight will be church finance. He met with the treasurer and bookkeeper on Monday and again on Saturday. We are in need of people to serve on the finance team as counters and financial secretaries. If you have an interest or experience in this area, please let Lyle or me know. The meal packing on Thursday was incredible and most of the elders were on hand for it. Sunday, between the services, we had the wonderful opportunity to pray over two people in our church family. We cherish the opportunity to do this and want you to know we are glad to do this anytime. We will come to your home, or we can do it on Sunday in room 150. Sunday morning you also had three of your elders on the praise team and one in the band! Remember, we are here for you!
Please call on us if you have a need. Remember, we are here for you!
Please call on us if you have a need. Remember, we are here for you!
David Wheeler & your NLCC Elder Board
