Dear New Life Family,

We are excited to announce Rev. James Louis has officially been elected as New Life Church's new lead pastor.

Thank you to all of the members who stayed for the Special Business Meeting or sent in an absentee ballot to vote. I’d also like to thank our Pastoral Search Committee members – Jeannie Bach, Ruben Haro Montelongo, Jill Hummer, James Kimberly, Melissa Lasher, and Joel Panthappattu – for their tireless efforts in this important process for our church and for God. 

Thank you to our entire New Life family for continuing to faithfully attend during this transitional season. We are all looking forward to turning the page to the new season we are now embarking on together.

With love and blessings,

Rachel Senor
Interim Chairperson
Secretary & Trustee
New Life Assembly of God

Dear New Life Family,

Last week, after two and a half months of seeking the Lord and following a comprehensive process, the Pastoral Search Committee was pleased to announce who we believe the Lord is calling to be the next Lead Pastor of New Life Church. The Committee is putting Pastor James Louis and his wife Billie forward as the candidate we have selected and will ask members to vote on in June.

As a reminder, will hold a brief, special business meeting after service on Sunday, June 9. It is extremely important that all voting members, of which we currently have 40, are in attendance. The day before on Saturday, June 8, we will have a fellowship gathering where members are encouraged to attend and will have an opportunity to ask Pastor James and Billie questions to help inform their vote the next day. We’ll share more information about that in the coming weeks as plans are solidified. For now, please save these dates. We are required to have a quorum for attendance, which is ⅓ of the total members. For Pastor James to be officially appointed as Lead Pastor, two-thirds of the votes of those in attendance will need to be in favor of him. Pastor Chris Delmadge from the New York Ministry Network Superintendent’s office will lead that brief meeting and vote.

God Bless,

The Church Council

Rachel Senor, Secretary, Interim Chairperson
Jeannie Bach, Treasurer
Ruben Haro Montelongo
Jill Hummer
James Kimberly
Melissa Lasher
Joel Panthappattu

Dear New Life Family,

After two and a half months of seeking the Lord and following a comprehensive process, the Pastoral Search Committee has identified who we believe the Lord is calling to be the next Lead Pastor of New Life Church. The Committee is putting Pastor James Louis and his wife Billie forward as the candidate we have selected and will ask members to vote on in June.

Pastor James has been the Assistant Pastor at New Life since 2018, serving as the Family Care and Youth Pastor. He and his wife Billie have been active members of New Life since the early 2000s. James has his ministerial credentials from the New York District Assemblies of God School of Ministry. He was licensed in 2016, ordained in 2018, and then received his Ecclisatic Chaplaincy Endorsement from the Assembly of God in January of 2022.

Pastor James has been the Town of Saugerties Police Chaplain since 2020. He also serves on the Hudson Valley Leadership Committee with Assemblies of God, the Assembly of God Chaplain Association from Assembly of God, the International Conference of Police Chaplains, and the National Black Chaplain Association.

Pastor James did his basic training for the Army at Fort Dixon, NJ and enlisted at West Point. He’s been a Licensed Practicing Nurse (LPN) for over 20 years, including 15 as a Hospice nurse and currently as a cardiac nurse.

Pastor James has a real passion for the Lord and is full of the Holy Spirit. He’s active and well-regarded in the greater Saugerties community. He and his wife Billie are an incredible team in ministry together. They are active with all aspects of our youth programs, from nursery to KidZone, to Girls Ministry and Youth Group. They collectively counsel couples and individuals and often make home and hospital visits together.

Should he win the congregational vote, Pastor James will decide, in collaboration with the Church Council, which roles he will continue with as Lead Pastor. 

We will hold a special business meeting after service on Sunday, June 9. It is extremely important that all voting members, of which we currently have 40, are in attendance. The day before on Saturday, June 8, we will have a fellowship gathering where members are encouraged to attend and will have an opportunity to ask Pastor James and Billie questions to help inform their vote the next day. We’ll share more information about that in the coming weeks as plans are solidified. For now, please save the date for June 9 after service for our special business meeting. We are required to have a quorum for attendance, which is ⅓ of the total members. For Pastor James to be officially appointed as Lead Pastor, two-thirds of the votes of those in attendance will need to be in favor of him. Pastor Chris Delmadge from the New York Ministry Network Superintendent’s office will lead that brief meeting and vote.

