From the Pastor’s Desk (298) We just completed our Fall Retreat with about 800 adults, college and youth students, and children attending at Camp Allen, which is probably the most beautiful retreat center in Texas. Everything went so smoothly, and everyone was blessed in so many ways. This is what happens when Christ’s church functions the way it was intended, according to the Bible—with everyone doing his or her part joyfully, gratefully, and skillfully in response to the grace shown to us through Christ and His finished work on the cross. When everyone contri...

Read More

From the Pastor’s Desk (297) I’m writing to you because there has been some confusion regarding this topic. I’ve heard the following statements from various people: “As long as you commit to eventually work your way up to tithing, you can sign the Class 201 covenant and graduate.” “You don’t have to tithe from your gross income—you can tithe from your net income and still graduate from Class 201.” Because of this confusion, I’ve had interns who came to my home for the shepherds' orientation—right before their house church was about to ...

Read More

From the Pastor’s Desk (296) We are hosting another House Church Seminar for Lay Leaders. This past Friday morning, our House Church Seminar Team prepared pho for participants who had arrived early for the seminar. I also enjoyed a bowl myself. This was possible because we have a significant number of Vietnamese brothers and sisters in our English-speaking congregation. While enjoying that bowl of pho, Pastor Young G. Chai naturally came to mind. Almost 30 years ago, when I started New Life Fellowship, I felt a strong conviction and desire, based on Matthew 28, to ...

Read More

From the Pastor’s Desk (295) The two weeks of my ministry in Maui are now coming to an end. I will leave Maui very late Tuesday night and arrive in Houston early Wednesday afternoon. The ministry I have been doing here over the past 11 days has been very similar to what I did last year. Last year, I led and preached a 20–25 minute message during the early morning prayer service at 6 AM from Tuesday to Saturday. I also led and preached during their Wednesday evening services at 7 PM. On Sundays, I preached three messages—once in English and twice in Korean. In ...

Read More

From the Pastor’s Desk (294) After the House Church Conference for Pastors ended last Thursday, the pastor couples who are serving as the regional shepherds finished their meeting and went out for dinner. My wife and I were seated with Pastor Inki Kim and his wife, and Pastor Daeho Yu and his wife. Pastor Inki Kim serves as the executive director of the North American House Church Ministry, and Pastor Daeho Yu is the senior pastor of God’s Family Church in Southern California. Both of them have a great sense of humor, and every time the conference is held, they ...

Read More

From the Pastor’s Desk (293) I immigrated to New York City in February 1978. I had just completed seventh grade. That February, a massive snowstorm hit New York, shutting down schools across the city. During my teenage years, I lived in Flushing, located in the borough of Queens. New York City is made up of five boroughs: Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, the Bronx, and Staten Island. Brooklyn lies south of Manhattan, and the Bronx to the north. As you know, traffic in New York is notoriously bad—especially in Manhattan. Because of this, people who live in Brooklyn ...

Read More

From the Pastor’s Desk (292) The following is the letter I received from Pastor Jaewon Kang of Portland Onnuri Evangelical Church. Thank you, New Life, for your obedience to the prompting of the Holy Spirit, which led to abundant generosity and deep sacrifice. May the Lord continue to bless and use you greatly for His eternal kingdom purposes. Your pastor, Eric Dear New Life, Seven shepherds and shepherds’ wives from our church who attended the recent Shepherds’ Conference came back and shared that during the conference, Pastor Eric led a intercessory ...

Read More