A brief History-

Matt Warren on Stan Warren, lead Pastor.

After many years of searching for truth, Stan and his wife became Christians through the ministry of some missionaries they met on a cruise ship coming back from Australia. This lead to their move back to the UK and, eventually, to Emsworth, to be part of a small church community that was working its way through the house church and charismatic movement.

In the early days, many of the pioneering members of the church sacrificially and generously, gave up possessions, and wealth to build up what is now a 20 acre site and which became the home of New Life Church and its Missional Training College.

In 1983 Stan, together with his family and one or two others, moved to Les Ulis in France (just outside Paris) to help lead a church launch. After about a year of ineffective ministry, a young man walked off the streets (who happened to be the district's leading break dancer!) and got saved. This lead to his whole family coming to faith, and opened the door for a whole host of unchurched people coming to know Jesus.  After much pioneering this young man (Didier Petit) and his family now lead one of the most dynamic churches in his district.

In 1987 Stan returned to the UK pick up the reins of the small church community in Emsworth, which is now known as New Life Christian Church.

Over the last 20 years, the church has been growing steadily, and has been a model of God's grace, both in saving and empowering families, young people, and senior citizens in the district.

The church's Missional Training College has sent out hundreds of students to work into local churches world wide, and has seen their ministries and families flourish. The church has established strategic links with churches in Spain and France, and has built a church centre in Senegal, with a school, which provides education and humanitarian aid into the local Sanar village.

As the church has grown, it has been planting and building small groups across the south coast stretching from Portsmouth right across to Chichester.

These small groups are a great catalyst for friendship, teaching, and influence into the area. This year (2008) we will be launching around 35 life groups.

Next Generation Pioneers.

Today the church is going though a new pioneering wave, as it expands and modernises its facilities for the next stages of growth, and is looking forward to launching a second Sunday morning service in the near future.

We celebrate what we have seen God do in the past – but we don’t remain there.  This is our time to be Christ’s hands and feet locally and in the world. Our future hopes and dreams are already in us – we just have to see them brought into being.

People ask: 'Why, with so much, do you keep building?'  Our answer is simply: 'Why not?' Jesus told us to go into the highways and byways and compel people to come in.  That's what we're trying to do.  The message is sacred.  The medium isn't.  We want to use every tool at our disposal to share the Good News.

We need to keep seeing growth – as long as there are people who need hope, salvation, healing and restoration, we need to be an expression of Christ’s Kingdom here on earth.