News & Views Feb 11

FEBRUARY MEMORY VERSE
2 Chronicles 7:14
"Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray
and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways,
I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land."

FEBRUARY 14th WORSHIP
ONLINE - premieres 9:00 a.m. on Facebook
INDOORS!! - 10:00 a.m. in the Family Center Gym
Marlin Hiett, preaching  -  Bruce Smith/Phyllis Enns, music
Colossians Series: "Put On the New Life"
Read ahead: Colossians 3:12-17 

This Sunday, February 14th, we will be having our first indoor worship service since the pandemic began. Praise the Lord! I hope you feel safe to come and gather with others in the gym. We'll wear our masks and keep our distance from each other to respect the health and caregiving concerns of our brothers and sisters, but it's a new day for New Life Community as we move back into our facility for worship!

ABOUT THE NEW WORSHIP SPACE
We will be meeting for worship and other large gatherings in the Family Center gym for 2021, or at least for the foreseeable future. The space has been revamped for public worship with a stage, new sound and lighting, and ozone filters among other things that make it both safe and inspiring. We'll enter through the west double doors of the Dining Hall, which will be kept open. That large space will be our new "lobby," with a welcome table and a mounted offering box on the way into the gym. The south doors will be unlocked and will form a smaller lobby with restrooms and drinking fountain, and will serve as our exit to classes and KIDS ministry.

The worship space faces east with the new stage and screen. There will be some padded church folding chairs set up for you to use, but you are encouraged to continue bringing your own chairs if you are able in order to reduce cleaning for the coronavirus between use. Public health mandates prohibit congregational singing indoors, so get creative in the ways you "put your whole self in" to worship! You can expect the service to be similar to the way we have been worshiping outdoors, at least for the next few weeks.

We'll begin at 10:00 a.m. this Sunday, but starting Sunday, Feb. 21st, we will return to our single-service format at 9:00 a.m. with Life Lesson classes and groups meeting afterwards. Please check with your class teacher or group leader to find out where you'll be meeting. We'll make that announcement on Sunday. Your former classroom may not have the capacity (25% occupancy) for your class at this point.

On Sunday, February 21st, we will dedicate the space for worship and recognize those like Eugene Enns, Joe Ehoff, Ed Pauls, Janet Southard and others who put in a tremendous amount of effort to getting it ready.

A LONG TIME COMING
The last time we met inside a building to worship the Lord as a congregation was on March 15, 2020. Since that Sunday we went without an in-person service for 17 Sundays. In one week, New Life Community launched an online worship service and completely revamped the KRDU service! Between Cece Olea (who started her role as our Community Strategist that week), John Warkentin with his video recording, editing and publishing expertise, Aaron Bryan and his creativity and innovation with his team in worship and music, and Emily Isaac, who handled video recording for my messages from home, we were able to produce and publish worship services and devotional videos immediately and with increasing quality from the start of the stay-at-home orders. It was astounding! Dwight Heier and Brian Hixson formed a great team with me to remake our KRDU radio program using previously-recorded songs combined with fresh songs, greetings, prayers, memory verses, sermons and benedictions. We went from two services in the building to two services online and on-air in one short week. Thank you to these and others like Elaine Isaak, who helped get the Gospel out each week! 

On July 12th we added an in-person worship service outside on the lawn for the summer and then on the patio for fall and winter. We held 29 Sunday services outdoors (we cancelled once for weather and once for COVID exposure), plus the Christmas Eve service Brian Hixson led. Bruce Smith, Josh Aquino, and Henry Serrato were tapped to provide guitar-led worship music, and Beth Applegate led a team of youth (Josh and Elizabeth Heinrichs and Aayliyah Costa) to provide worship, as well. Tom Regier, Isaak Reimche, and John Warkentin got the sound system set up, and Joe Ehoff put a TV on a rolling cart for lyrics. Donors provided new pop-ups and Judy Brown began decorating the stage area. Kayla Isaak and Tracy Bryan organized a team of teachers to lead KIDS Church. Stan Isaac handled the offering box and led the Deacons in serving Communion. Phyllis Enns and Jean Boldwyn provided worship music before and after the services, and many others like Manuela "Nelly" Lopez, the Olea family, Don Warkentin, Steve and Alex Gonzalez, Duane Penner, and Bob Sorber joined the service leaders and me in setting up or tearing down all the pieces each week. It was quite a production! Thank you to each one who assisted and led, and to Eugene & Phyllis Enns and Richard & Sharon Wall for loaning us their patio heaters during the winter!

Thank you, too, for praying for our church during the pandemic and for participating in worship even though it was different and uncomfortable, at times. The pandemic continues, but so does the mission of New Life Community. Keep praying, would you? Our challenges are not over, but it certainly seems we're entering a new day, praise the Lord!

These ministries are restarting indoors as well:

• Voyagers and Welcome Life Lesson classes will be meeting on campus Feb. 14th, at 9 a.m.
• Men's Bible Study, Tuesdays, 6 a.m., Dining Hall, starting Feb. 16th
• LIFT Women's Bible Study, every other Tuesday, 10 a.m., Room 114-115, starting Feb. 23rd
• Wednesday Prayer Team, TBD

Received Last Week (2/7/21): ................ $8,159.65
Specified Giving: Benevolence ................. $100.00
Received this year to date: ................ $219,841.50
Budget Goal: ........................................ $521,591.00
Budget to Date: .................................... $226,350.81
Needed Weekly to Meet Budget: ........ $10,058.32

NOTE: 
Donations toward the annual Open Gate “Souperbowl” fund-raiser may be given to
Open Gate directly or through NLC. The total will be announced at the end of February.

*COVID-19 precautions: For on-campus activities and for your safety and others' please
maintain 6' of distance and wear a face covering at all times when indoors.

Questions? Call 559-591-1176 or office@newlifedinuba.org