It has been a great honor and privilege for all seven of us to serve on the Pastoral Search Committee. We’ve greatly appreciated the support and prayers of our family and our church family during this time.

God Bless,

The Church Council

Rachel Senor, Secretary, Interim Chairperson
Jeannie Bach, Treasurer
Ruben Haro Montelongo
Jill Hummer
James Kimberly
Melissa Lasher
Joel Panthappattu

Dear New Life Family,

While this is not a Pastoral Search Committee update per say, I am coming to you on behalf of the Church Council. We need your help. As those of you here last week heard me say, a very small percentage of our attendees and voting members serve in our ministries. Of the small percentage who do, many of us serve in more than one ministry, and burnout is real. We know everyone often has many other commitments, but we continue to pray for more support and servants to join us to keep our ministries going.

Without new servants soon, we have several ministries that will need to reduce operations, such as not having KidZone every week, and some ministries that may not be able to continue at all, such as leading our community outreach with the Hope Rocks festival this August. We are in need of musicians and singers to serve on our Worship Team, Nursery teachers and assistants to serve our littlest ones, KidZone and Girls Ministry teachers and assistants to serve our K-6th graders, hospitality servants to set up and clean up the bagels and refreshments, grounds crew to weed and mow the lawn immediately surrounding our building, and A/V team members to support with our livestream, sound, and slides. Most of these require only 20 minutes to 1 hour of your time once per month, many of which are when you’re already here for church.

Please contact the people shown on the ministry slides before and after service, find their contact info on our Ministries page on our website, or come see me or any Council member after service. We really need your help and it would be a blessing to connect you with a ministry leader and to serve with you.

Our Pulpit Search Committee continues to meet weekly as we work through the lead pastor search process. We are in a confidential stage right now, so we don’t have any information to share this week. We continue to meet, communicate, and seek counsel from the New York Ministry Network leadership and our section Presbyter, Pastor Tim Janzen.

We appreciate your continued prayers and support.

With love and blessings,

The Church Council

Rachel Senor, Secretary, Interim Chairperson
Jeannie Bach, Treasurer
Ruben Haro Montelongo
Jill Hummer
James Kimberly
Melissa Lasher
Joel Panthappattu

Dear New Life Family,

We’ve officially entered into our season of transition. Please know that the Church Council is working hard to maintain all church operations as normal as feasible and we have the pulpit filled each Sunday through mid-June at this point.

Thank you again to those who completed the Future Pastoral Assessment & Survey. We had 31 surveys completed – 22 by voting members and 9 by non-members, but are regular attendees. A few of the main themes included:

• The desire for us to unite and gather together in fellowship opportunities more often
• To grow – to reach more people and help them find and know the love of our Lord and Savior
• To be more active in the community on a regular basis
• More people serving in our existing ministries and growing our ministries
• More frequent contact with one another via prayer meetings, bible studies, smaller group activities

We can do all of these things together. But we can only do them with your help. A small percentage of people serve, and many of us serve in more than one ministry. We fear our brothers and sisters may burn out and pray for more support and servants to join us to keep our ministries going. If you are interested, please contact the people shown on the slides before and after service, or come see me or any Council member. It would be a blessing to connect you with a ministry leader.

Our Pulpit Search Committee is meeting weekly as we work through the process. We will soon be entering a stage where we may not have many detailed updates for a while, as important aspects of the search need to remain confidential. Please know that we intend to be as transparent as possible and will continue to share weekly as we can. 

We appreciate your continued prayers and support.

With love and blessings,

The Church Council

Rachel Senor, Secretary, Interim Chairperson
Jeannie Bach, Treasurer
Ruben Haro Montelongo
Jill Hummer
James Kimberly
Melissa Lasher
Joel Panthappattu

Dear New Life Family,

Thank you to each of you who completed the Future Pastoral Assessment & Survey. Our search committee has been hard at work reading every response and we are so grateful for the time and love you put into them. We will meet next this Tuesday, April 9 to review together.

For those who may be visiting us for the first time today or in recent weeks, our Lead Pastor, Tim O’Dell, and his wife Cheryl, announced in February that they will be stepping down from their roles as of April 14.

