About NLCF - Who are we? A history...

Who are New Life Christian Fellowship? - A history...

After meeting together informally in November 1995 a group of Christians who formerly worshipped at the local Baptist Church decided to meet on a more formal basis. Initially a group of 25 adults and their children met at 5 Hobrook Rd to worship and praise the Lord. On 3rd December, New Life Christian Fellowship (NLCF) – Fleckney was born.

The original vision of the new church was:

To see the Lord Jesus Christ as Head of the Church.
To be godly, Spirit-filled followers of the Lord Jesus Christ.
To move forward under the blessing and guidance of the Holy Spirit through a God-appointed leadership.
To be ready and willing to change in order to accommodate the Holy Spirit’s way of working.

The name of the fellowship was chosen to reflect this vision:

NEW LIFE – Life is characterised by change. We need to remain flexible in order for the Holy Spirit to change and remould us. We want to be alive in the Holy Spirit.

CHRISTIAN – We will keep Jesus at the centre of everything we do and will keep ourselves to applying His teaching and example to our own lives.

FELLOWSHIP - We will devote ourselves to worship and prayer. We will share our lives as fully as we can in an attitude of love and commitment to one another.

The new Church committed itself to sharing the Gospel of Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit through words and actions in Fleckney, the surrounding areas and to the wider world.

Within a few weeks, numbers dictated a move to larger premises. On 24th December 1995 the first NLCF service took place in Fleckney Village Hall. A New Year meal was held on 6th January 1996 to celebrate the birth of NLCF.

Soon afterwards a Leadership Team emerged and subsequently NLCF was registered as a charity and Trustees were appointed and a Trust Deed drawn up. On 15 July 1996 Richard Carstairs, previously the Pastor of Fleckney Baptist Church and trained at Lebanon Bible College, was appointed to be the first Pastor of NLCF. Eric Hurst was appointed as Honorary Administrator. During this time NLCF became linked with ICHTHUS, a network of churches based in London. NLCF also joined the Evangelical Alliance, an umbrella organisation representing over 30 denominations and a million Christians.

In February 2000 at a Leader’s Away Day at Launde Abbey the Mission Statement for the fellowship, “Touching the heart of God - reaching the hearts of people” was established.