TODAY AT NEW DAY

A NOTE FROM NEXTGEN PASTOR LUKE WILLIAMS

Hello there!

I can’t believe it is already May and marking some significant moments for my family. We are celebrating my wife, Allana’s, and my birthday. We will mark the four-year anniversary of being on staff at New Day. We are also celebrating that our oldest son, Parker, will attend his first Midweek as he looks ahead to middle school in the fall. I’M NOT READY FOR A MIDDLE SCHOOLER IN THE HOUSE! If you are also finding yourself with a 5th grader about to enter 6th grade, I want to remind you of our Midweek Sneak Peek on Wednesday, May 21, where you and your 5th grader are invited to our Midweek program for middle school and high school students at our Port Charlotte and North Port campuses. You will get to see what happens at a typical Midweek. There will be a time for large group teaching, worship, pizza, and then while the rest of the student ministry breaks into small groups, we will have a dedicated time for our 5th graders and their parents to get some more information, ask questions, and get a better understanding of what happens when your child officially enters Student Ministry in August. Register hereto let us know you are coming to Midweek Sneak Peek!

I continually thank the Lord for the amazing team members we have in our NextGen ministry. We have an excellent team of people who sacrifice their time and energy to build relationships with the kids in our NextGen ministries. And we see the fruit of those relationships in the amazing number of kids getting baptized. So far this year, we have seen 42 kids and students get baptized! It is easy to get excited over big numbers and high attendance, but I love seeing each week when a kid enters one of our rooms and a team member lights up because they know that child and call them by name. The impact of a moment like that can be eternal.

As we look to open our Sarasota campus, we need additional team members in every area of our NextGen ministries! Whether that is holding babies in our Cribbers and Crawlers room or helping high schoolers navigate the stresses of graduation season, or somewhere in between, I want to encourage you to find a place to serve, but I especially want to encourage you to find a place to serve within the NextGen ministry.

As I said, we look forward to opening the Sarasota campus here in the next season. I encourage you to pray and consider attending and serving at the Sarasota campus. At the same time, if you have considered and determined that you and your family will stay at the North Port or Port Charlotte campus, would you take the step of starting to serve (even if that means it’s not in the NextGen area!)? Our mission is to make disciples who make disciples, and having those attending take the step from attending to serving is huge in that discipleship process! If you are interested in serving, you can click here to check out different areas!

One last thing I want to leave you with is a reason to celebrate. This year, we will take over 210 elementary, middle, and high school students to summer camps and trips! We have never had that many kids go on trips in the past! I cannot wait to see the impact God will have on our NextGen ministry this summer as we head off to CIY and Lake Aurora! My final ask of you is to pray for the kids, students, and volunteers going on these trips! In early June, our high schoolers will go to CIY, and our youngest elementary schoolers will go to Lake Aurora. Our upper elementary and middle school students will go to Lake Aurora at the end of July. I can’t wait to see God move in mighty ways within the lives of the students and teams!

In Christ,

Luke