We value worship that is meaningful and relevant. Our Sunday morning gathering is contemporary and celebrative, casual and informal, with a high emphasis on quality care and education for children and families.

OUR CORE VALUES

1. We want to make a difference by actively working to transform our families, neighborhoods and communities.
   
   
2. We want to empower one another by providing an environment where individuals can be active in areas which allow them to use their unique God-given gifts and passions.
   
   
3. We want to multiply our effectiveness be mentoring, resourcing and building each other up.
   
   
4. We want to be relevant to people's everyday lives by communicating in a place, form, and style that meets them where they are.
   
   
5. We want to be team players in ministry by working with and not against others in a unified effort to reach those in need.
   
   
6. We want to be authentic in our lives and relationships by creating an environment that is safe and provides the needed care, support and accountability we need to live this out.
   
   
7. We want to be effective in everything we do by concentrating primarily on those things which we do the best and which have the greatest impact because we all have limited time, energy and resources.
   
   

OUR HISTORY

In the spring of 2004, the Muskegon Classis of the Reformed Church in America approached the pastor Todd D. Bush with the desire to plant a new Reformed Church on the lakeshore. In the fall of 2004, after accepting the offer to start this new ministry, the vision for New Life Community Church had been formulated and Easter Morning of 2005 was chosen to be the first worship gathering.

The Trillium Conference and Banquet Center in Spring Lake agreed to allow us to meet in their facilities and publicity mailings were sent out to the surrounding communities. That Easter morning was a day full of anticipation and trepidation. Anticipation because it was time to give birth to this new ministry and see what would happen. Trepidation, because we didn't know if anybody would show up besides pastor Todd, his wife Carol, their three daughters and eight others who worked diligently to make this happen. Would there be thirteen or thirty was the question in the back of each of our minds.

As the service time edged closer and closer very few people were seen driving into the near empty parking lot. Thirty minutes before the service, there was nobody. Twenty minutes before the service, still nobody. Finally, approximately ten minutes before the service was to begin, people began to slowly trickle in until nearly 200 were in attendance. What a miracle God provided on that Easter Sunday. Apparently, He wanted to teach us patience and test the strength of each of our deodorants. Over the next several months the attendance settled down to about 110 at each Sunday gathering until slow but constant growth became the norm.

As the ministry began to grow, New Life Church, in the summer of 2005, hired its first staff position. This person was a talented young woman by the name of Shirley Cohea-Myers. Shirley joined New Life's family with the gifts and vision to develop and lead its worship gatherings.  Shirley (akapuzzle@msn.com) has developed an authentic and contemporary worship setting led with an acoustic guitar and supported by other talented live musicians. Additionally, in the summer of 2006 New Life brought its second person on staff, Keith R. Benthin to work with and develop a powerful children's ministry for primary, middle school and high school children.

In October of 2007, New Life Church, purchased 11.5 acres on Pontaluna Rd. approximately 1 mile west of US-31.  Currently, the home that is located on this acreage has been converted to office space and gathering space for mid-week ministries.  This 24/7 space has been an enormous blessing for the growth of this young church by providing a hub for communication and activity.

In June of 2009, Sunday Morning gatherings were moved from the Trillium Conference & Banquet Center on VanWagoner Rd. to the Fruitport Middle School on Pontaluna Rd.  This provided greater flexibility as well as much needed space for both our the worship celebrations and the constantly growing children's ministry.

As we continue to develop as a young church, we do so being committed to actively training leaders, taking the time to prepare for the struggles associated with constant growth, anticipating future decisions associated with facility limitations and continuing to focus on investing in people's lives as they build lives of meaning and purpose.