Next Sunday the 14th we are planning a very special service of celebration and gratitude in honor of Pastor Tim, Cheryl and their family’s faithful service to God and our congregation. We hope you will join us for this service, as well as a delicious luncheon in our cafe immediately following. There will be no KidZone or Nursery next Sunday, as we’d like the children to join us for this special service.

One of the most important things you can do during this time is pray for our church, our pastoral transition, and unity within the Council and the congregation. Please join us for prayer every Sunday morning at 9:45am here in the sanctuary before service. Thank you to those of us who joined us this morning.

These weekly updates are also posted on our website and emailed every Monday morning. Please don’t hesitate to contact any of us with any questions you may have. You can email us at council@newlife-saugerties.org or chat with any of us before or after services each week. We covet your prayers and we thank you for them and for your support.

With love and blessings,

The Church Council

Rachel Senor, Secretary, Interim Chairperson
Jeannie Bach, Treasurer
Ruben Haro Montelongo
Jill Hummer
James Kimberly
Melissa Lasher
Joel Panthappattu

Dear New Life Family,

The Future Pastoral Assessment & Survey is out and available for you to complete by next Sunday, March 31. We look forward to hearing from everyone who calls New Life their home church. This is not just for voting members but for all attendees. We would like to hear what you believe to be some of our church’s greatest strengths and areas for growth. This survey asks you to share the attributes you believe we should seek in a new Lead Pastor. When you have prayerfully completed the survey, please return it to the box on the Welcome Desk by the front door. The Pastoral Search Committee will next meet on April 9 to review and discuss all of the responses. Thank you in advance for participating in this important step in the pastoral search process. You can download & print the survey at home & email your completed copy to council@newlife-saugerties.org.

One of the most important things you can do during this time is pray for our church, our pastoral transition, and unity within the Council and the congregation. This is a vital activity for our church in this season. Please join us for prayer every Sunday morning at 9:45am here in the sanctuary before service.

The Lead Pastor serves as the Chair of the Board. When Pastor Tim leaves next month, Rachel Senor will assume the role of  Interim Chairperson, as appointed by our Board. Per our Constitution and By-Laws this means she will oversee all church activities, serve as interim president of the corporation, chairperson of all business and board meetings, will be an ex-officio member of all committees and departments, provide for all services and arrange for all special meetings for public worship, approve of all guest speakers in conjunction with district leadership, and oversee all department activities and meetings. Please pray for Rachel and her family during this season.

We will not have an update next weekend (Resurrection Sunday). Please don’t hesitate to contact any of us with any questions you may have. You can email us at council@newlife-saugerties.org or chat with any of us before or after services each week. We covet your prayers and we thank you for them and for your support.


With love and blessings,

The Church Council

Rachel Senor, Secretary
Jeannie Bach, Treasurer
Ruben Haro Montelongo
Jill Hummer
James Kimberly
Melissa Lasher
Joel Panthappattu

Dear New Life Family,

Today we are distributing the survey we mentioned last weekend. As a reminder, we want to hear from the heart of each person who calls New Life Church their home church. This is not just for voting members but for all attendees. We would like to hear what you believe to be some of our church’s greatest strengths and areas for growth. This survey asks you to share the attributes you believe we should seek in a new Lead Pastor. When you have completed the survey, please return it to the box on the Welcome Desk by the front door. The last day to turn in your survey is Easter Sunday, March 31. The Council will then meet on April 9 to review and discuss all of the responses. Thank you in advance for participating in this important step in the pastoral search process. (Download and print the survey here.)

If you aren’t receiving our emails, which are now sent on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays, please stop by the Welcome Desk to add your name and email to the clipboard or email us at council@newlife-saugerties.org.

We have changed the weekly prayer time. Instead of Thursday evenings on Zoom, we will meet at 9:45 a.m. here before the 10 a.m. service on Sundays starting next weekend, March 24. Please join us in person for this important time of prayer each Sunday.

Today’s update will cover two of the most common questions we have received so far about the process.

What happens after April 14 if a Lead Pastor is not selected by then? Who will deliver the sermons? Will there be an Interim Pastor?
The process will not be complete by April 14 and we will not have an Interim Pastor. The district does not allow a candidate for the Lead Pastor role to serve as Interim Pastor, so that is why Pastor James will not serve in this capacity.

