New Life Fellowship Church - Opening God's Door of Transformation
New York City possesses a history with a rich heritage of hope, opportunity and second chances. According to a recent report by the Mayor’s office, in the next three years, our city expects to add another 200,000 people. “By 2030, our population will reach more than 9 million – the equivalent of adding the populations of Boston and Miami to the five boroughs.” At New Life Fellowship Church in Elmhurst, we find ourselves in the center of this population explosion from people around the world flooding into our great city.
Our vision is to model well how to BE a kingdom community of God’s people, a new, countercultural family centered around Christ that carries out His purposes and plans “for such a time as this” (Esther 4:14). Towards this end, we seek to provide an experience with Christ that includes the following five elements:
1. Radical Transformation
We are committed to leading people into a deeply personal and intentional relationship with the Lord Jesus. Like King David, we aim to encourage every person to have one over-arching passion in all they do: “One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek Him in His temple” (Ps. 27:4).
2. Emotional Healthy Spirituality
We are committed to a living and modeling a quality discipleship experience through the integration of emotional health and contemplative spirituality at every level – children, youth, small groups, equipping classes, leadership development, internships, celebration services, marriage and family, singles and young adult events, etc. We aim both to develop daily, weekly an yearly rhythms to meet God (e.g. Sabbath-keeping and the Daily Office), leading people to a discipleship that goes beyond “tip of the iceberg spirituality”. Pastor Pete has written about this in Emotionally Healthy Spirituality (Integrity, 2006).
3. International, Multi-racial Family
New Life is located within what has been described as the most ethnically diverse community in the world—representing nearly 130 nationalities. We believe that our church is called to be a prophetic witness to the power of the Lord Jesus Christ to form a new family of people who are so deeply changed that even the historical hatreds and suspicions that separate us melt before the gospel. Moreover, we experience a taste of heaven when we live and worship together with people from “every tribe and language and people and nation” (Rev. 5:9).
4. Engaging The Marginalized
We remain committed to utilize our time, money, energy and resources of this great facility to reach out to people the world often forgets – immigrants, at risk youth, the poor, the medically uninsured and the disenfranchised. The completion of our facility will enable our present ministries to expand: the New Life Medical Clinic, the Food and Clothing Pantry, our Beats and Blessings outreach to at-risk youth, our English classes for immigrants. A number of other needed initiatives, once the building is completed, will then be launched (e.g. our legal clinic for undocumented peoples, after school programs, sports programs, mentoring for youth and children).
5. Global Partnerships
New Life is entering a time when we are expanding the tent pegs of our call now beyond New York City and this country. We presently have workers in the Philippines and the Caribbean, and have a rapidly, growing ministry to pastors and leaders around North America. We believe God is calling us at New Life to be a global resource in His larger work around the world. As a result, we are presently exploring open doors of partnership with the church in Africa and Asia, waiting on Him for the specific strategic partnerships into which He is calling us to enter.
New Life Fellowship Historical Timeline
Sept. 1987 – Pete and Geri Scazzero launch New Life Fellowship Church at Union Evangelical Church in Corona, New York. Thirty-three people attend the first service. Average offerings the first few months are about $123 a week. Two small groups are meeting.
November 1988 – New Life begins feeding the homeless each Saturday as homeless people sleep on entrance to the church
Oct 1990 – New Life continues to grow numerically. Within three years, the church is averaging almost three hundred. Fifty to sixty people from the English congregation in the morning launch a Spanish congregation at 1:30 services on Sundays.
Fall 1992 - Rapid growth begins attracting national attention. New Life is an “exciting place” to be. New Life receives outside money to expand internship to ten full time people and begin planting other urban churches.
October 1993 – Growth causes New Life to move from Corona to the Elks Lodge on Queens Blvd. The Spanish hold services in both Corona and Elmhurst.
1993-1994 – Over-expansion places great pressure on the leadership and undeveloped infrastructure. Spanish congregation splits.
1994-1996 – Pete and Geri begin their inward journey, knowing “something is desperately wrong.” They begin wrestling with a discipleship model that integrates emotional health. New Life enters into a season of uncertainty.
Jan. 1996 – This downward, difficult journey climaxes in God meeting Pete and Geri personally, in their marriage, and in their leadership. It becomes clear, finally, that spiritual maturity and emotional maturity are inseparable. They take a three month sabbatical to retool their lives.
Summer 1996 — Julio Rodriquez, a seven year old Christian takes over the Spanish congregation, Iglesia Nueva Vida. The congregation prospers and becomes one of the larger Spanish churches in New York City. They eventually lease a large warehouse space in Woodside.
Summer 1997 – Summer mission trips begin to the Cebu area of the Philippines. This investment into church planting there, evangelism, and community development continues each year, culminating in Rick and JiJi Harner moving permanently in 2006 to work and serve there.
1996-2002 – New Life begins slowly integrating emotional health into her discipleship. The church slows down. Marriage and relationships take front and center. The first of many marriage retreats are held. Internship with outside money ends. New Life slows down.
Spring 1998 - Elks Lodge announces they are selling the building. New Life begins negotiating to buy it.
Feb. 2003 – Pete publishes the New Life journey in The Emotionally Healthy Church (Zondervan, 2003). The book wins the Gold Medallion.
December 17, 2003 – New Life purchases the Elks Lodge for $6.5 million after over five years of hard negotiations. The church, through much sacrificial giving, puts down $3.8 million towards the purchase price.
Spring 2004 - The New Life Community Development Corporation expands with the purchase of the building. The medical clinic, Beats and Blessings, teaching English as a second language and the food pantry begin taking shape.
Summer 2004 - Pete and Geri go on their second sabbatical focused on contemplative, monastic spirituality. Jim Owens, Debbie Temple, and Peter Glus form a director team to begin leading New Life in her day to day operation. The church prospers.
Fall 2004- 2006 - New Life slowly begins integrating contemplative spirituality with emotional health. The first contemplative prayer services are held. The church continues growing. Pete and Geri begin speaking around North America to pastors and leaders, taking New Life “on the road.”
July 2006 – Emotionally Healthy Spirituality (Integrity/Nelson, 2006) is published, recounting New Life’s journey into the contemplative tradition.
April 2007 - Doorway to Transformation is launched to complete renovations of the building over the next three years.
2007 and beyond – May we do God’s will and follow His journey for us as a church.
