On the 30th day of March, 1993, God presented Pastor Terry Ellison with a vision of New Life. Pastor Ellison called 8 people together and after allowing them to view a screen presentation of the vision, they all agreed and said, “Let’s move forward.” So with approximately 34 people in attendance, on April 4, 1993, New Life Church of God In Christ held its first service at the Governor’s House Hotel. “An Optimistic Outlook” was the message for the hour.

Bibleway COGIC, under the pastorate of Elder Douglas Davenport, a pastor with whom Pastor Ellison had worked closely with in the prison ministry, followed the leading of the Lord and united his church with New Life on April 11, 1993. This union was the first ever in the Alabama Jurisdiction of the Church of God in Christ history. The message for that Sunday was entitled “An Outpouring of the Holy Ghost”. When the doors of the church were opened the entire Bibleway Church family became full members of New Life.

The Holy Spirit was quickly performing the vision of the church. After having only three services at the Governor’s House, New Life moved into its present home, 4116 Narrow Lane Road, formerly Southern Technical College. The fellowship hall served as the sanctuary at this time. Soon, the men in the church began working on the other areas of the church and on May 23, 1993 a 200-plus seat sanctuary was completed. This sanctuary is now, what we call, the chapel or the children’s church.

Prayer, the main ingredient for the church, caused the vision to manifest greatly within the church. So with no hesitation, New Life worked very hard to finish remodeling the 6500 square feet sanctuary. The previous walls that were built were torn down. On December 19, 1993 the sanctuary was complete. It was also on this date that New Life Church of God In Christ was officially dedicated to God with Bishop O. L. Meadows officiating the service.

God did exactly what He promised He would do, and He’s still proving Himself to be “AWESOME”. He’s adding souls daily and giving them NEW LIFE; New Life in Him. We are now 1 church, 6 locations. Six locations sold out to the will of God. Six locations that are all dedicated to the ensuring of God’s work being fulfilled, and Six locations on the move for God. Yes, we are really experiencing God’s Word being made alive.

As we look back over our lives at just how far we have come, we can not help but say, “we have a testimony”. A testimony that says, “New Life is Not A Ministry, but definitely A Move Of God!!!!!”