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Giving a Lifetime

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August 1, 2012
History, Ministry
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We will never forget our time in the Dominican Rrepublic or the wonderful people that we got to interact with.  Our main agenda was to help with a summer camp for teenagers at a local church.  If you know anything about my life, I am a BIG fan of summer camp.  This was the first summer camp that they have been offered and we were humbled to be a part of it.  We lead workshops, games, crowd breakers, and gave testimonies.  It was a challenge in the intense heat with a language barrier, but I am proud to say that the 13 people we brought from the States gave it their all and did a good work.

At the end of the camp, 45 teenagers had accepted Christ out of the 150 attending and 85 of them signed up to be a part of small groups that will do a book/Bible study on purity in the weeks to come.  We will continue to pray that God works in the hearts and lives of these teens far beyond what we did!

We were honored to work with one of our missionary families, Jamie and Berly Bello.  We’ve known Jamie for decades; since college, then youth pastoring, and now supporting her on the mission field.  She spends her time raising up a generation of youth pastors in a country that has not typically had youth focused programs.  One of the youth pastors told me that Jamie was the first person to believe in the dream that God had put in his heart.  He is now youth pastoring (as a volunteer because there are no paid youth pastors in the DR) and is obviously anointed by God to change his nation.

This was the perfect trip for our church.  We got to pour our support into people on the frontlines of youth ministry and serve them with everything we have.  We love teenagers, we love our missionaries, and we love hard work!  Jamie said our group asked her more times than she could believe, “What can I do for you?”  If we left the DR nothing more than that, we were successful.

I’m not sure that anybody who went will ever be the same, and that is a good thing.  Our eyes have been opened to a culture where some things are different, but the needs, wants, and desires of the people are very similar to our own.  We all left with certain faces burned into our hearts, as God tied us to their hopes, dreams, and fears.  We will carry a little of the Dominican Republic with us wherever we go.

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Here’s Your Sign

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July 17, 2012
Family, History, Inspiration, Ministry
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Happy Birthday to me!  I’m celebrating today with a new look for my blog and my very own website – www.stacynewell.com!

Thirty-six years ago my birth was announced to the neighborhood with a 4′ x 8′ sign.  My dad is a sign painter and wasn’t letting the opportunity go to show off his new baby girl!  I was the first girl born in my line of geneology in over 100 years and he was excited about having a daughter. He scrambled to finish the sign when I unexpectedly arrived one month early.  (And that’s my mom in the picture, too.  Yes, she had just given birth a few days before this photo!)

its a girl

As I grew up, gave my life to Jesus, and tried to follow His will for my life, sometimes I fell into the trap of assuming that my Heavenly Father would also announce the rest of my life with giant, unmistakable signs:

  • Go to this university!
  • Marry this man!
  • Do this with your life!

And although there are some times in the Bible where it does seem that God speaks with that kind of clarity, most of the time, He simply doesn’t.  It actually came as a shock to me that He allows, and even forces, us to make our own decisions as to where and how we will live out our lives in many instances.  Many times when we just want God to tell us what to do, it seems like He says, “Well, what do YOU want to do?”  It’s obnoxiously frustrating, but such an amazing gift when you stop and think about it.

Rather than mandating our agenda at every step, He often says, “Use your passions, your giftings, and your talents to LOVE Me.”  That’s it.  The complex God of the universe gives us the opportunity to creatively express our love for Him in every type of vocation, in a multitude of worship styles, and without constantly worrying about whether or not we’re making a mistake.

I think far too many Christians are doing nothing for God because they just assume that a sign will show up on the front lawn if He ever has a plan for their life.  Guess what, He does have a plan for your life and here it is:  Love Him with your heart, your hands, your feet, your money, your sweat, your blood, your tears, your passions, your strengths, your weaknesses, your fears, and your inadequacies.  Don’t wait for Him to tell you when to give, what to do, and who to reach out to.  If you see someone lost, hurting, poor…that’s your sign.  That’s the only sign you may ever get.  If He does send you a giant sign, do that, too, but in the meantime, throw yourself at a cause greater than yourself.

Part of Mark and I’s story is that we never really felt a clear direction about starting a church.  We never got the sign that God was asking us to specifically go in that direction.  What we did know was that we had to do something to reach people with the love of God and our passion was within the walls of this thing called church.  We attacked launching North Creek like it was a life or death situation.  We just figured that God would stop us if He ever needed to.  So far, so good.

So, what are you waiting for?  Have you spent too much time questioning whether God would really want you to pursue your passion?  Are you gripped with fear that you’ll do the wrong thing at the wrong time?  Let it go.  God is big enough to stop you if He needs to, but in the meantime, you might just impact the world.

 

 

 

 

Blood, Sweat, and Tears

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September 24, 2008
History
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As new church planters we needed a few things right off of the bat.  One of those things was a trailer to haul all of our mobile stuff around in.  We started with an affordable trailer that was only about 5 feet tall.  It was the first piece of equipment that really made it all seem like a reality!  Although it was too small, it was our beginning and we were excited!

