Walls Came Down in East Berlin, PA

We had an awesome time of ministry at New Life Assembly in East Berlin, PA Sunday.  The senior pastor, Joel Everhart, is a longtime friend.  Our first ministry position was at his home church in Monroeville, PA, where he had interned and served as youth pastor for a period of time before beginning his pastorate at East Berlin.  His father, John, would greet me after almost every service in Monroeville with some kind of tongue-in-cheek remark, and would do so with such dry humor that I wasn’t sure if he liked me or not even after 4 years on staff there.  It would usually be a comment about my song selection or the theological accuracy of a song we had done. Joel assured me this week that his parents did like me and that this was his dad’s response after telling him we were going to be ministering at New Life: “Pastor Kris got us standing during worship 17 years ago and we haven’t sat down since.”  Great memories… Great people…

From the first song on Sunday morning it was evident that the people of New Life were accustomed to engaging in genuine worship…  The presence of God truly inhabited our praise and before we even realized it, an hour had gone by.  People came to the altar to during worship just to get closer to the Lord!  Many others came to lay burdens at the altar and seek the Lord for His intervention, strength, wisdom, peace and restored hope.  One family was about to say goodbye to their 18-year-old son who is shipping out for basic training in the Army this week.  Looking back on the morning, every song and every word spoken seemed to be orchestrated to minister specifically to this family.  Several people raised hands for salvation and many responded to recommit themselves to living a life of worship with ALL their hearts and offering their lives as living sacrifices…

Shannon’s dad and mom (Duane and Jean Ann Nicholson) were in the service Sunday and shared this testimony: “The walls came down in East Berlin this morning when people flooded the altars to pray and worship God.  New Life Assembly is a thriving church with friendly and worship-minded people. If we lived in that area we would be attending there.”
Praise the Lord for an awesome time in His presence and for a pastor and church who sincerely “worship in spirit and truth”!

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