New Life Update

Leigh-Ann and I hope you had a very Merry Christmas and are looking forward to the best New Year of your life. God has given us the gift of anticipation. This is the hope that we have for a blessed future. We can dream expectantly, knowing that God’s plans are “for wholeness and not for evil, to give us a future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:11 ESV).

These “plans” seem to be pointing toward a relationship with a Christian Real Estate company that is very interested in helping us acquire a building for the church that is large enough to house an auditorium, childcare facilities, office space and coffee shop. The two partners are Christians who God has used to help many other ministries. Right now we are seriously pursuing the Scarritt Building. Please continue to pray with us that God will reveal His perfect will regarding this very important step in the process of starting New Life Ministries downtown.

The doors continue to swing wide open for us to start a Bible study downtown. At this point it looks like we will be meeting during the month of January with any men who are interested in being part of the core leadership for this study. We will meet from 6:30 – 7:30am. If you would like more information on this opportunity, email me and I will fill you in.

We are also looking forward to a Wednesday night Bible study. This will be at the home of Tony and Sarah Totta. If you would like to be a part of this please contact them.

The ministry teams are starting to come together and we still need help in a number of areas. If you have not committed to a team, please pray hard about what God would have you to do.

As you prepare for 2007 please remember the following requests:

• We need a heart to minister to all types of people (Matthew 9:36)
  
• We need people to commit to serve in the church (Matthew 9:37-38)
  
• We need divine unity among all people involved (John 17:21)
  
• We need God to supply our financial needs (Philippians 4:19)
  

If there is anything we can do to help you, please let us know. We wish you God’s BEST this next year!

Pastor Troy and Leigh-Ann

New Life Update

Christmas is just around the corner and I have not purchased one present yet. Leigh-Ann and I have a tradition of getting it all done in one day—and that day is this Monday. If you are out at the stores and see a couple of people in jogging suits running around the stores, please stop and say “hi” to us ☺.

Part of the reason for our “Christmas shopping famine” is that we just returned home from a week of vacation and we had a great time. We spent a few days in San Diego with our friends, and then spent the remainder of the trip with my Uncle and Aunt. We had tons of fun, saw a lot of really cool things and places, spent time at three different churches and were able to strengthen many friendships.

We arrived back into Kansas City this past Wednesday night. On Thursday, we had a launch team meeting that went very well. It is really amazing to think about all the people that God has brought together to help with planting His church downtown. We were able to give an update on the Men’s Bible study that will start downtown during the month of January. Tony and Sarah Totta are also planning to start a Wednesday evening Bible study at their house in January to serve as a model for our Wednesday, in-home small group studies.

We have been praying for God to lead our launch team to the best place of service and have divided the ministry opportunities into the following ministry teams:

• Prayer Team – We need thousands of people to pray for God’s church downtown
  
• Outreach Team – We must communicate “New Life” to our entire area
  
• Growth Team – From the minute people arrive we must meet needs
  
• Discipleship Team – All Christians are called to grow and mentor growth
• Music Team – Music is a spiritual experience that draws people into worship
• Youth Team – From babies to teenagers, we must train the next generation
• Technology Team – We must be cutting edge in our technology
• Facilities Team – We must be good stewards of our building and belongings
• Financial Team – We must plan, budget and track our money
• Documentation Team – We do not want to forget all that God has done for us

Nuance Marketing Group has also designed our logo as the first step of the brand identity process. So far we have had rave reviews. We have also delivered a proposal for purchasing the building and we are praying that God will clearly lead us into His perfect will for our church home.

While in California, we met with a group of Real Estate Professionals that specialize in helping churches. After hearing the story of New Life and looking over all our information, the president is flying into town on Monday (yes, our shopping day) to look at the Scarritt Building and discuss the possibilities of helping us purchase the building. This is a huge undertaking for a start-up church, but we are overwhelmingly confident that God is able and poised to do things far beyond our pea-brained imaginations☺.

With these blessing in mind, we will be having our first service in 3-1/2 months — we need to be active in prayer for this to become a reality.

I hope you will join us in prayer for the following specific needs:

• We need to raise $146,500 in start up funds for the new church. This will pay for chairs, nursery and children’s ministry supplies, technology, music needs, building upgrades, etc.
  
• We need to see God work in the purchase of the right building for the right price.
  
• We need more people willing to lead or be a part of our ministry teams.
  
• We need to stay pure before God in our motives and actions.
  

I hope you have a great week preparing for Christmas and New Years.

Merry Christmas and God Bless!

Pastor Troy

New Life Update

We had a great meeting with the owner of the Scarritt Building. It was a clear and direct answer to prayer. Before we went in we prayed that God would make it evident how we should proceed in regards to focusing in on the right property. Tony Totta, Mark Greenway and I were able to share the story of how God has called us downtown. We were also able to share the burden that we have for the people that will be touched by the church, daycare and counseling center.

It was at this point in the conversation that things began to get exciting as we dreamed about the ministry opportunities and the possibilities of partnering with his ministries in Northeast Missouri. He shared stories of lives that he has seen God change including his own.

After about 30 minutes we began to talk about the business side of the meeting and he quickly shared that they would really like to see us get the building. He said that it does bring in a profit and told us to work out the numbers so they do not stretch us financially. As I see it, as long as we can make a strong case for the price he is willing to accept.

After an hour of sharing blessings, vision and discussion the building, the owner, three of his assistants, Tony, Mark and myself were able to close in prayer. What a blessing!

We must continue to pray for God’s wisdom in compiling the proposal. We must also pray for the meetings next week to go well.

Thanks again for your prayers.
Pastor Troy