A Message from the Pastor about Our Church

Welcome to New Life Virginia Beach online!

I came to this church in August of 2007. It has been a tremendous time. The people here have been warm, friendly, and supportive. The many new folks have quickly become like a family to us.

I understand that in this day and age there are a lot of different churches available to attend. Each has its own unique approach or vision. At NLVB we believe that church should be a major part of each of our lives. Each service should provide hope, encouragement, laughter, and even a word of correction as needed. It should be a place where you know other’s names and they know yours.

But church goes beyond that one exciting meeting each week. The early church was “...devoted to fellowship,” as it says in Acts. They took their fellowship very seriously, and at NLVB, we do too. We regularly meet simply to be with each other. After 2-3 visits to our church, you can be confident that someone will know your name and anticipate your presence.

At NLVB we have a very unique racial mix. We do nothing to cause this to happen other than to simply embrace and care for everyone the same. In our church of 200 people we have Caucasian, African American, Hispanic, Filipino, and Chinese. This provides such a sweet warm spirit to all of our services.

Our 3-5 groups provide a way for everyone to be in a group that knows what you are going through. It provides a group that allows each of us to share our needs and concerns. It allows us to be connected to the rest of the congregation and to be able to truly “bear each others burdens”.

I would invite each of you to come and be a part of the what the Holy Spirit is doing here and NLVB. We really have only just begun to see what He is doing with us!

Pastor Todd Rawlings
Senior Pastor

Statement of Faith

Inspiration of Scriptures

We believe in the verbal inspiration of the Bible, both the Old and New Testaments by the Holy Spirit as originally given; they are the final authority for our faith and life. (I Timothy 3:16; Hebrews 4:12)

God

We believe in one God revealed in three coequal, distinct persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 3:16, 17; 28:19, 20; Ephesians 2:18)

Man

We believe that man in his natural state is a sinner, lost, undone, without hope, and without God (Ephesians 2:1, 2; Romans 3:23)

Divinity and Humanity of Christ

We believe that Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God who by His incarnation and virgin birth took upon Himself the form of a man and became the God-Man. In the one person of Christ, there are two natures, human and divine, each its completeness and integrity. They are distinguishable but indivisible, so that He is fully man and fully God. He lived a sinless life and became the only sacrifice for the sins of the world. (Ephesians 1:3, 5; Romans 5:1-11; Acts 12:4; I Peter 1:18, 19)

Bodily Resurrection

We believe in the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ (Luke24:38-43; John 20:24-29)

Salvation

We believe that the terms of salvation are repentance toward God for sin and a personal heart-felt faith in the Lord Jesus Christ which results in regeneration. This salvation is entirely by grace and not by works. (Ephesians 2:6-10; Romans 5:1; Acts 3:19, 20)

Second Coming

We believe in the visible, bodily return of Christ to this earth to judge the world and to claim His Bride. (I Thessalonians 4:13-18; Revelations 1:7)

Church

We believe that the church is Christ’s spiritual body on earth today. It consists of born-again believers and has both universal and local expressions. (Matthew 16:18, Acts20:28)

Heaven and Hell

We believe in the doctrines of eternal punishment for the lost and eternal bliss and service for the saved; hell for the unsaved and heaven for the saved. (John 14:1-3; Revelations 20:11-15)

Satan

We believe that Satan is a fallen created being who is the “god of this world.” He and his well-organized company of demons are opposed to the kingdom of God and work to defeat and destroy the believer. While his activity is real, Satan and his demon spirits were defeated and overthrown by Christ’s victory at the cross. (Luke 10:17-20; Colossians 2:13-15; Ephesians 6:1-18)

Holy Spirit

We believe the Holy Spirit to be the third person of the Godhead who is active in the world today. The spirit indwells and seals the believer at new birth. We believe the baptism in the Holy Spirit is a subsequent experience and is available to all Christians to empower us to be witnesses. We believe in and encourage the use of the gifts of the Spirit. (John 14:16, 17; Acts 1:8; 2:1-4)

Ordinances

We believe that believer’s water baptism and the Lord’s Supper are ordinances of the church and should be practiced regularly. ((Acts 2:38; Romans 6:3-10; I Corinthians 10:16-21)

Our Mission

Exalt the Lord

Evangelize the Lost

Equip the Believer

Expand God's Kingdom

Our Values

Servant Leadership

Our church is a place where there is shared ministry among a team of leader. While the church should be led by those who have demonstrated godly character and integrity and clearly possess leadership gifts, servant hood is the goal of all leadership and ministry.

