The congregation of New Life Baptist Church in Kimberly voted in May to relaunch as New Life Christian Fellowship.
Pastor Duane Graves explained the decision. “A new name allows us to re-present ourselves to the community and start over with a new vision.”
And that is what a relaunch entails. It allows a church that has regressed, instead of progressed, over time to start fresh, to reinvent themselves. It may include a new staff, a new vision, or a new worship style
New Life was approached by its association, North Jefferson, in 2001 about considering a relaunch since their numbers had dwindled to just a few families.
Meanwhile, Duane and Diane Graves were serving in a church they helped start in Mandeville, La., when he felt the call to go and start another church. Graves felt God was leading him back to Alabama where he lived during his teenage years.
Diane notes, “At first, we asked ‘Why Alabama? There’s a church on every corner there.’ But we prayed for confirmation and God confirmed His calling.”
The Graves moved to Birmingham in June 2001 and began attending Fullness Christian Fellowship, a Southern Baptist church in Hoover. “We loved being a part of Fullness. However, we never actually joined, knowing that God would soon be leading us to a new church start opportunity,” Diane explained.
But God’s call did not come the way they expected.
A new start
After living in Birmingham just a few months, leaders from New Life approached Duane about serving as pastor of their church. Duane recalls “I immediately told them that God had called me here to start a church not pastor an existing one. That’s when they shared their vision of relaunching the church.”
With the support of Fullness Christian Fellowship, the Graveses accepted New Life’s call. Graves began as pastor of the small congregation in January of this year and has led the relaunch effort.
He is excited about the progress they have already made, as witnessed in their homecoming celebration on Aug. 25. They had more than 50 worshipers in attendance, the best crowd this year.
Duane has high hopes for an upcoming outreach effort in the community surrounding the church. Church leaders are meeting to plan ways to reach and serve their community. Then they will canvas the community with the help of the Impact Team from City of Hope.
“Over two to three weeks we will knock on everyone’s door, let them know who we are and ask if we can help them of pray for them in any way,” explained Graves.
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