REOPENING PLANS

PHASE ONE

Since Governor Ron DeSantis issued the “Safer at Home” EXECUTIVE ORDER NUMBER 20-91,  the New Life Church family and campus have continued to function in an honorable modified manner.  

• The New Life campus was closed for public gathering. Since then, we have been live streaming all primary services with worship and the Word. During this time, the NLC viewing audience has grown exponentially. While online, we have had reports of salvations, healings, and answered prayers of many kinds.
• Staff, Council Members, and Pastors have been staying in touch with the New Life Family weekly. We have striven to meet the many needs of the New Life family as they have arisen. 
• The campus lobby has remained open with Pastors and Staff on hand daily for the New Life family to stop in for a variety of reasons. Dozens of our people have come to New Life almost every day to bless or to receive help in a safe, clean environment.

Thank you for your encouraging words and your kind feedback. It is an honor to do everything that we have been doing to keep the family connected.

LOVE, HONOR, AND WISDOM

While we are so glad to be coming together soon, the health and safety of our church family remain the highest priority to all of us in leadership at New Life. We are prayerfully seeking the Holy Spirit’s wisdom as we gently, and slowly begin to open using scriptural priorities.

• 1 Corinthians 16:14 (CEV) “Show love in everything you do.”
• 1 Corinthians 13:4–7, 13 (NIV) “⁴Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. ¹³ And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
• Matthew 22:37-39 (NLT) ³⁷Jesus replied, ” ‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ ³⁸ This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹ A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
• Philippians 2:3–4 (NLT) “³ Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. ⁴Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.”
• Proverbs 4:6 (NLT) “Don’t turn your back on wisdom, for she will protect you. Love her, and she will guard you.”
• 1 Corinthians 10:23–24 (NLT) ²³ You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is good for you. You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is beneficial. ²⁴Don’t be concerned for your own good but for the good of others.

President Trump and Governor Ron DeSantis have both now definitively declared the church to be an essential service. They have opened the way for our gatherings to begin again. Both the National Office of the Assemblies of God and the District Office of Florida websites have verbiage affirming that many of our churches are staging or beginning to reopen. Long before this moment, New Life Church leadership has been prayerfully working through the details of this uncharted journey.

OPENING ANNOUNCEMENT

After much prayer and preparation, the pastors and leadership of New Life Church feel that the time has come for physical gatherings to take place once again. It is our goal to operate at partial capacity for social distancing as we implement some safety modifications.

Please Note: For those who are at risk, elderly, or have any hesitation to attending, CHURCH ONLINE will continue to be streamed LIVE on all platforms.

•  

  PHASE TWO

New Life will reopen for public gathering on June 14^th, 2020.

PLEASE NOTE:

• All of the following measures will be temporary as we gently and slowly take steps to return to the typical healthy public gathering in our New Life Family campus.
• New Life Church Pastors and staff will be closely observing the impacts on other churches that have opened or will be reopening over the two to three weeks prior to June 14. Our first concern is for your safety and well being. The vast majority of the New Life family has affirmed this priority in our communications over the past eight weeks.
• Our first meetings are a soft targets for reopening the Sunday services, and will be contingent upon the real data available at the time.

Sunday Services will begin on June 14^th, 2020.

• On Sundays, we will have two morning services.  

  These services will include times of singing, worship, the preaching/teaching of the Word, offering, and of altar ministry.

• SERVICE ONE –  9:00 AM     

  Doors will open at 8:45 AM * – This service is for general attendance (all ages). Seating will be limited. 

  SERVICE TWO – 11:00 AM  

  Doors will open at 10:45 AM * – This service is for general attendance (all ages).  Slavic language interpretation as an option. This service will be live-streamed. Seating will be limited.

* The doors will not be open until 15 minutes before the services begin. The lobby will not be used as a gathering place, and the Coffee Counter will not be available in Phase Two.

•  

  Wednesday Midweek Services will begin on June 17^th, 2020.

  MAIN SANCTUARY – 6:15 PM to 8:00 PM

  The doors will open at 6:00 PM. General attendance is welcome in this service. The seating will be limited. Room 4 overflow will be available if seating capacity is reached in the Sanctuary.

  FAMILY LIFE CENTER – 6:15 PM  – 8:00 PM

  The doors will open at 6:00 PM. R3AL Student Ministries will meet in The Family Life Center.

  Other meetings, small and large,  will be considered and reintroduced to the NLC schedule as we observe the successful opening of the Sunday and Wednesday primary services.

  OTHER DETAILS FOR PHASE TWO

  “Show love in everything you do.”  

• 1 Corinthians 16:14 (CEV)

  We will be honoring the advice from appropriate authorities as we embrace CDC social distancing and health parameters. All attendees are encouraged to join us in our efforts to keep everyone safe by following these best-practices.

  • If you or anyone in your household is sick or symptomatic, please attend church ONLINE at home. Let us know about your situation, and a pastor will be in touch with you to pray for you and supply help in any way that we can.
  • Children are always welcome; however, we request that parents and guardians keep their children with them in service during Phase Two.

  HOWEVER, children’s activity packets will be available for families to take to the seating area. No separate children’s ministries will be offered in Phase Two.

  NURSERY: There will be no regular nursery or nursery workers available in Phase Two. The Nursery will only be open for a parent to attend to their own child’s needs.

  • The doors will be opened 15 minutes before the service. Please do not come early to fellowship. The lobby will not be used as a gathering place, and the Coffee Counter will not be available in Phase Two.
  • Cleaning – The time in between the two services will be dedicated to cleaning our facilities; all publicly impacted surfaces and restrooms will be cleaned..
  • Face coverings are welcome but are not required. Our volunteers and staff will wear masks in appropriate public areas. Facial masks will be available for those who choose to use them.
  • Thank you in advance for your consideration in allowing us to use a no-touch thermometer as you arrive at New Life to attend a service. A temperature check is a temporary measure, and it is an expression of love as we seek to provide a healthy, safe environment for all attending.
  • Hand sanitizer will be available throughout the building. Gloves are not required.
  • We kindly request that you do not shake hands or hug at this time. We can genuinely express our love for a season without close physical contact.
  • Six feet of space between family groupings will be observed. Persons from the same household sitting together would help us to maximize our seating during this time. Every second row of seats will be removed. Spacing will be visually marked.
  • We have dedicated entry and exit points to allow for secure social distancing as the services change.
  • We will not be providing a shuttle or cart service in the parking lot at this time.

  As always, your kind input is welcome. CONTACT FORM.

  As the situation continues to develop, plans are subject to change, so please pray for discernment, grace, and wise decision-making as we navigate these uncharted areas as a church family.  We are looking forward to seeing you!