As we were preparing for the launch, we set up a time to assemble advertising tins at another church since we needed lots of room!  We excitedly loaded up the masses of boxes and paraphenalia into the trailer and went down the street.

We worked painstakingly for hours.  The exhaustion and the realization of the large task in front of us began to set in.  As the evening drew to a close we were crushed under the weight of what lie before us.  We began to load up our trailer with the tins and clean up the massive mess we had created.  It was mildly depressing.

As I rounded the corner with another armful of things, one of the kids said, “Mark’s hurt.  He’s in the kitchen.”  I set down my load and headed to the kitchen where I found Mark laying on the floor with blood surrounding him.  Kim, our children’s pastor, was mopping up the blood that was pouring out of his head.

Mark had scalped his head on our 5 foot tall trailer and taken a chunk right off of the top.  I handed off my newborn and my two year old to my inlaws and we headed off to the emergency room.  As we drove, I began to get dizzy from the emotional and physical workload.  By the time we drove up to the emergency room, I was sick.

We sat down to wait and I put my head between my legs to keep from passing out.  The nurse came around the corner and said, “Which one of you is it that has the head wound?”  OK, when a nurse can’t tell which one of us is hurt, that’s when you know it’s been a long month!  Mark raised his hand and she took us back to get him stapled back together.

Long story short, he healed just fine, but the trailer was sold and replaced with a taller version.  The extra money was well worth it!  We had officially invest blood, sweat, and tears into this crazy dream.  I am glad to say that we have not made another investment of blood since that day!  The sweat is still pouring and the tears come all too often.  However, they are tears of great joy as we hear story after story of changed lives.

Happy Anniversary

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September 21, 2008
History
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Today is North Creek’s two year anniversary!  I feel like we’ve made it through some very critical twists and turns!  A church plant is very similar to a baby.  That first year is key to a person thriving for the rest of their lives, but the second year is all about development.  At our one year anniversary I felt like we were still very dependent on other outside sources for our very life.  We were still receiving gifts and grant money from other churches and our leadership team was spread thin.  We were cautious and change was not an option.  We just needed to stick with the original plan and do our best to survive.

However, at year two, North Creek feels much more like a toddler.  Quite capable of the basics, like feeding ourselves, talking fairly well, and beginning to master some other skills, like dressing!  That translates into church world by paying our own bills, relieving some hard working volunteers with a broader base, and beginning to look at how to best navigate the future for the best growth opportunities.

Much like my own two year old, Kennedy, I see that the most scary work has passed.  A two year old is much more interactive and independent.  The constant supervision and fear subsides and is replaced by laughter, joy, and continued excitement for their development and growth.

We are growing into something pretty exceptional!  I am proud of the direction that we are headed and have full confidence that God will lead, guide, and bless us along the way.  It has been a beautiful experience that I would not change anything about!

I want to say a special thank you to the 39 people who started this journey.  You may never know the depth of love that Mark and I feel towards you and your families.  We know the sacrifice and the loyalty that this has taken!  We can only hope that you have the great joy in your hearts that we have as we hear the stories of changed lives.  Words fall short to describe the adventure that we have shared!  No matter where our paths may lead, you will always hold a special place in the history of North Creek.  We love you!

Thank you!

Jeff and Angela Welk

Joe, Kris, Adam, Kylie, and Drew Gray

Nick, Rachael, Jessica, Ben, and Gabe Yonko

Mike and Alecia Krause

Greg, Michelle and Jake Fitting

Jeremy Macias

Hans, Meghan, Andrew and Isaiah Scheels (and now baby Emma!)

Steve and Debbie Valenta

Greg, Sharon, Gregory, Robbie, and Erin Christie

Kim, Devin, and Kyra Goodrich

Ivan and Alvina Newell

Ryan Rouse

Mark, Stacy, Delaney and Kennedy Newell

 

God’s Mercies

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September 10, 2008
History
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Sometimes in the ministry life, there are literally so many decisions and directions to go in at one time it is overwhelming.  As we began the journey from youth pastor to church planter, we faced the most changes that we had ever experienced.  On April 28, 2006 we moved into our house in Salmon Creek while I was nine months pregnant.  We had our baby on May 29, 2006. And then we began the preparation work for the launch of this church on June 20, 2006, just days after our last goodbye as youth pastors at Glad Tidings Church.

The workload was a mountain ahead with a neverending “to do” list.  I can remember being up at my computer in the middle of the night working on the bulletin while holding my newborn baby to get her back to sleep.  The nights got longer, the days got shorter, and the house got dirtier. 

In hindsight, I look back at those few months preceeding launch and have no idea how I coped.  And yet, I never cried, I never broke down, and I never doubted that our team would make this thing happen…and I take no credit for the amazing perseverance that I had.  It was God’s sweet mercies that were new every morning in my life. 

What I learned during that time of my life is not to be afraid of a challenge…and the work that comes with it.  God will give you the strength that you need for your dream and an endurance that will not end.  It’s what I take with me as we look at the future.  Ahead of us lies more work than we’ve done behind us.  And I am confident to say that in the midst of that, God’s mercies will continue to be new every morning.