Birth Building

A Church is Born!

New Creation Fellowship Church was born from the longings for a deeper church experience, and a deeper walk with God. The founders desired more than a "Sunday-only" church life. They longed for a spirituality that sustained engagement with the world.

New Creation Fellowship Church is part of the Anabaptist ‘stream’ of church history.  And in the early centuries persecution drove the Anabaptists to secret meetings. They met in hidden clearings in forests, in barns and in homes. Clearly the church is not where you meet. The church is the people who are gathered in Jesus’ name, wherever they meet!

"That’s it! That’s it! That is what we’ve been longing for." our hearts cried. Now we had seen it with our own eyes! Now we knew it was possible.

Seven of us* from Newton were attending a church conference in Evanston, Illinois, hosted by Reba Place Fellowship, February 23-25, 1973. The seven were from two ‘broken’ groups which had tried to form churches along the ideals we saw in the New Testament. The attempts had ended in division and separation. It came as a sad surprise to us that things don’t always go smoothly — even among committed Christians.

The fragments of two groups didn’t know each other, but upon discovering we were going to the same conference, rented a van together in the interest of economy.

Although we had arrived at the gathering discouraged and disillusioned, now hope was made new. At Reba Place we saw people warmly and earnestly worshiping God; people speaking to one another honestly but lovingly; people sharing their lives with one another in practical ways; and, people engaged in service to their neighborhood and world. ‘New Testament’ church was working!
When the conference ended Sunday, we drove all night back to Newton.

Praise and worship and many conversations filled the 14 hours. By the time we reached Newton we had made plans to begin regular meetings. In addition, we committed ourselves to moving into the same neighborhood, just as soon as we discerned what neighborhood that should be.

The Spirit of God had given birth to a church in a rented van! Thanks be to God.

*The seven people who initially set up New Creation Fellowship are
Marlin Dick; David and Joanne Janzen; Jake and Irene Pauls; Steve and Wanda Ream Schmidt.