Backpacks! Let's bless Maple Valley!

Pastor Phill rockin' the Pink!

Ok, so you've heard me talk about backpacks. You've caught the fever and you want to get involved, but you don't know how, or what? Perfect! You've come to the right place, I'll share every detail you need to know.

But first, if I may (and no one's telling me not to!), I'd like to share a bit of why we are doing this. After all, why on earth would 500 people willingly go out of their way, spend their hard-earned money, and fill a backpack with school supplies to be given away? The best answer I have for that is the life-changing power of Jesus Christ. New Life exists to lead people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ, and one of the biggest hurdles people have when talking about Jesus are their physical needs. I'm a huge believer that it's only after a person's physical needs have been met that their hearts can be opened to hear the life-changing message of the cross. There are thousands of people right next door to us in the Maple Valley community that are hurting, and we have the opportunity to change their lives!!

So that's why. Now let's jump into the details of how it's all going down. We have three opportunities for you to get involved and help make this event a raging success:

• This Sunday, August 21st. After the 11am service, so at about 12:30, we will be heading out into the Cherokee Bay community to hand out 1200 fliers letting the community know what we're all about, and what we're doing. We are looking for about 30 people to help out with this.
• Thursday, August 25th at 5pm. We are going to gather a crew to go through the backpacks - make sure that each is appropriately stocked and loaded.
• Saturday, August 27th - The Big Day! This is when the community will come to our door step to experience the life changing power of Jesus Christ, meeting them where they need it most. This will be an absolutely incredible day, beginning at 10am. We will have coffee, donuts, balloon guys, music, and a super fun atmosphere. We'll go until the backpacks run out.

We are looking for about 30 people at each event to help out.

I'd love to have you come help us out for as many of the events as you can. As I said, this is all about being more than ourselves - we want to get out into the community and bless them! If you're able/willing to help out, or just have questions, email me (phillip.christiansen@nlchurch.com) and I'll get you signed up.

Hope to see you there!!

Volunteer Block Party!

Do you volunteer at New Life Maple Valley? Are you are one of the many wonderful people who selflessly help out on Sundays or during the week to make sure that our Campus is ready for visitors who come and check out Jesus? Have you ever helped out at New Life Maple Valley? Will you ever help out?

If you are, we want to celebrate you! Pastor Loran has been planning like crazy to make an event specifically tailored to make you feel special and honored. It will be an incredible time to hang out, connect with other volunteers, eat AMAZING food, play games, and bask in the glory of having the New Life staff wait on you.

If you're able to come, RSVP by clicking this link. It's TOMORROW, Wednesday August 17th from 6:30-8:30pm.

Hope to see you there!

New Life (literally!)

Hey all! Pastor Phill here, and I want to welcome you to the new norm - blogging weekly. Well, that's my goal at least, we'll see how I do. :-)

There is new life just springing up all over! For those of you that don't know, I am taking over as Campus Pastor after Pastor Garrett moved on to plant another church, and I couldn't be more stoked! Emily, my wife, and I have a burning passion for the area of Maple Valley / Covington, and we simply cannot wait to dive in! We have huge plans for this coming summer / fall, including barbeques, worship nights, small groups, serve days, and so so much more. Our heart is to get out in the community and get into areas that Christians aren't. After all, it's not the healthy that need a hospital, it's the sick, and it's those that hurt and need God that my heart burns for.

This fall is going to be an amazing time to watch God work through our small campus to make a HUGE impact on this community; I'm completely humbled, and absolutely stoked!

But wait, there's more! That's right, just like any good infomercial, I couldn't end with just one amazing thing.

As of one week ago, I am now officially a daddy. That's right, our very first child - Isaiah Jacob Christiansen - was welcomed into this world, all 20 inches and 9 pounds of him. We are just smitten with this little guy, and simply cannot express into words how much love we have for him. I have SO much more appreciation for God as my Father after experiencing just this little part of fatherhood. It's a journey, but one I'm so blessed to be a part of.

So, there is New Life (yes, puns intended) springing up all over the place! Won't you join us in this journey called life? We meet on Sundays at 9:15 and 11, and would love to see you there. If you've been coming for any length of time and want to get involved, shoot me an email and I'll get you connected right away. Don't forget, the harvest is plentiful and the workers are few. Let's band together to turn this town upside down for Jesus!

God bless you all.

Phill Christiansen