If you’ve never been to church—or you’ve attended a different church—you probably have questions about New Life. Here are answers to some of the questions visitors ask most.

Everybody at New Life seems so perfect and happy. But my life is a mess and I’ve done some terrible things in the past. Is there a chance I could be accepted here?

Answer 1
You will be accepted here, and do you know why? Because we’ve all done some terrible things in the past, and we’ve all been forgiven by God and given new life in His Son, Jesus. In addition, the Bible tells us that God considers one sin just as bad as another; that’s a hard concept for us to grasp, but it means that no matter what you’ve done, you’re no worse a sinner than anyone else.

If you think we’re perfect, it’s only because you don’t know us very well yet. In fact, as you get to know people at New Life and they share how they were born again, you may be surprised to learn that people you figured were near-perfect since birth once lived lives that make yours look like a Sunday School picnic.

That’s why we’re all so happy, or, as we’d say, joyful. We’re thrilled that God has delivered us from sin and its ultimate consequence— eternal separation from Him—through His Son Jesus.

Why do you sing several songs at the beginning of your service?

Answer 2
We sing as an outpouring of our gratitude and love for God and His Son, Jesus Christ. Expressing ourselves this way also gets our minds off the problems and details of everyday life so we can focus on the Lord and the message we’ll hear later in the service.

What role do women play at New Life? Do you exclude women from ministry?

Answer 3
The Assemblies of God, the denomination we’re affiliated with, has always allowed women to be ministers and hold leadership positions in the church. Women are respected as co-heirs in Christ (that means we’re all the same in Christ’s eyes) and play an important role at New Life.

What do I have to do to belong to New Life? What will I have to give up? Will I still be allowed to have fun?

Answer 4
As far as we're concerned, if you're at New Life, you belong. You don't have to believe everything we do to get involved in church activities. However, certain levels of leadership at New Life require membership, but New Life does not have formal membership classes. Instead, at least once a year, people who have demonstrated a commitment to Christ and the body of believers at New Life—and who have attended regularly for at least nine months—are invited to apply for membership. The Board of Deacons reviews applicants and affirms those who meet membership requirements.

As far as what you have to give up to follow Jesus: that's between you and the Lord. And no one’s going to tell you that you can’t have fun; however, your idea of fun may change as your relationship with the Lord develops.

As you continue to follow Jesus, you’re sure to find that there are certain things you’ve done in the past that conflict with your new relationship with Him. Although we don’t know what those things are, we encourage you do what’s necessary to follow Christ.

That Bible the pastor quotes from doesn’t have any “thee’s” or “thou’s” in it. How can that be the Bible?

Answer 5
There are many, many different translations of the Bible. For many years, the most popular was the King James Bible, which was translated into English in the early 1600s. The way it’s written is the way people talked back then: “thou,” “thee,” and all those verbs ending in –est or –eth (e.g. Wouldest thou passeth me the salt?) were part of everyday English. More recently, however, Biblical scholars have translated the oldest copies of the Old and New Testaments from their original languages into modern English. We use one of those translations because it’s easier for people to understand.

How can you say that the only way to God is through Jesus?

Answer 6
This isn’t something we came up with on our own. We say it because Jesus Himself said it: I am the Way, the Truth, and the Light; no man comes to the Father except through me. He didn’t say it because He wanted to exclude anyone; He said it so people would know how they could have a personal relationship with God.