A part of New Life’s vision is to build a transformed South DeKalb community that becomes an Oasis of Hope where every resident has an equal opportunity for spiritual, economic, and personal prosperity. DREAM is the first step on the path that gets us to that community.
New Life Church Presents
The Power of
Possibility
The Power of Possibility
Our DREAM goes beyond providing people with a house or a living space; it’s more than building a church or a school. For us, DREAM is a strong, flourishing, thriving community that offers quality childhood education, income-based housing, equitable access to healthcare and wellness providers, and industry-leading workforce development. We DREAM of a community that empowers and builds its neighbors, lifting them to a greater hope for a brighter future. At New Life, we believe that everyone should be able to live in a thriving, safe, and healthy environment. Community for us is a place where love is tangible, where our children can thrive, our seniors are honored, working families can prosper, and where possibilities are endless. It is a place where we live out the true essence of what Jesus meant by the word ‘neighbor’.
Our Core Values
No dream is possible without persistent faith and strong guiding principles that drive it. The core principles that are at the foundation of our DREAM are:
Love for All People – because Human Love is foundational to Human Advancement
Human Dignity – because Human Dignity is indispensable to Social Prosperity.
Equal Opportunity – because Equal Opportunity to Education and Economic Prosperity is a human right.
Healthy Families – because Healthy Families are the building blocks of Healthy Communities
More than a Dream
For us, this is more than a DREAM; it is the passion of all humanity. We are called to live together, grow together, and prosper together. This is the heart of the community, and we believe it is the strongest bond in our society. Communities and the people who live in them matter to God – and they should also matter to us.
Developing a New Community
There was nothing unique or special about the Old Testament builder, Nehemiah. He was a court servant of the King of Persia – a cupbearer. He did not have any significant resources, nor did he have a background in building. But, he did have an abiding love for God and His people – and a DREAM. Nehemiah rebuilt the walls of an entire dilapidated city, which became the greatest city in the near Middle East, the city of Jerusalem. In this same spirit, we also have a DREAM for our community.
Our Current Condition – Disinvestment and Decline
The Candler Road – Panthersville community of South DeKalb suffers from the effects of concentrated poverty. 46% of our children live in poverty, and nearly 34% of our youth drop out of high school. According to recent statistics, 17% of our community struggles with unemployment, while more than 40,000 in the larger South Dekalb area live at or below the poverty line. When families fall on hard times, there are no emergency shelters nearby to take in individuals and families living on the streets. The current push for redevelopment, coupled with years of disinvestment and a challenging economic infrastructure, has resulted in a community in significant decline and residents looking for hope. New Life has been a beacon of hope in this community, providing care, financial support, case-managed social work, and personal dignity now for over two decades.
Our Goal - Revitalization without Displacement
We envision starting the process of turning these conditions around by making smart, solution-based investments in our community and offering our neighbors a clear path to greater economic prosperity through housing, education, healthcare, and workforce development without the need to move them out of the community where they live and raise their families. The metro area of Atlanta is experiencing an explosively growing population boom, and it’s having an impact on many South Dekalb communities. Many working-class people are being displaced from semi-urban neighborhoods due to higher living costs resulting from outside housing developments that do not factor in the needs, income, and living conditions of the legacy residents who already live there.
Our DREAM – Develop and Build a Community of Possibilities.
The challenges that are evident in this community also provide us with a great opportunity for growth and reinvestment in this community. Currently, we have an opportunity to attract and build thoughtful, mixed-income housing with the needs of current and future residents in mind. We, as a church community, are able to turn the attention of our city to the great need and potential of this South Dekalb community by making significant, community-centered investments in housing, education, economic development, and healthcare. Such a significant investment of resources into our own neighborhood communicates the value and potential of this community and the dignity that it deserves. We have a chance to build a vibrant community, and we have the proven leadership and strategy to get us there.
Re-Imagining the Power of Giving
In the story of Israel under the leadership of Moses, there is one particular scene that stands out. It is the day that the people gave too much. The miracle is not in what they gave. The miracle is in who it was that was giving it. These were former slaves and bondmen, who were now nomads and vagabonds traveling in a wilderness without a home. Yet, out of their meager ability, each family brought the gifts that they had. It was so abundant that Moses had to ask them to stop bringing gifts because they had more than enough to build the Tabernacle of God. The true power of giving is not in the amount; it is in the unity of the people humbly and obediently giving to a cause that God has called them to.
Why Are We Giving
This campaign is not about New Life. We are not giving to build a bigger building or enlarge our worship space. This campaign is not about the four walls inside our church; this campaign is about the larger community outside of our church. We are called to go out from the huddled masses of our congregation into the streets of our city and create a better world for the people who live there. We are giving to a greater community, a ministry that thrives for our children, and a reach that will expand beyond the confines of our church.
How Will We Give
Our giving strategy is simple. We will give above and beyond our normal Tithes and/or weekly giving, accordingly, as God has prospered us. Our giving goal for each person connected to our church is $30 more than our normal giving each week. To be sure, there are many who can do much more than this, and there are some who will need to do less. Each person is not being asked to make an equal offering, but each person is being asked to make an equal sacrifice. We are believing that God will send 5,000 committed members and friends who will commit to giving $30 or more, over and above their normal giving, to this DREAM each week.
