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With two families and a burden for a city, the young church saw the hand of the Lord from the start. An empty church building overlooking the city was located and a lease was signed with an option to buy. Several churches graciously pledged financial support early on. Soul’s Harbor Apostolic Church of Bristol, VA, Greater Life Apostolic Church of Utica, MI, Apostolic Lighthouse of Kingsport, TN, First Apostolic Church of Knoxville, TN, and First Apostolic Church of Maryville, TN were major contributors to the new work. Thanks in large part to their efforts New Life Apostolic Church opened its doors at 210 Luther Drive on June 15, 1993. Over Labor Day weekend, Rev. Spencer McCool brought a crew of men from Utica, MI to work on the aging building. They camped out at the church, and in 1 week replaced the roof and made major improvements to the exterior of the church building.
Marked by anointed singing and preaching, NLAC quickly began to draw the attention of the community as a growing revival-minded church. The Lord added to the church, and some who came to the Lord in the first services are still a part of the congregation today. These and hundreds more have come through the doors of this church to experience "a taste of Pentecost". In 1996 Bro. Livingston temporarily returned to the evangelistic field. For about two years Bro. Dean Livingston, Bro. Denny Livingston’s father and pastor of Soul’s Harbor Apostolic Church in Bristol, VA, served NLAC as Interim Pastor. Then in late 1997, Bro. Denny Livingston returned to Greeneville to continue the work he began. The first expansion took place soon after his return. The front porch was closed in, creating room for 2 offices, a foyer, and storage. The entire facility was remodeled, a new stage was constructed, new carpet was installed, and pew chairs replaced the old wooden pews. But the renovation of the building was not nearly as exciting as the renovation of lives taking place. Revival was surging throughout the church, and overcrowding would soon become a problem. As the church continued to grow, Bro. Livingston began to put in place a plan for further expansion. A larger sanctuary was needed, as well as office space. The need was for a much larger facility that would connect to the older building. In the summer of 2000 plans were drawn up and ground was broken for the new 60’ X 120’ 7200 sq. ft. home of New Life Apostolic Church.
The next 4 years would include many mountaintops and many valleys. The construction took longer than anyone anticipated, but there were enough victories to keep the aspirations alive. One such victory occurred when Rev. J.B. Simms of Foley, AL brought a crew of construction workers to Greeneville, TN to begin “The Nehemiah Project”. They left after 1 week, but not before the entire interior of the new facility was framed up and ready to wire. The men and women of the church worked tirelessly and the church gave sacrificially to see the vision become reality. In June of 2004, the church officially moved into the new building and began to rejoice in what God had done. A short time later, Bro. Livingston left New Life and currently pastors in Nashville, TN. In September of 2004, Bro. Livingston contacted a close friend and asked him to consider serving the wonderful people of New Life Apostolic Church as pastor. Rev. Jeremy Carver, a full-time evangelist, came that same month and relocated to Greeneville the following year.
New Life Apostolic Church has truly been blessed by God, and is thankful for the strong leadership and vision provided since its inception. The church is moving forward and believing for the harvest of souls that God has indeed promised to us. To Be Continued... |
