During the summer of 1986, a small group of believers in Christ Jesus met in private homes during the weekday evenings for Bible study, prayer and Christian fellowship. They had a great burden for the spiritually lost of Caldwell County and a desire to be active in spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ as the Lord commanded His disciples to do in Matthew 28: 19-20. After much prayer, this small group of 26 adults, being obedient to the Holy Spirit, stepped out in faith and chartered New Life Baptist Church as a Southern Baptist Church on September 24, 1986. Reverend Chris White was called to be the Pastor of this new work.
Over the four-year period from September 1986 to December 1990, the New Life Baptist Church family would find itself moving to four temporary locations in Caldwell and Burke counties. Although these moves were disruptive to the church growth and often discouraging, the Lord provided the needed resources to continue His work. The first location was a church on Underdown Ave. in Lenoir. Other locations included a former funeral home in Valdese, a discontinued automobile dealership on Hwy. 321N, and a former convenience store on Hibriten Dr. in Lenoir. During this four-year period, the Lord began to shape, mold and mature the church body.
New Life Baptist Church has a vision to see a Family Life Center built as Phase III of the building project. Using this facility for the work of Christ we see it only as a tool for reaching the community with the Good News of the Gospel. Our mission is to win people to Christ and mature the believer for a lifetime of Kingdom growth.