Our Story




How it all started...

We came to the Buie Barn...

After much prayer and fasting, on June 3, 2007, an excited happy group of people of all ages--ranging from babies to seniors--gathered at the Buie Home Place for worship of the Lord and fellowship.  People from various places in the local area had been called by the Holy Spirit to "...come out from among them and be a separate people......" as described in 2 Corinthians 6:17.  Biblically speaking, their brooks had dried up and the Lord had finally told many to move on (1 Kings 17:7) from their respective locations.  Although there had been no formal invitation or announcement, the Holy Spirit had placed a calling in many people's hearts; and they inquired and came to the gathering where "anyone was welcome."

     The Lord brought us together in that wonderful, peaceful setting just off of Highway 99 in southeast Georgia.  No one really knew what to expect or who to expect and each of the passengers of every steadily arriving car was welcomed and greeted with great joy and anticipation.  The temperature was surprisingly mild that day and there was a gentle breeze.  Everyone brought a covered-dish delicacy, and there was much excitement in the air.  In the end, a total of over 160 men, women and children were counted present that day.

     The congregation that had gathered worshiped the Lord both in spirit and in truth (John 4:23), and then Bill Jones brought a short message entitled, "Cross Over to Your Destiny"  (Joshua 1).

    Several men from the audience volunteered to assist with a demonstration, and together they "built a memorial" (Joshua 4) with twelve large stones on top of a small table stationed in front of the assembly.  At the conclusion of the message everyone present was able to take their own small rock as a personal memorial and reminder of what they had traveled through up until that point in their own lives.  The small stone also served the purpose of marking the new path onto which the Lord was leading them.  On that day the congregation followed the Lord and crossed over to a new destiny.

A wonderful lunch followed the service, and then a business meeting was held for those that could remain.  It was during that meeting that the people present officially decided as a group that they wanted to form a new church, and a motion from the floor was made to elect Bill Jones the first pastor of that organization.  The motion was seconded, a vote was taken, and it was official.  An offering had been received earlier in the service, and provisions were made to immediately start accounting for monies collected.  Ideas were presented for names for the new church, and the process of determining a name was begun.  Steve Graham, Jeff May and Joe Peeples were appointed by Pastor Bill and were accepted by the congregation to form a leadership committee to help organize the activities of the group and provide some direction.  Realizing an appropriate building was needed for such a large group of people, the search started for a meeting place.  God answered almost immediately, and the new church was allowed to settle into the cafeteria at Needwood Middle School the next Sunday, June 10, 2007.

     

...and so it began

     We had a new church!!  Now with God's help and direction all the hard work began to make it happen.  He opened the door right away for a place to meet ... Not an easy task when the number of attendees was considered!!  Needwood Middle School on Harry Driggers Blvd allowed us to use their facility the very next Sunday.  For the next four years we would not only attend our new church but would have to set it up as well.  Every Friday evening our setup crew would arrive to prepare the facility for worship, children's ministries, greeting and eating.  Five different classrooms in the back of the school were set up for babies and children of all ages.  The Corner Cafe' and the Information/Greeting Center were set up outside of the "sanctuary" along with other tables at various places throughout the facility that were used for checking children in and out of classes and displaying information.  When setting up in the cafeteria which was our first venue at the school, we would fold up all the students tables, check the floors and bring chairs in from classrooms to seat upwards of 200 worshipers.  We were able to move to the gym some months later which gave us a stage and more room, but a bit more setup.  The gym would be swept and a protective covering rolled out before placing chairs on the floor.  All of the stage decorations, musical instruments, and sound equipment were put into place.  Dual projectors and screens and the rest of the sound equipment and  control booth were set up.  As soon as church was over we broke it all down, stored it away, and made sure the facility was clean and neat ready for weekly classes and next week's setup.  

     On August 5, 2007, the church received its official name of New Life Sanctuary after a nominating and two-stage voting process.   A sound system purchased by the church was first used on August 26, and new chairs were purchased by the congregation and used the first time on October 20.  On November 4 we were given our vision statement:  "Reach Up, Plug In and Branch Out!"  The next week on November 11 the congregation was given the church's newly developed Statement of Faith to prayerfully review.  January 27, 2008, was Charter Sunday, and the church took in members for the first time.  Membership papers for 234 individuals were received.  

     In the beginning the ministry needs for such a large starting group were daunting, but God provided at each step of the way.  There were so many things to be done---so many ministries needed!  With the excitement of the new church, everyone wanted to start everything right away; however, it was soon learned that steps had to be taken prayerfully as a firm and solid foundation was laid for the newly formed church.  

     Children's ministries for all ages were established on Sundays, and Vacation Bible Schools were held.  Wednesday night classes of all kinds for youth and adults were established offering subjects from Women's Studies and Biblical foundation classes to computer internet training.  The AWANA Program ministered to the children on Wednesday evenings, and they looked forward to attending every week.  Confessions of faith and testimonies were given by many that were healed and delivered of their sickness.  There were joyous occasions of the birth and dedication of new babies to the Lord, and bitter sweet moments of saints' home-goings to heaven.  