What Are We Giving To
We are giving to four (4) critical areas:
- Release of Encumbered Capital Dollars for Community Revitalization and Reinvestment
Approx. 25% of Total Raised
- Critical Reinvestment in Church and Community Children and Students
Approx. 25% of Total Raised
- Significant Annual Contributions for At-Risk Community and Social Programs to our Outreach Nonprofit, New Life Community Alliance.
Approx. 25% of Total Raised
- Expanding and Modernizing of Current & Online Ministry to Accommodate Our Growth Capacity – Approx. 25% of Total Raised
Expanding Our Online Ministry
The Apostle Paul was called to embark on a campaign of spreading the Gospel of Christ beyond the boundaries of the Jerusalem church.
This meant taking the gospel to the Gentiles and those who were considered outside of the covenant family of Israel. Paul accomplished this by stretching the boundaries of the local church. He expanded the reach of the gospel using the most advanced travel technology of his day – cross-seas navigation. The technology of navigating the open seas had existed for years in commerce but had never been used to propel ministry. Most prophets remained local and traveled only by land, but the Apostle Paul maximized technology for the Kingdom’s causes and ventured out into the open seas. This is what online and streaming technology has enabled our church to do. We are able to carry the Gospel, like the Apostle Paul, to more places than we ever could before, but only with the simple use of a camera.
Why Expansion Matters
Expansion matters because people matter. Currently, we have members who are a part of our church family who live in various parts of the US and even in other countries like Colombia, South America, and Italy. We expand into venues and markets outside the confines of our church, because there are people there who are in need of ministry.
We have seen encouraging growth in our ministry through the online offerings that are made each Sunday. Currently, we are only marginally able to incorporate weekly ministry activities, discipleship classes, and other events as a part of our total ministry outreach to those who are a part of our online family. Expanding our internet presence, will enable us to reach more people, in more places, for the Kingdom and cause of God.
Activating a
Dynamic Youth
Experience
It seemed like a daunting task and an impossible weight to place on the shoulders of the new young King Solomon.
He was only a young boy, and he was now tasked with carrying the weight of his father David’s kingdom. However, God invested in Solomon, gave him wisdom beyond his age, and he carried Israel into a future that was unmatched for centuries afterward. This is what can happen when we invest in our children. They are the ones who will create the future that we are currently praying for.
What Investments are we making for our Children
Our youth investments will be dedicated to three (3) major areas
Each of these investments will add value – not only to the youth of New Life – but to the Youth of our community and beyond. We are looking to capture the attention and the imagination of our children by investing in their education, their spiritual environments, and their academic pursuits. Our giving will help prepare them to lead us into the future, not only by enhancing them spiritually but academically and socially as well.
Modernizing Ministry
The entire Bible is one continuous development of God’s unending love story with humanity. As time passes, the message of the Bible evolves and God’s interactions with people progress. The miracle of the Bible is that despite His unchanging nature, God’s methods are constantly progressing. His works in the Old Testament are not the same as in the New. In Isaiah 43:19, the writer speaks concerning God’s methods, “See, I am doing a new thing”!! To be clear, the “truth” of the message is not ‘out of date,’ but the method of its delivery is. This is the vision of this DREAM campaign. We believe that God is doing a “new thing”. We believe that God is calling us to harness the collective strength of technology and ingenuity to speak timeless truths in new and impactful ways to accomplish the same purposes God has always had – winning souls to Christ.
Modernizing Ministry
We intend to do this by modernizing our church’s ministries, programs, and operations to provide a comprehensive discipleship experience for all who are connected to our ministry online and in-person. We seek to invest financially into modernizing ministry in three significant ways:
Ministry and Theology Podcast
Ministry and Theology Podcast – Utilize modern forms of social broadcasting to produce a monthly podcast focusing on Biblical and contemporary topics, featuring our Pastor, special guests, as well as ministry and community service specialists.
Hybrid Operations for All Ministries
Provide ministry services and programs that are equally available online as well as in-person. We seek to structure critical meeting and ministry spaces on our campus to support an online audience in both video and audio.
Global Ministry Recruitment
Holding a global recruitment effort for new and existing members to plug into the ministry using media of technology, social media, and creative video and email campaigns.
The 5 Giving Levels for New Life Church's DREAM
Dream Climbers
$20 – $50 additional per week, totaling $1,560 above and beyond normal giving for the Year.
Dream Cruisers
$50 – $100 additional per week, totaling $3,120 above and beyond normal giving for the Year.
Dream Creators
$100 or more per week, totaling $5,200 above and beyond normal giving for the Year.
Dream Beyond
Living “Beyond the DREAM”
$10,000 or more annual gift, above and beyond normal giving
Dream Carriers
Custom and/or One-Time Gift.
- ____ per Week
- ____ per Month
- ____ per Year
- ____ One-time Gift