Our History

Understanding the history of our church sheds a lot of light on who we are now, and on where we are going. God has been gracious to us over the years and we have enjoyed many amazing experiences together.  That is why you can probably feel the family-like atmosphere here.  However, this is not a closed family.  Our doors are open to those that God would bring to join this family.  And we are excited about getting to know you, and the possibility that you too will become part of the Adventure of God here!

We formally adopted into the Association of Vineyard Churches, USA, in February of 2003. For twenty-five years prior to this affiliation, we were Newark Christian Fellowship (NCF), an independent, non-denominational, charismatic church founded by Bruce and Lynn Latshaw when they were University of Delaware students nearly thirty years ago.

Like the original Vineyard churches birthed by John Wimber in southern California, NCF was founded as a result of the Jesus Movement of the early 1970′s. Touched by God’s Spirit in a non-traditional church setting, we began 
as a meeting of ex-hippies and other young radical Christians; first we met in a campus apartment, then in a townhouse in Newark, DE. Our original name was New Ark Community, reflecting our view of ourselves as a tightly knit spiritual family of Christians. 

In 1980, our name changed to Newark Christian Fellowship, we moved from  Newark into the newly built “barn” on this land near Kemblesville, PA, and continued evangelizing our area and following the Lord in a laid-back, 
informal style of church. Slowly, as funds came in, we finished converting “the Barn” from a real animal enclosure (yes, with goats, chickens, and horses!) to the offices and meeting facility it is today. Over the years we 
continued our numerical and organizational growth, creating a staff now consisting of five full-time pastors and several part-time staff volunteer ministers.

Our Vision

We want all people to truly experience and live the amazing life that God has planned for them. Although it will look different for every individual, this can be achieved by pursuing four basic values. We have a passion for and commitment to seeing every person living out these four values.

• Encountering God
  On the deepest level, every human needs a true encounter with the living God.  This isn’t about religion or philosophy, it’s about having a real and personal relationship with Jesus.  We hope all people experience God’s
love and comfort on a regular basis.
• Nurturing Community
  People can easily feel alone and isolated in this world. The three other elements of our vision cannot fully be experienced outside of a nurturing community. We have a passion to provide a community where members
feel accepted and loved – and new people can easily join.
• Transforming Lives
  Encountering God in the context of a nurturing community naturally leads to our lives being transformed.  But being “transformed” sounds kind of overwhelming to some people.  This isn’t about buying another self-help book, or even trying to conform and become like someone else.

This is about truly finding yourself – gaining freedom from persistent struggles and discovering who you are meant to be.  God is the kindest, most loving person, and we are called to be like him.  We hope that every person will find healing and freedom and begin to realize their full potential and purpose.  This is the transformation we are seeking – to be like Jesus.
• Living the Adventure
  Every person longs for adventure, for that feeling of “truly living.” This adventure isn’t about being a daredevil, it’s about living the dreams that God has for you despite your fear. It’s about making a difference in the world around you.  It’s about touching other people’s lives with the same power that has touched yours.  This adventure will look very different for each person.  Our desire is to see every person living the adventure that God has for their lives.

Our Beliefs

We believe in the central beliefs of historical and biblical Christianity. We believe:

• That the Bible is a message from God to humanity that he inspired the authors to write that is perfect and error-free (“inerrant”) in the original writing, and is relevant and powerful for our daily lives.
• That there is only one true God, not a multitude of gods.  And the one true God exists as three Persons in one, often referred to as “The Trinity.”  God exists as God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ), and God the Spirit 
(The Holy Spirit).
• That over 2000 years ago God came to Earth as a human – Jesus Christ – to save humanity from our sin.  Jesus has always existed as God, even before he came to earth, and will continue to exist for eternity as God.  While on Earth Jesus was both still completely God (retaining all of His divine qualities) and completely man (living with the same struggles that we live with today).
• That in order for God to come to Earth as a man, He miraculously caused Mary to be pregnant with Jesus, even though she was a virgin.  This is called the “Virgin Birth.”
• That humanity’s salvation from sin, sickness and death, comes as a free gift from God (called “grace”), through faith in what Jesus did on Earth.  This “faith” is believing that Jesus lived a sinless life, died on the cross to 
pay the penalty for our sins, and was physically raised from the dead (resurrected) on the third day! His death and resurrection have cleared us of all consequences of our sin if we receive the free gift of His salvation for us, and give our lives over to His leadership and learn to depend wholly on Him.
• That after His resurrection Jesus returned to heaven to be with His Father and sent the Holy Spirit to Earth in order to release His power and presence to the Church.  Jesus will also return to Earth physically at the end of time to rule as the visible King.