     The choir remained as an integral ministry within the church; and since the first time the choir members sang together, it faithfully continued to lead the church in praise and worship.  Women's and Men's fellowships were formed and were active within the church.  The church's seniors' Omega Group had their first meeting and dinner at the Underwoods' and later moved their regular monthly meetings to the Buie Home Place.  The Corner Cafe' has been a part of the church from the beginning offering coffee, tasty treats, and fellowship before and after services.  Official ministry and hospitality positions ranging from parking lot attendants to ushers to children's table check-in posts and guest receptions were instituted, and these activities along with the other established programs helped take the church into the future.  The church has a vision of ministry for the Lord in the community, and He continues to provide the proper the proper tools at just the right time for advancing His purposed through New Life Sanctuary.

     We would remain at Needwood Middle School for two years.  We did have three other locations for services during that time when the school was not available so we had to make sure that everyone was plugged in so they would know where we were to meet!  First we met at Mary Ross Park on September 28, 20047, and then in June 2008 celebrated our first anniversary back at the Buie Home Place where it all began.  We were at Greer Elementary School for a couple months in the summer of 2008.  

When the door finally closed at Needwood in July of 2009, we moved to Jane Macon Middle School.  At Jane Macon we found we couldn't set up for services until Sunday morning.  So setup teams arrived at 8 a.m. every Sunday morning to set up chairs, curtains, sound equipment, instruments, projectors and screens, sound booth and of course Corner Cafe'...not to mention all the children's classrooms and nursery.  Everyone knew their job and were pros by then at setup and tear down!  We would stay there until December, 2010, except for one Sunday---June 27, 2010 ---when we met at Altama Elementary School, while renovations were being done in the Jane Macon gym.  

The end of December found Jane Macon being razed so we were out of the school system and on to other locations.  God did meet the need.  We met at the Strike Zone on Jan 2, 2011, where we would stay until we found God had worked a wonderful miracle by allowing us to purchase the property at Harry Driggers Blvd....the permanent home of New Life Sanctuary.

We became the new owners of our new church home on March 3, 2011, and moved in on April 17, 2011.  What a wonderful day that was!!  After a dedication service of the building we walked the halls and grounds praying and dedicating this property to God's service.  We knew it was totally His blessings that we were here.  

Over the first five years, NLS had services in nine different locations.  Some can wonder if there is any significance in that number.  If seven is God's perfect number and eight means completeness, what would the number nine mean"  If you do some research you will find that the Biblical meaning of the number nine deals with judgment or the finality of things.  Basically, it is used when judging man and all of his works.  Nine is not yet the number ten, but it does mark the ending.  It is the last of the single digits in our decimal numbering system.  Thus it can represent the conclusion or ending of a matter as in finality or judgment.  We know that the procurement of our new building and location had nothing to do with the work of man, and all the options we tried were to no avail and not nearly as good as what God ultimately provided.  He did tell us in our first service that as long as we follow His will, He will continue to bless us above and beyond what we can ever hope for or imagine.  It seems that motives and trust in God was judged, and we were found worthy to occupy that which God has provided for us.  There is an on-going judgment of our living in His will that allows for His blessings to flow in our new place.  

The last few years at NLS has seen highs and lows but God has always been there for us.  Bill Jones chose to leave the pastorate in January, 2013, so a new interim pastor, Rev. Kirk Brown, was appointed in February of 2013, and in April of that year was voted in as the second pastor of New Life.  The church saw new growth in membership, but also in learning to trust God and seek His direction.  We are so thankful for all those through these years who stood up and filled in the gap for whatever needed to be done.  God equipped his saints, and He always provided the leadership in the different ministries of NLS.  We were blessed during this time when Raul Trevino became director for our Music department which really blossomed under his capable God-directed leadership.  Pastor Brown's tenure would last until July of 2016.  While Rev. Billy Swain filled in as interim pastor, NLS prayerfully sought od for His direction for a new pastor.  After five months of diligent prayer and searching, Rev. Dana Swain became the pastor of New Life Sanctuary in December of 2016.  He and his family have been a blessing to our church, and we look forward to great things in NLS's future.

So we end our 11th year.  We were nomads for 4 years going through the doors that God opened for us.  He never failed us and always provided.  Then He blessed us with a brand new facility.  It has been an exciting and eventful journey so far, and I can't imagine what the Lord has in store for us as we continue to follow in His Will.  I can hardly wait until this time next year to reflect on all the wonderful things He will have brought to us and through us in the 12 months yet to come.  Just think---as wonderful as these last few months have been, and knowing that the Lord only offers increase to those who believe and follow Him---this next year is bound to be awesome as He continues to bless and increase us as we grow forward in Him!



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