The congregants of New Antioch Christian Fellowship had long considered themselves the best kept secret in the Las Vegas Valley. Nestled in the northeast side of town, on Las Vegas Boulevard between Lamb and Nellis, they have been in existence since January of 2002. Their motto of being People-Focused and Purpose-Driven along with the concept of having a pastoral team proved to be a successful combination and the church, now in its third expansion, has grown powerfully but quietly over the past several years. At least that was the case until the tragic passing of one of their most beloved sons, Officer James “Jamie” Manor in May of last year.

The best-kept secret was suddenly on “front street” as they were introduced to the city as the church family of Officer Manor. Those who were present had, as Senior Pastor Dr. Naida M. Parson promised, “a worship experience they would never forget.” The excellent music, the choir, the lead singers, the stirring eulogy from Pastor Parson and, most of all, the love for the family was evident for all to see. Since that time the church has continued to experience steady growth and is preparing to begin a new ministry in 2010.

On January 17th those in the Aliante area will not only be able to experience the excellence, style and powerful anointing of a New Antioch service close to home, but they will also have the opportunity to be a part of a church that believes in “perfecting the saints for the work of the ministry and perfecting the ministry to work for humanity.”

New Antioch Christian Fellowship (NACF) effectively serves the community through various outreach programs including its food bank, back-to-school fair and after-school tutoring/feeding program. Embracing the ministry’s “Everybody matters to God – Everybody” motto, the NACF Food Bank provides generous bags of food for 75 to 100 individuals and families each Saturday at its northeast site.

And because kids count at NACF, great care is given to making sure programs are effectively put into place for youth in the community.  Each year, the ministry joins with various community organizations to sponsor their annual back-to-school fair in August where they give away hundreds of backpacks and school supply kits. In addition to their Kids Count children’s ministry, and their Daughters of Royalty and King’s Men youth mentoring programs, NACF has launched an after-school program that is geared towards helping young people excel academically and socially.

Understanding the need and importance of educating, nurturing and investing in our youth, the NACF after-school program incorporates a feeding program, homework clinic and private tutoring sessions four days out of the week. They also offer fine arts classes including drama, dance and music as well as group counseling that centers on gang awareness/prevention, character development and anger management.

With a focus on people and a drive for purpose, New Antioch Christian Fellowship is bound to take church growth to another level.  Many have marveled at the ministry’s success, the rate at which it is growing and the impact that it has had on the community. “No one is probably as surprised as I am that the Lord has chosen us to use us in this way, but we are humbled to be chosen,” says Pastor Parson on the ministry’s growth and expansion.

“We are like children whose legs are too short to keep pace with their father,” says Pastor Sonya Cheltenham, a founding pastor of New Antioch Christian Fellowship. “The ministry is in pursuit of a God whose stride is too long for us to keep up, so we keep pushing and moving to catch Him. Some have said ‘the sky’s the limit’ but we heard there were footprints on the moon, so we have heaven in our view.”

New Antioch Christian Fellowship’s northeast site is located at 3950 North Las Vegas Boulevard.  Service times are Sundays at 8:00am, 10:00am and 6:00pm and Wednesdays at 7:00pm.

The first service for New Antioch Christian Fellowship – Aliante site will be at 12:30pm on January 17, 2010 in the Brian & Teri Cram Middle School Theater.  The theater is located at 1900 West Deer Springs Way. For more information, call (702) 644-7373.