Believer Ministry

Our church is a place where servant leaders equip believers to do the work of the ministry resulting in fulfillment and growth, since when believers discover their God-given gifts and then release them for God to use; they will find significance and purpose in li fe. Christianity should never be a spectator sport.

Relational Evangelism

Our church is a place where the relationships with the unchurched are promoted and valued. Believers should always be alert to the opportunity to communicate the life-changing message of salvation through Jesus Christ.

Christian Self-Image

Our Church is a place where believers understand that they cannot earn God’s acceptance, but are freely accepted because of the finished work of Jesus Christ. Therefore, the church should never utilize guilt nor legalism to motivate its members, but rather should encourage them to live godly lives purely motivated by their love for God.

Celebrate Worship and Prayer

Our Church is a place where there is a commitment to exuberant and celebrative worship (free but always orderly), to the expression of spiritual gifts (to build up the body and evangelize the lost), and to continual prayer (both intimate and strategic). Worship should never surrender to fanaticism, spiritual gifts should never violate scripture, and expressed joy should never degenerate to infectious excitability.

Biblical Authority

Our Church is a place where the Bible is the authoritative spiritual guide, viewed as the Word of God, and should always take precedence over any church tradition or human opinion. The ministry of God’s Word is the catalyst for transforming an individual’s life and should be given priority in every believer’s personal and corporate life.

Cross-cultural Missions

Our Church is a place where the cause of world evangelism is vigorously and faithfully pursued with a commitment to ministering cross-culturally – especially among the unreached peoples of the world. All believers should be world-class Christians, having a heart to share Christ with cultures other than their own.

Overall Balance

Our Church is a place where balance, authenticity, integrity, and excellence should permeate every area of church life and relationship. Meeting people’s needs should be more important than maintaining programs.

Small Groups

Our Church is a place where small groups of believers are the accepted means of reaching the lost, cultivating relationships, expressing gifts, stimulating spiritual growth, developing leaders, and experiencing life-change. We are committed to the small group as the primary building block of the church.

Genuine Relationships

Our Church is a place where healthy and loving relationships are considered indispensable to spiritual formation and growth. We should relate to each other as a multi-ethnic, multi-culture blend of God’s people whose focus is not on social, economic, racial, or gender distinctions, but rather on the beauty of expressing God through a diverse body of believers.

Our History

Since it began in 1981, New Life has not only seen tremendous growth but has undergone significant changes. From a budding church plant to a multiple-congregation church, to a well-connected family of churches complete with missionaries and apostolic oversight, the New Life story covers a lot of territory. The Early Years describes New Life's beginning as a 31-member church plant, its transition into the cell model approach to ministry, and the ensuing growth.

The Early Years

Greenbrier Congregational Christian Church was founded on January 29, 1981 by a group of 31 people. The founding group issued a pastoral invitation to Rev. Wally Gabel. The first public worship service in their new building was held on January 9, 1983. 201 people attended. In 1990, the church name was changed to Greenbrier Christian Fellowship, and a formal vision statement was developed and adopted. Early in 1992, Wally Gabel announced his retirement. A search committee was formed, and Bobby Hill was called and voted in as the new pastor late in the year. Pastor Hill assumed the senior pastor position in January of 1993. In November 1993, the church launched its current small group ministry with eight home groups. A year later, the church held its first annual missions conference. It was also in 1995 that the plan for multiple worship sites was initiated. Because of that growth strategy, the name of the church was changed again in October to New Life Christian Fellowship. By this time the average attendance was over 600 people meeting at what would later be called New Life of Greenbrier.

