Touring the churches: New Creation
College View Church has created a positive worship environment for generations of Union College students. While having a church located so near may make it the obvious choice for some, there actually are six other Adventist churches in Lincoln, each with their own unique worship styles, events, services and communities. So whether you’re church hunting, searching for a way to get involved or just love exploring, let’s see what's out there.
New Creation Church is located on the outskirts of town about fifteen minutes away from Union College. It is a budding community with a growing congregation of about 100 members and expansion plans already in the works. This church harbors a warm, casual atmosphere with a tight-knit but welcoming community of diverse members. Immediately upon entering the doors, you will be greeted by Mike Mennard, head pastor of the church, as he hands out bulletins to incoming churchgoers. He welcomes you in with a smile, offering a bulletin and directing you to the lobby area where a plethora of refreshments and coffee sits at the ready.
Sabbath School begins at 10 am, with several classes to choose from, including Aslan’s on the Move - looking at the gospel through the works of C.S Lewis and In His Word - an in depth study in prophetic Bible books. The worship service begins at 11:15 in the Sanctuary, which features seating such as chairs, pews … and sofas! One of the cool features of this church is their praise band, which plays lively, contemporary music. Every Wednesday, a free class open to anyone is held to train worship leaders to lead on stage on Sundays. After the music is prayer time, and a microphone passed from member to member so they can vocalize their prayer requests for others to pray for throughout the week.
After prayer the service moves on to the message, usually spoken by Pastor Mennard and various other members of the congregation. Sermons are generally short and sweet and Pastor Mennard is definitely a dynamic and humorous speaker.
The service ends with a couple more announcements about exciting events throughout the week. Some of those include Coffee on Friday’s and Super C.O.W on Wednesdays. New Creation is a great church to visit and very inclusive. They often have things going on and are always happy to see new faces. If you wish to visit, you can find more information at newcreation.adventistchurch.org.
By Sophia Jaquez