Northeast Region Welcomes New Churches
CONNECTING WITH NEW BELIEVERS & MINISTRY COLLEAGUES
by Terry Shanahan, NE Regional Pastor
What a glorious time we had in Wenham Massachusetts at the Annual Gathering of the CCCC. There were so many highlights; new initiatives were announced, new resources were being unveiled, plus many new churches and members were taken into the Conference. I’m confident others will report in the Foresee about some of these. I would like to use this space however to highlight the three churches that joined the CCCC from the Northeast region of our country.
Candia Congregational Church in Candia New Hampshire was founded in 1763. It resembles many of our traditional congregational churches that are set in the center of the Village Green. They have a rich history of following the congregational way and they have joined our Conference after years of being a very bright evangelical light in a denomination whose light has been dimmed. The church and their new pastor have quickly assimilated into the Conference by supporting and joining in the work as they co-labor with us for Christ.
Cornerstone Congregational Church in Westford Mass is a new church plant. After some years of being a church in development overseen by their sending church Emmanuel Church in Chelmsford, MA they reached their full status of an autonomous church last year and were recognized this year as a member church with full standing in the Conference. There is a wonderful testimony of God’s redeeming grace in the initial startup of this church. The previous church at this location was a legacy church, one who closed their doors and gave their property for this work. But that is a lengthy story for another day.
Curtis Lake Christian Church is a large contemporary regional church reaching 1200 or more souls in Sanford Maine. Its multiple services, large staff, and sprawling facilities are not the picture of our typical CCCC church. However they are in full agreement with our statement of faith, our code of ethics, and our congregational polity. They also align themselves with the CCCC way of life and our Seven Guiding Values. In fact the staff has been credentialed with us for a number of years and they have worked tirelessly with us at the Annual Gatherings. This year they have taken the final step of the church coming into membership.
In addition to these three churches officially joining our Conference in the Northeast we are in the midst of planting four new works of God.
Highlighting these churches really speaks to the diversity we experience in the Conference; one traditional church, one church plant and by New England standards, one mega church. We do not all look or act the same but we are unified in our beliefs. Praise God that we can look so different but believe in the one true God. Hallelujah!