Pastor Tim Janzen, Presbyter and Pastor Daniel Houck from the Assemblies of God district leadership with the New York Ministry Network (NYMN) will work with the Council to ensure that our pulpit is covered each weekend. We will have the Word proclaimed during every worship service. Before this transition was known, we had three special services planned in April and May, so not every weekend will need coverage.

• 4/21/24 - The Walter Hoving Home Choir will be leading service
• 5/5/24 - A Missions Service: Diera Ware, one of the missionaries we support who serves in Latin America, will be our speaker
• We are working on scheduling a Compassion Sunday with our own Bob Lucido

The Church Council will lead all church operations and logistics until a new Lead Pastor is appointed. Please direct all questions to me and I will work with the Council to provide answers.

If Pastor James is hired as Lead Pastor, will we hire an assistant pastor to replace him?
The new Lead Pastor will get to select his or her staff. Their giftings, time available, and budget are likely to be part of the deciding factors.


Please don’t hesitate to contact any of us with any questions you may have. You can reply to this email or chat with any of us before or after services each week. Thank you for your prayers and support.


With love and blessings,

The Church Council

Rachel Senor, Secretary
Jeannie Bach, Treasurer
Ruben Haro Montelongo
Jill Hummer
James Kimberly
Melissa Lasher
Joel Panthappattu

Dear New Life Family,

Since Pastor Tim and Cheryl announced their intention to resign as Lead Pastor and Worship Director effective April 14, 2024, the Church Council has convened and met with Pastor Daniel Houck from the Assemblies of God district leadership with the New York Ministry Network (NYMN) to discuss the transition, process, and next steps.

The NYMN advised that our first step be to create and distribute a survey to our congregation that will allow us to hear from the heart of each person who calls New Life Church their home church. We would like to hear what you believe to be some of our church’s greatest strengths and areas for growth. This survey will also ask you to share the attributes you believe we should seek in a new Lead Pastor.

The Council has started a draft of this survey, will finalize it this week, and will distribute it beginning next Sunday, March 17. Hard copies will be available in the Welcome Center and with Greeters and Ushers on Sunday, March 17, and Sunday, March 24. We will also mail an electronic copy if you prefer to print and complete it at home. Completed surveys should be returned to the box in the Welcome Center by Sunday, March 31. All attendees may participate in the survey.

NYMN is responsible for providing resumes of interested, Assemblies of God-credentialed candidates to the Council. They have informed us that Pastor James Louis is interested in consideration for the Lead Pastor position. There is not an immediate promotion into the Lead Pastor role without going through the recommended process. Please understand that the Council is doing our due diligence to follow the process recommended by the NYMN and our discussion and consideration of candidates at this stage must remain confidential.

This process may take several months to complete. Once the Council has reviewed the candidate(s), conducted interviews and reference checks, and a majority of the Council votes in favor of a candidate, we will hold a special business meeting for voting members. We currently have 41 voting members, and they will be able to attend and cast their vote for the candidate the Council puts forward.

Going forward, we will share any relevant updates during the Announcements following the sermon and again via email on Mondays. Please make sure you are on our email list. If you haven’t been receiving the Church’s weekly emails each Wednesday and Saturday, please leave your email address at the Welcome Desk on your way out today.

One of the most important things you can do during this time is pray for our church, for our pastoral transition, and for unity within the Council and within the congregation. This is a vital activity for our church in this season. We will host a brief, weekly prayer session at 7:30pm on Thursday evenings via Zoom. We welcome and encourage you to join us. We will start this on Thursday, March 14. Please check your email or email council@newlife-saugerties.org for the Zoom link.

Please don’t hesitate to contact any of us with any questions you may have. You can email us at council@newlife-saugerties.org or chat with any of us before or after services each week. Thank you for your prayers and support.

With love and blessings,

The Church Council

Rachel Senor, Secretary
Jeannie Bach, Treasurer
Ruben Haro Montelongo
Jill Hummer
James Kimberly
Melissa Lasher
Joel Panthappattu

On Sunday, February 25, 2024, Pastor Tim O'Dell announced that he will be stepping down as Lead Pastor at New Life Church effective April 14, 2024. Watch the announcement here: