Who we are.
Our New Life Story originated in the heart and mind of God long before He began to reveal it to our Lead Pastor Eli Lara.
Our journey began as a home team. In 2012, Eli led a home team of 3 individuals that quickly began to grow due to word of mouth. Within months, the home team grew to more than 60 people. To accommodate the increasing size, this home team had to move to several different home locations.
However, in August 2013, Trinity United Methodist Church graciously opened its doors to accommodate the bible study’s increase in numbers. This move laid the foundation of what would become New Life Bible Study, a place where current and new believers came together as one community to learn more about God’s Word. We went door to door in the neighborhoods sharing the gospel of Jesus, handed out water and told them “we don’t want to take from you. We want to give to you”, and offered prayer for their specific petitions. No one had any idea what God was about to do.
In December 2015, with several confirmations and a clear direction from God, Eli agreed to stop running from God’s calling in his life, and New Life Family RGV Inc. was officially incorporated 6 months later.
As the years progressed, we were temporarily housed at 2 other churches, Christian Fellowship Church, as well as Church of the King. However in 2018, we went from Gamehause to God’s House. New Life Family Church moved into what was previously Gamehause Restaurant/Bar, completely transforming the building from a place of sin to a place where God is honored and people experience deliverance. The building was physically transformed, but more importantly, lives are being spiritually transformed.
We currently have 2 Sunday morning services and a midweek Thursday evening service (each service averaging nearly 400 people), but our goal is not solely focused on church attendance. We are most concerned with our congregation’s spiritual lives, ensuring they are discipled, rooted, and ready to share the Good News of the Gospel. Since we believe in the Great Commission to go out and create disciples, we offer free discipleship classes. NLFC is focused on winning souls for Christ, but not just concluding there. We want to develop and disciple them so they will be mature, complete, and know how to defend the truth.
Our mission drives everything we do, from the ministries we provide to the resources we produce. We hope this calling serves as an invitation to actively participate with us in the work of the Lord rather than remain a passive observer.
We are a church that believes we must get out of the 4 walls, extend out into the world that is full of darkness so that we can be the light of Christ. We live in a broken world, but we believe God can transform what was considered broken into someone that can be beautifully used by Him. We are also very involved in the community. We go out into our community, give out free bibles (donate bibles to other ministries), and pray for others. Our outreach ministry also disperses free community resources (including food, clothing, hygiene items) during our regular outreach events hosted in the front of the church, downtown McAllen, as well as a separate team providing outreach in Reynosa, MX. We offer free counseling services (when space is available), and have partnered up with local Community Organizations to assist the less fortunate. We want to be a church that is the hands and feet of Jesus.
New Life Family Church continues to serve God, serve our city, and make an impact, not just locally, but globally as well. We believe in and support missionaries and ministries in Albania, Cuba, Mexico, and Israel. Hebrews Life Café, which is located in the church lobby, was created so that the church would be able to have additional revenue to assist with the mission efforts.
NLFC has been growing at a rapid pace, and we believe it is because of the vision. People know that God is leading all of this, and when God is leading it, it is exciting, never conventional, and always extraordinary. Many people say that when they walk into New Life, they feel the presence and love of God. We want to always protect his presence.