Growth, Expansion, and Missions

The satellite model was adopted 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. The multiple-congregation model was seen as the direction God was leading in order to combine the strength and resources of a large church with the more intimate relationships of a smaller church. The unity of vision, mission, leadership, and money would enable the congregations to combine resources to make a more significant impact in areas such as missions, community outreach, and leadership training, than any of the congregations could make on its own. The first satellite congregation, New Life of Great Bridge, was launched on February 12, 1996 at Great Bridge High School.

Initiating the New Life of Providence congregation, Pastor Dan Backens facilitated a plan to establish a trans-ethnic congregation focusing on a new and diverse demographic area in Virginia Beach and Chesapeake. Pastor Eric Watt came on board to become lead pastor at Greenbrier. Also in 1999, Pastor Bobby launched Vanguard Ministries International (www.vanguardministries.org), an apostolic network created to assist churches, ministers, and Christian leaders in fulfilling their God-given destinies. By that time, the New Life missionary family had grown to include seven families and three singles full-time on the field, with others preparing to go.

In 2000 New Life seized the opportunity to expand once again into an area with great promise, establishing New Life at Western Branch. As Pastor Bobby led the planning, he invited Brent Lucy to become lead pastor of this new congregation. Pastor Rick Ives led in the development of the Saturday night services at Greenbrier, which came to be known as Saturday Nite Life! (SNL!)

Revision, Maturity, and Focus for the Future

In 2001 New Life recombined the Lynnhaven and Great Neck sites (planted earlier) into New Life of Virginia Beach under the new leadership of Pastor Sam Scaggs. As the number of congregations grew, it became necessary to revisit what had been the advantages of the satellite model. Specialized ministries in areas such as children, youth, singles, and worship functioned with central directors in those ministry areas who were responsible for the training and oversight of volunteer leaders in each of the congregations. It became apparent that their effectiveness could not be maintained indefinitely as the number of congregations increased, and a transformation took place to make all congregations more site-sufficient, thus reducing the need for many central staff positions.

A revised organizational model emerged, which recognized four congregations as “hub” sites: Greenbrier, Great Bridge, Virginia Beach, and Providence (and eventually Western Branch). The title for the primary pastor in those locations was changed to senior pastor. In July 2001 Bobby Hill transitioned from the New Life staff to lead Vanguard Ministries on a full-time basis. Joseph Umidi assumed the role of senior director, with a strong emphasis on developing New Life’s senior leadership. With the emergence and development of Vanguard Ministries as a powerful apostolic networking association, it became the vehicle for apostolic oversight for New Life.

As we entered 2003, the Great Bridge and Virginia Beach congregations were positioned to be the first New Life expansions to break ground for their own buildings, with others making plans for permanent facilities. The cross-cultural mission’s emphasis continues to grow, with twenty-three full-time families, singles, and ministries comprising the 2003 New Life missionary force.

In July 2003, the Senior Leadership Team and Executive Eldership of NLCF recommended a new organizational plan which the congregations approved that effectively transformed New Life from one church with many congregations to a well-connected family of churches. Other changes occurred as well with New Life of Greenbrier starting a whole new network of churches and the adoption of a local Spanish speaking congregation now called “Nueva Vida” (New Life) and a church plant in New York.

A new season of church planting began for New Life of Virginia Beach when a new opportunity opened up to us in Harrisonburg, VA during the summer of 2005. In September of 2005 New Life of the Shenandoah Valley (based in Harrisonburg) was launched and officially opened in September 2006 under the leadership of Pastor Kevin Strite making it our eighth New Life Congregation. In April 2007, Todd & Kristin Schuchmann completed the transition to North Port, Florida to plant the ninth New Life Congregation.

In January 2007 Pastor Sam Scaggs announced that he would be making a transition within the New Life Leadership by accepting a position as Director of New Life Ministries Church Multiplication Center and International Director for Lifeforming Leadership Coaching. Pastor Todd Rawlings was invited to serve as the new Senior Pastor beginning August, 2007.

New Life of Virginia Beach is now one of eight Churches and a committed member church of both the New Life Family of Churches. We intend to continue planting churches in Hampton Roads, in the surrounding regions, and, by God's grace, around the world!