About Pastor Keith Blessing
Pastor Keith is a sinner saved by God’s sovereign grace!
He grew up in a religious home in Southwest Louisiana, but it wasn’t until he was 15 that God did a saving work of grace in his life. A few years later, the Lord called him into full time ministry and he moved to Dallas, Texas to attend Criswell Bible College to prepare for ministry. After serving on staff at several churches in Texas, God eventually lead Keith and his family to Memphis to attend Mid-America Seminary, where he graduated in May of 2008. About 5 years ago, the Lord gave a specific call to Keith to start a new church and since then learned that God was leading them to Eads, Tennessee. The Lord has begun to fulfill that call and New Life Church has been meeting since September 2008.
Keith has a great desire to see that the glory of Christ and finding fulfillment in Him is proclaimed and commended in his life and through the testimony of New Life Church all throughout Eads, the Mid-South and Lord willing, even to the far places of the earth. He is looking forward, in anticipation and by God’s sustaining grace, to the many years of fruitful labor in the gospel ministry.
Keith has been married to his wife, Stephanie, since July 1998. They have five children who range from 7 years to 5 months – Seth, Micah, Abigail, Bethany, and Nathan.
His two favorite verses in the scriptures are a steady reminder to Him of God’s sovereignty and the eternal responsibility of the pastoral ministry.
“for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.”
~ Philippians 2.13
“Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things; for as
you do this you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you.”
~ 1 Timothy 4.16
Our vision
New Life’s Vision is to fulfill God’s eternal purpose for creating the church, by living our lives in such a way, that we accurately display God’s wisdom and glory to all of creation.
We believe that God is absolutely sovereign and does all things for His glory and pleasure!
“But our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases.” ~Psalm 115.3
“Let the glory of the LORD endure forever; Let the LORD be glad in His works;” ~Psalm 104.31
“For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.” ~Romans 11.36
It is imperative that we make God’s ‘vision’ for His church our vision for New Life Church.
Therefore, we aim to be the kind of church that lives our lives in such a way that we accurately display God’s wisdom to all His creation…giving Him the glory that He rightly deserves!
“to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.” ~Ephesians 3.21
Our misSion
New Life’s Mission is to compel the world to Christ, by intentionally pursuing lost people, evangelizing those whom we pursue, and teaching those who are brought into our church.
In order to fulfill our Vision, by accurately displaying God’s glory and wisdom in our lives, we must be doing what He has clearly mandated us to do.
“And the master said to the slave, ‘Go out into the highways and along the hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.” ~Luke 14.23
“All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” ~Matthew 28.18-20
We are on mission to compel the world to Christ by:
Pursuing Lost People
Evangelizing Those We Pursue
Teaching Them about their New Life in Christ.
Pursuing Lost People
We are to be pursing lost people by simply getting to know them.
We believe that lost people matter to Christ and so they should matter to His church.
“For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” ~Luke 19.10
“It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners…” ~1 Timothy 1.15
We believe this will help to lay the groundwork for sharing the gospel with them.
Evangelizing Those We Pursue
Even in the Mid-South ‘the Bible-belt’, we now live in a post-Christian culture. People simply do not think how best to honor Christ with their lives. We cannot simply expect that people will come to Christ on their own; we must compel them to come to Jesus and be reconciled to God.
“…and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were entreating through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.” ~2 Corinthians 5.19-20
“and that repentance for forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in His name to all the nations…” ~Luke 24.47
Teaching Them About Their New Life in Christ
Not only will we intentionally pursue and evangelize lost people, but we will teach those whom God has saved and called into fellowship with us how to live their New Life.
“…give attention to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation and teaching.” ~1 Timothy 4.13
“And we proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, that we may present every man complete in Christ.” ~Colossians 1.28
Mission Summary:
By pursuing, evangelizing, and teaching them, God is redeeming and forming together a people from all walks of life, who love one another and who live in obedience under the authority of the Bible (This is ‘The Church’).
Our strategy
New Life Church will be established and thrive on the Gospel, and the Gospel will penetrate every ministry of this church’s life, so that we will insure salvation both for ourselves and for those who hear us.
By what means will we pursue and evangelize lost people and teach believers?
~ THE GOSPEL!
The Gospel is not only the ‘good news’ that enables us to be in a right relationship with God, it also instructs us on how we are to live by faith and function as Christians in community with one another.
The Gospel is the only means of communicating to the church and to the world what is pleasing to God!
As a new church, in order to take a simple yet deliberate approach in our strategy, we have established four main ministries on the Gospel, that assist us in aiming to glorify God for accomplishing our vision and mission:
Expository Preaching
Family Life Ministry
Authentic Community
Missional Living
You can read all about our ministries on our ministries page.