In the Beginning
Our roots can be traced back to February 8, 1981a group of 93 people gathered at Gray Funeral Home for the first public service of Greenbrier Congregational Christian Church. Later that year, the church purchased four acres of land on Volvo Parkway and built a sanctuary. In 1993, Pastor Bobby Hill assumed the senior pastor position from the founding pastor. Between 1993 and 1995 the church went through a tremendous amount of change. They adopted a new government structure, a charismatic form of worship and ministry, a cell based ministry, built an equipping center, and commissioned its first of many full time missionaries.
A New Vision Birthed
In 1995 a satellite model was birthed in response to severe overcrowding in the Greenbrier building along with the scriptural promise in 2 Kings 4:1-7, where God provided oil to fill as many containers as were available. With the change in direction, the name of the church was also changed to New Life Christian Fellowship. This congregational model was seen as the direction to take in order to combine the strength and resources of a large church with the more intimate relationships of a smaller church. Starting in 1995 and continuing through the next three years, New Life Christian Fellowship launched 3 satellites into Great Bridge, Virginia Beach, and on Providence Road in Chesapeake. During that same season the church experienced explosive growth.
Continuing Outward
In 1999, Pastor Bobby Hill launched Vanguard ministries, an apostolic network to assist churches, ministers, and Christian leaders in fulfilling their God-given destines. By July 2001, Pastor Bobby transitioned from the New Life staff to lead Vanguard Ministries on a full-time basis.
It was God’s Timing and Our Turn
In 2000, we seized the opportunity to expand into an area with great promise, establishing New Life at Western Branch. As Pastor Bobby Hill led the initial planning, he tapped Brent Lucy to become the lead pastor of this congregation. During this groundbreaking season of ministry, the favor of God was evident as He provided facilities, significant financial gifts, and key leadership. On August 13, 2000 with a core group of 75 people in attendance, New Life at Western Branch (NLWB) held the first Sunday morning worship service at Western Branch Intermediate School. From day one, we had a vision to be a healthy spirit-filled church that would experience the presence and power of God. Along with that, we had a growing desire be a launching pad for churches, ministries, and personal dreams and destinies.
Deepening the Foundation
During our first 2 years, we focused primarily on strengthening the foundation of our local church ministry. By the fall of 2002, we had launched a youth ministry, multiple life groups, a growing intercessory ministry, and raised-up local elders to provide care and oversight to our congregation.
In 2003, the New Life Christian Fellowship went through a significant structural change when it transitioned from being one church to a closely-knit family of churches, each congregation becoming autonomous. New Life Ministries International was established as the apostolic hub for the New Life congregations.
The Present
Recently, our focus has been on further expansion out into the community and into the nations. Multiple local and international ministries have been birthed out of our congregation including: New Strength International Ministries, Crossworks International Ministries, and Kids Hope USA. We believe that there is a new movement of the spirit of God in our midst and we are embracing it with expectancy! God is adding new families, birthing new creativity, and raising up new leaders.
