Check out some of the following links…
In my new role, I get the privilege to respond to a lot of correspondence that we received here at NewSpring Church. The other day we received a letter from a correctional institution in Florida. Check out this excerpt from the letter:
“Today, due to some crazy weather, we had to improvise our afternoon chapel service. We showed week two of the Illuminate Series, you preached on “Nailing It Down,” putting Jesus into our heart and receiving Christ. When you gave the call to stand up SIX men in our chapel stood up and received Christ. IT WAS AMAZING!!!”
I was blown away and blessed beyond measure by this! Thank you Jesus for using NewSpring even in places that we did not know we were being used…
“I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’”Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?” “The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’”  Matthew 25:36-40
One of the things that I love about NewSpring Church is that we are not afraid to change to meet the growing needs that our church has. Change is sometimes a very hard thing for people to cope with. They struggle with it, they agonize over it, and sometimes they are flat out against it! I believe that the reason so many struggle with change is because it is hard for them to let go. Let go of pride, position, power, etc.
The characteristic of our leadership team that is so prevalent is that they SOAK every decision in prayer. If they are going to change, they make sure it is what God is calling them to do. Now, understand that our leadership team is tasked with leading our church, which sometimes requires change without getting approval from everyone and their momma. They do not have time to get everyone’s approval because we are in desperate times…people are dying and going to Hell. My trust is in the Lord God Almighty and if God told them that we need to do something or change something, then lets strap on the boots and get to work! The church has the solution, and I am so thankful that our leadership team will not sit on the sidelines and watch people die and go to Hell! Because it is GAMETIME!!!
So with that said, I am changing positions at NewSpring Church. I am going to be transitioning out of the Student Ministry as a Student Pastor and taking on a leadership role in our Care Ministry. I will be serving alongside the best Care Ministry Staff in the country. My role will be to serve as Care Pastor for NewSpring Church with my responsibilities including overseeing and managing:
- 3 Other FABULOUS Staff Members
- Membership Process
- Baptism
- Pre-Marital Class and Counseling
- Benevolence
- Bereavement
- Hospital Team
- Meals Ministry
- Weekday Prayer Team
- Sunday Care Team
- Weekday Care Team
- Weekend Care Team
- Counseling for Men
- Recruitment and Training Care Ministry Volunteers
So many things to do and accomplish!! It is going to be exciting, so please pray for me as I begin a brand new area of ministry. I am looking forward to being able to serve Christ by serving people in a very real and tangible way! Let the adventure begin!!!!
Most of you that read AldenEllis.com know that I was born and raised in Florence, SC. It is also the place that I began serving in full-time pastoral ministry. I served at First Baptist Church of Florence, my home church, for two and half years as the Minister of Students. I have many close friendships and fond memories of Florence. It is the place where my mom and dad, my dad’s side of the family (multitude of aunts, uncles, cousins, etc.) still reside.
With that said, NewSpring Church will open its THIRD campus in Florence, SC this fall. Perry announced this from stage today at our Easter Services, which you will definitely need to watch!! Over a year and half ago, he told the congregation that he felt the Lord was leading NewSpring to have a campus in every major city in South Carolina. Well, Florence is going to be the first of many other campuses across South Carolina!
I moved from Florence to begin serving at NewSpring Church back in August of 2005, since that time I have always thought that Florence would be a GREAT place for a campus of NewSpring Church. I truly believe that the community of Florence will be greatly blessed by this campus. I know so many people that are far from the Lord in Florence and this campus of NewSpring will be a great tool to get them connected!
Please be praying for the leadership of NewSpring as plans are being made and finalized. You can rest assured that as soon as the plans are able to be announced you will see them here on AldenEllis.com. If you are interested in connecting with this exciting news, please contact me through the contact page and I will send your information over to the Campus Pastor of the Florence Campus, Micheal Brown!
You can also check out more information about the excitement from Tony Morgan, by clicking here!
Get ready Florence…it is going to be an awesome and amazing ride!!!
If you are ever in a drought and you want to end that drought, here is what you need to do….Start a MAJOR Building Project! I believe that this is the first time in 2 years that we have a surplus in precipitation. Of course, my statement about ending a drought is nonsense, but I do believe that is shows God’s sense of humor! I know that it has made me laugh multiple times and it has made me realize that we must rely on Him for everything! For my plans are not His plans…we have to trust and believe that He knows what we need, WHEN we need it.
NewSpring is in a MAJOR building project to build a youth facility, children facility, and a campus in Greenville. For more details on each project jump on over to the NewSpring Gametime Update site. You will also be able to see some of the progress on the Youth Building.
I am so excited about the number of students that will be ministered to in and through this building. The fact that we will have a 1000 seat auditorium, breakout space, an awesome gaming area, gym, and outdoor field is simply AMAZING! It is my prayer that thousands and thousands of students will meet Jesus because we provide a place that they want to hang out in!
Be sure to check back on the Newspring Gametime site or here my blog for more updates!
Joshua Blakenship, Creative Director at NewSpring Church, has just finished up the website for UNLEASH. UNLEASH is a one day conference that NewSpring Church hosts to challenge, encourage, and motivate church leaders to take action in reaching their communities for Jesus Christ.
If you did not get to come and want to watch the videos from the main sessions that Perry taught be sure to catch up on them. You can also get the transcripts from all the breakouts…including the Student Ministry Breakout Session that Brad Cooper and I led.
Also be sure to read what Joshua wrote about the site…here!
UPDATED:Â Here is a list of Student Ministry Bloggers that attended UNLEASH, at least the ones that I know of…if you attended and you are not on the list, please let me know so I can add you!
- Dave Holt - LifePoint Church, Wilmington, NC
- Lee Clamp - First Baptist Church, Barnwell, SC
- Nathan Wright - OakLeaf Church, Cartersville, GA
- Sean Rheaume - Pointe North Community Church, Moncks Corner, SC
- Dave Farwell - Sonlight Church, Chesapeake, VA
- Matthew Ray - THE ROCK of Wilmington, NC
- Chris Gastardi - Barefoot Community Church, Myrtle Beach, SC
- NEW!! Jeremy Isaacs - Mt. Paran North, Marietta, GA
Seriously, if you attended the Student Ministry Breakout and you have a blog, please let me know! I will update with the ones that come in soon!
Also, we are putting the finishing touches on the email packet to send out very soon!
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