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GOD WANTS TO DO GREAT THINGS THROUGH YOU!

NEW LIFE A GLOBAL METHODIST CHURCH 

Worship With Us

Sunday, 10 a.m.

Centre Learning Community Charter School
2643 West College Ave.
State College, PA
(see map below) 

Worship In Person or Online

New Life welcomes everyone to worship with us! For young families, we have a children’s message near the beginning of the worship service. Then children ages 2 and up are dismissed to Children's Church for the remainder of the service. The curriculum focuses on Scripture-based lessons. We incorporate short videos, discussion, Bible teaching, and crafts to present these lessons in an engaging kid-friendly way.

Our worship services are live streamed on our Facebook page every Sunday morning at 10 a.m. If you missed worship service last Sunday go to our New Life Church Facebook Video page to view all our posted videos including videos of our worship services and Pastor Dave's sermon previews and recaps.

Pastor Dave’s sermons as well as sermon previews and recaps are on YouTube at our New Life Church YouTube channel. And while you are there subscribe to our channel.

Looking forward to seeing you this Sunday. If you have any questions please email pastor@statecollegegmc.org.

Here is a map to our worship service location at the Centre Learning Community Charter School at 2643 West College Ave. in State College.

MEET OUR PASTOR

Grace and peace be unto you from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. 

I am Dave McElwee. I am currently the pastor of the New Life, a Global Methodist Church in State College. I have been serving as a pastor at various churches since 2013.  

 Being the son of a pastor and a church secretary, I spent much of my life moving around south central Pennsylvania as my father served churches, though I claim York, Pa as my hometown. I graduated from York Suburban High School in York before going on to study history, political science, and economics at Lycoming College. 

Following my college years, I spent nearly 5 years on active duty in the United States Army. I was station first at the former Fort Hood, TX before going to Fort Carson, CO. During those years, I deployed to Iraq twice and left active duty as a sergeant.

Having finally accepting my call as a pastor while in the Army, after I left active duty, I earned my Master of Divinity degree at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington DC. It was at Wesley that I met my wife, Samantha, marrying her in 2014. We have two children together, Abigail and Andrew, and a dog, Marco. My wife also serves as a GMC pastor. 

In ministry, I have served churches in Dauphin, York, Clinton, Juniata, and Clearfield counties both during and after my time in seminary. I have also served beyond the local church in many different roles, I came into the Global Methodist Church on January 1st, 2025, and have been at New Life since that time. 
 I spend my free time reading, especially nonfiction and thrillers. I also enjoy my time in the woods and doing World War I living history. 

As a pastor, I view my role as mainly being the pastor of the church. I believe that lay leadership is key for any church, especially in reaching out in missions and in making disciples for Jesus Christ. I see my pastoral role in those areas as encouraging, mentoring, and guiding the laity to do the work and building the team where individual gifts and graces can be used to further God’s kingdom. 

Pastor Dave Photo - Edited

Rev. Dave McElwee

pastor@statecollegegmc.org

WE BELIEVE

The core beliefs of New Life Church will be based on the foundational truths taught in the Bible and upheld in the Book of Doctrines and Discipline of the Global Methodist Church.  All our teachings and ministry will be rooted in and flow out of these biblical doctrines.

      GOD

We believe in one true, holy, and living God, Eternal Spirit, who is Creator, Sovereign and Preserver of all things visible and invisible. God is infinite in power, wisdom, justice, goodness, and love, and rules with gracious regard for the well-being and salvation of all humanity, to the glory of his name. We believe the one God reveals himself as the Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, distinct but inseparable, eternally one in essence and power.

      JESUS CHRIST

We believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, both fully human and fully God, in whom the divine and human natures are perfectly and inseparably united. He is the eternal Word made flesh, the begotten Son of the Father, born of the Virgin Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit. As ministering servant, he lived, suffered, and died on the cross. He was buried, rose from the dead and ascended into heaven to be with the Father, and will one day return. He is eternal Savior and mediator who intercedes for us, and by him all humanity will be judged at the final day because he alone lived a perfect life without sin.

     HOLY SPIRIT

We believe in the Holy Spirit who proceeds from and is one being with the Father and the Son. He convinces the world of sin, of righteousness and of judgment. He leads humanity through faithful response to the gospel into the fellowship of the church. He comforts, sustains, and empowers the faithful and guides them into all truth. He provides gifts for ministry to followers of Jesus as described in 1st Corinthians 12:8-10 and other passages of scripture. His presence in a believer's life is testified to by the fruit of the Spirit as described in Galatians 5:22-23.

     THE CHURCH

We believe the Christian Church is the community of all true believers under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. We believe it is one, holy, apostolic and universal Church. The Word of God is preached by persons divinely called, and the sacraments are duly administered according to Christ’s own appointment. Under the discipline of the Holy Spirit the Church exists for the maintenance of worship, the edification of believers and the redemption of the world. 

   THE BIBLE

We believe the Holy Bible, Old and New Testaments, reveals the Word of God so far as it is necessary for our salvation. It is to be received through the Holy Spirit as the true rule and guide for faith and practice.

  THE SACRAMENTS

We believe that the Sacraments of Baptism and Holy Communion (The Lord’s Supper) are ordained by Jesus Christ as symbols and pledges of the Christian’s profession and of God’s love toward us. They are means of grace by which God works invisibly in us, transforming, strengthening, and confirming our faith in him. Baptism signifies entrance into the household of faith and is a symbol of repentance and inner cleansing from sin, a representation of the new birth in Jesus Christ and a mark of Christian discipleship. Celebration of the Lord’s Supper is a  rehearsal of Jesus’ act of redemption through His suffering and death on the cross.  John Wesley believed that the Lord Jesus Christ is uniquely and mysteriously present in both sacramental practices in a way that is difficult for human logic to fully conceive.

     THE APOSTLES' CREED

I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth; And in Jesus Christ his only Son, our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; the third day he rose from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the living and the dead.  I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

     THE NICENE CREED

We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father; through Him all things were made. For us and for our salvation He came down from heaven, was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary and became truly human. For our sake He was crucified under Pontius Pilate; He suffered death and was buried. On the third day He rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and His kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets.

We believe in one holy catholic* and apostolic church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

WHO WE ARE

WORSHIP PASSIONATELY, LOVE EXTRAVAGANTLY,  WITNESS BOLDLY

We are laypersons and pastors from Methodist and other church traditions, who love God and love others, who are deeply committed followers of Jesus Christ and his teachings, and who rely on God’s Word, the Bible, to live out our lives in faith to glorify God. That is our response to God’s amazing grace, a free gift to us through the sacrifice of His only Son, Jesus, who faithfully went to the cross to pay the price for our past, present and future sins. But God’s love for us didn’t end there. Jesus rose from the dead, defeating the power of death over us, and giving the gift of eternal life to those who believe. We are the faithful who believe.

We visualize a church that worships passionately, where the preaching will be true to the Gospel, always based on God’s Word, and emphasizing God’s grace, love, and forgiveness. We desire to worship the Lord Jesus with joy as well as solemnity. We believe that the great hymns of the Church are God’s gifts as are many of the songs which are being birthed in our current generations as well.

We visualize a church that, in addition to worshiping passionately will also meet in many small groups to fellowship, study God’s Word and encourage one another in love, much like the early Methodist Church. Both the early Church and the early Wesleyans met in their home for fellowship, study and worship.

We visualize a church where members can witness boldly to what it means to be a Christian, welcoming everyone, since all of us are struggling with the problems of life.  We would hope to see many transformed lives as people come to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior of their lives. We come as those who understand that, as the scriptures witness, none is righteous and so we come as those seeking to grow in both our faith and our faithfulness.

We visualize a church that loves extravagantly, serving people in need by supporting projects and organizations that the Lord places on the hearts of the members of the church with each small group taking on a project.

We visualize a church where the gifts and fruit of the Holy Spirit are evident in the lives of people as they use their God given gifts to be of service to the church and to one another.

We visualize a church that will be for everyone who is genuinely seeking a deeper walk with Jesus, growing in holiness, and being more like him.

WHAT'S BEST FOR
YOUR FAMILY?

Whether you choose to experience New Life Church online or in person, there's something for all with families!

 If you attend in person, our friendly greeter will introduce you to our Children's Church teachers.  Your children will meet with them at the table in the back of our sanctuary to color, draw and work on Bible story worksheets. When it's time for the children's message, they will go forward to receive a message and then go to our classroom for memory verse song, bible lesson and craft. (All our teachers and assistants have MinistrySafe Training.) We can't wait to meet you!

 If you attend online, you'll find that New Life Church services are family friendly. Your kids will love the worship music, easy to understand preaching, and inspiring and fun Children's message.

Children's Church
Children's table during worship
charter school building 1
IMG_0229
GMC_Logo Mark_White_Hi Res Digital

EMAIL US: info@statecollegegmc.org.

MAIL US:  NEW LIFE CHURCH PO BOX 213 STATE COLLEGE, PA 16804-0213

LOCATION: 2643 West College Ave. State College, PA 16801

Mission Statement: The Global Methodist Church exists to make disciples of Jesus Christ and to spread scriptural holiness across the globe.

Vision Statement: Through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, the Global Methodist Church envisions mutiplying disciples of Jesus Christ throughout the earth who flourish in scriptural holiness as we worship passionately, love extravagantly and witness boldly.

PLAN YOUR VISIT NOW

New to New Life Church? You can experience a service online or in-person! Plan Your Visit today!