New Life Community Church began in 1994 in the living room of Pastor Kurt Jurgensmeier. Kurt, Pastor Pete Grose, and several other families had previously lived in Iowa City and were involved in campus ministry at the University of Iowa. As weddings and children came along, the group moved north to Cedar Rapids and focused on family ministry. As the church grew in size during the 90's, New Life met in various auditoriums and schools. In 2005, God blessed New Life with a more permanent home in Marion. About 175 individuals and families call New Life their home church.

Elsewhere on this website you can read about the core theology taught at New Life -- our dependence on God's grace and our salvation through Jesus the Messiah. But even the most sound theology rings hollow if not lived out in how we love God and love others. We hope that after spending just a little time at New Life, the following core values will be evident.

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New Life -- The Bible says that born-again Christians are a new creation that are no longer to conform to the pattern of this world. The way we use our time, talents and money, live with our spouse, raise our children, do our jobs, and live our lives is to be so "out of this world," that people on earth, and beings in heaven and hell all marvel at the way we demonstrate our love for, and our faith in Jesus.

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Every Member Ministry --God has chosen each of us for a unique and vital part in furthering His kingdom and glory on earth. As the Apostle Paul describes in 1 Corinthians 12 and elsewhere, the church is a body that works together for the sake of Christ. No part is more or less valued than another. New Life wants to be a place where you are encouraged, equipped, and free to participate in the work of the church.

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Word -- God's chosen way to speak to His people is through His written Word, the Bible, as applied to our hearts through the indwelling Holy Spirit. God's Word protects and empowers us in our fight against Satan. This is why God's most frequent instruction to church leaders is to preach the Word. We encourage prayerful individual study, strive for life-changing Sunday teaching, and enjoy dynamic discussions of the Scriptures in our small groups, all to ensure that we are properly understanding and practically obeying God's doctrines and commands.

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Love -- When asked what God's most important commandments were, Jesus responded simply -- to love the Lord your God with all of your heart, soul, and mind, and to love your neighbor as yourself. The New Testament writers give us more than 100 examples of how we can love "one another." To encourage this kind of authentic Christianity, we encourage consistent fellowship in small groups, where we study, pray, and live life together.

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Intercession -- Apart from Christ, we can do nothing. How do we stay plugged into His will? Through consistent prayer. The Apostle Paul says to pray on all occasions, with all kinds of prayers -- to be alert and keep on praying. Luke writes in the book of Acts that the first century church committed themselves to prayer. It is that model that we want emulate today -- in our corporate worship, our small groups, in mens and womens studies -- all the time.

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Fellowship -- Scripture says that the church is the "Bride of Christ." What a beautiful picture of how important authentic fellowship is to God. When your boil it down, New Life is essentially just a family of families. Our church will be no more Godly, spiritual, or loving than our individual families. That's why the goal of virtually every ministry at New Life is to help spouses, parents, and children understand and accomplish God’s plan for them.

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Evangelism -- One of the greatest privileges and mandates for every Christian is to fulfill their part of Christ's Great Commission. Jesuscalls His people to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world. When we shine Christ's light around us through courageously loving others and sharing the truth, we know that many will reject it. But, for the sake of the few who have been waiting for such light, we endeavor to shine brightly!