The church established its present campus location in the early 1990s and added buildings and added onto existing buildings in this location. The initial sanctuary on the campus, now referred to as the "theater," seats 1,500 and is used primarily for the New Life Friday Night congregation and New Life Kids on Sunday mornings. The current main sanctuary can seat over 8,000 but is currently set up to seat 5,000. The New Life campus is also home to the World Prayer Center. The World Prayer Team organization, founded global internet-based prayer efforts among its participants out of this building. The World Prayer Team is currently under the direction of Modern Day Missions. The building currently hosts prayer rooms. The smallest building on the campus is The Tent which is used for various ministry gatherings including the Junior High Sunday Service. Children's classrooms are in a Bible story-themed area.
New Life Church is well-known for its prolific songwriters and worship leaders, having released over a dozen albums and hundreds of songs through New Life Worship band and Desperation Band. New Life Worship band is now under the direction of Pete Sanchez while Jon Egan leads most Sundays at New Life North.
Desperation ministries
Desperation Ministries is a national youth ministry that was born out of New Life Church. Through its local student ministry, annual conferences, ministry tours, Desperation Ministries calls students to live lives of Passion, Mission, Intercession, and Consecration.
New Life Church, under the leadership of Brady Boyd, founded and launched Dream Centers of Colorado Springs which serves Colorado Springs in several ways:
Women's Clinic, offering free medical care to uninsured or underinsured women.
Mary's Home, houses homeless single moms and their children and offers support for education, medical care, life skill training.
Influence
New Life Church, along with Focus on the Family, established Colorado Springs as a conservative evangelical center in the 1990s. In 2005, Jeff Sharlet claimed that while New Life is "by no means the largest megachurch ... holds more sway over the political direction of evangelicalism" than any other church in America.
History
New Life Church was founded in 1984 by Ted Haggard. The church started under his leadership as an independent church meeting in his home. From these origins, the church grew through a succession of larger meeting spaces including strip mall office space and other non-traditional church locations.
Ted Haggard scandals and resignation
On November 2, 2006, Haggard was accused of paying a male escort for sex for three years and of also using methamphetamine. Later the same day, Haggard voluntarily stepped down as pastor so "the overseer process can be allowed to proceed with integrity", and that he would be seeking "spiritual advice and guidance". Two days later, New Life Church's Board of Overseers announced that they had decided to permanently dismiss Haggard from his role. In January 2009, new allegations emerged that Haggard, while pastor at New Life, had an inappropriate relationship with a former attendee. Haggard's successor, Brady Boyd, said the church reached a six figure settlement with the man, who was in his early 20s at the time. According to a News Channel 13 report, the man said the contact was "not consensual".
Pastorship of Brady Boyd
Following a pastoral selection process, Brady Boyd became the Senior Pastor in August 2007. Under his leadership, New Life Church has planted 6 churches around the United States, established new congregations within New Life Church and launched the Dream Centers of Colorado Springs. In addition to pastoring New Life Church, Boyd has written several books, including Fear No Evil, Sons & Daughters, Let Her Lead, Addicted to Busy, Speak Life and Remarkable Boyd had served Gateway Church in Southlake, Texas and Trinity Fellowship in Amarillo, Texas. He still speaks at both churches.
Shooting
On December 9, 2007, Matthew Murray, age 24, opened fire in the New Life Church, striking five people and killing two, sisters Rachel and Stephanie Works; their father David Works was one of the individuals injured. Jeanne Assam, a church security volunteer, shot and wounded the gunman who then killed himself. Several hours prior, the same gunman opened fire at a Youth With A Mission training center in Arvada, Colorado, striking four people and killing two. He was formerly a missionary-in-training with Youth With A Mission and was from a devout Christian family. Police found a letter from the shooter addressed "To God".
In popular culture
Ted Haggard and other members of the church were featured on a 1997 episode of the PRI radio program This American Life, as well as the documentaries Jesus Camp, Friends of God, Constantine's Sword, The Root of All Evil?, and HBO's The Trials of Ted Haggard.
