Have we traded friends for fans? In this panel discussion, CJ and Pastor Mark walk through Acts 2:42-47 — the first description of church in Scripture — and ask a hard question: are we actually devoted to our church family, or just fans who show up when nothing better is going on?

We unpack the loneliness epidemic in America (including the 2023 Surgeon General's report), what the early church actually looked like, and why the definition of a church isn't a building or a service — it's a community of friends pursuing the mission of Jesus together.

Scripture: Acts 2:42-47 ⛪ New Life Gillette Church | Gillette, WY ️ Series: While I Breathe, I Hope (Week 5)

Next Steps:

• Join a Life Group: [link]
• Plan a visit: [link]
• Connect with our care team: [link]

Subscribe for weekly messages from New Life Gillette Church.

#WhileIBreatheIHope #NewLifeGillette #GilletteWyoming #Acts2 #Community #LifeGroups #SundaySermon

• (00:00:02) - Introduction and Scripture Reading from Acts 2
• (00:02:42) - Why Acts 2 Matters to the Church
• (00:05:43) - Mission, Hope, and Overcoming Tragedy Together
• (00:07:32) - Defining Characteristics of the Church
• (00:08:54) - Devotion: Fans vs. Family in the Church
• (00:12:12) - Experiencing True Community vs. Just Attending
• (00:14:45) - Made for God, Not for Money
• (00:16:44) - Sharing Possessions and Meeting Needs as Friends
• (00:20:06) - Life Group Stories of Support and Care
• (00:21:30) - Friends Shape Your Faith and Future
• (00:24:45) - Large Gatherings and Life Groups at New Life
• (00:26:56) - The Loneliness Epidemic in Gillette and America
• (00:30:02) - Jesus Kills What Kills Us: Sin and Isolation
• (00:32:15) - The Gospel, Friendship, and Changing Our Community
• (00:33:53) - Call to Join a Life Group and Closing Prayer

Are you made for more than once-a-week encounters with God? In this message, Sawyer Poitra unpacks John 15 — "I am the vine, you are the branches" — and what it actually looks like to abide in Jesus, not on a retreat and not as a checklist, but as a daily, moment-by-moment relationship.

The deeper we abide, the deeper we depend — and that's where the Holy Spirit grows real fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, faithfulness. And because our hope is anchored in Jesus (Hebrews 6:19), we can walk through grief, hard diagnoses, and uncertain seasons with resilient hope. While we abide, we hope.

Scripture: John 15:1-8, Hebrews 6:19 ️ Speaker: Sawyer Poitra ⛪ New Life Gillette Church | Gillette, WY ️ Series: While I Breathe, I Hope (Week 3)

Next Steps:

• Join a Life Group: [link]
• Get the "Becoming" book: [link]
• Plan a visit: [link]

Subscribe for weekly messages from New Life Gillette Church.

#WhileIBreatheIHope #NewLifeGillette #GilletteWyoming #Abide #John15 #SundaySermon #Hope

• (00:00:02) - Introduction: Family Resemblance and Influence
• (00:03:11) - Turning to John 15: The Vine and Branches
• (00:04:59) - What It Means to Abide in Christ
• (00:07:43) - The Plant Illustration: Weekly vs. Daily Connection
• (00:11:00) - Struggles with Abiding: Busyness and Checklists
• (00:14:21) - Inviting God Into Every Part of the Day
• (00:16:49) - The Promise of Fruit from Abiding
• (00:18:20) - Deeper Abiding Means Deeper Dependence
• (00:20:55) - Fruit of the Spirit and Transformation
• (00:22:32) - Resources: Becoming Book and Life Groups
• (00:24:09) - Connecting Abiding to Hope
• (00:25:04) - The Rappelling Analogy and Anchored Hope
• (00:27:46) - Hope Anchored in Eternity Amid Grief
• (00:30:31) - Closing Prayer

What's in your hands? In this message, guest speaker Katie Arriaza — President and CEO of Hope of Life International and daughter of the ministry's founders — shares the story behind one of our mission partners in Guatemala, and challenges us with the same question Jesus asked a boy with five loaves and two fish in John 6: are you willing to give what you have?

Katie shares her family's story — her father Carlos's miraculous healing 40 years ago and the single "yes" that's since multiplied into thousands of partners and nearly half a million families reached — along with the realities of chronic malnutrition in Guatemala and Hope of Life's mission to meet physical needs first, opening the door to share the gospel.

Scripture: John 6:1-13 ️ Guest Speaker: Katie Arriaza, President & CEO, Hope of Life International ⛪ New Life Gillette Church | Gillette, WY ️ Series: While I Breathe, I Hope (Week 4)

Next Steps:

• Learn about Hope of Life International: [link]
• Sign up for a mission trip: [link]
• Give or sponsor a child: [link]
• Plan a visit: [link]

Subscribe for weekly messages from New Life Gillette Church.

#WhileIBreatheIHope #NewLifeGillette #HopeOfLife #GilletteWyoming #FiveLoavesTwoFish #Guatemala #Missions #SundaySermon

• (00:00:02) - Intro and Welcome to Katie Arriaza
• (00:02:02) - Introducing Hope of Life
• (00:05:02) - What Hope Means at Age Five
• (00:06:21) - Malnutrition Crisis in Guatemala
• (00:08:13) - Five Loaves, Two Fish: Lesson in Generosity
• (00:09:54) - What's in Your Hands? Living on Mission
• (00:13:05) - Influence and Impact as a Church
• (00:14:30) - Carlos's Story: The First Yes
• (00:17:56) - From One Yes to Thousands
• (00:18:42) - Cheryl's Illness and Ongoing Faith
• (00:20:52) - 39 Years of Growth and Testimony Video
• (00:21:19) - Hope of Life Video Testimony
• (00:25:24) - Compounding Impact Over the Years
• (00:26:28) - Faces of Generosity and Rescue Stories
• (00:27:54) - Climate Crisis and Food Security
• (00:30:54) - Partnership Over Charity
• (00:31:44) - Practical Gospel: Earning the Right to Share
• (00:34:07) - The Story Isn't Finished
• (00:35:20) - Teaching to Fish: Sustainability Focus
• (00:37:31) - Katie's Personal Calling
• (00:38:43) - Closing Challenge and Vision for the Future
• (00:41:08) - Closing Prayer

If you're already forgiven, does it matter what you do now?

Pastor CJ Ward almost sat on a rattlesnake last month. In Week 7 of While I Breathe, I Hope, that close call opens up Romans 6: God isn't hard on us, sin is. When God calls something sin, it's out of compassion, because it's hurting the people he loves. Pastor CJ closes with four practical steps toward freedom: confession, repentance, habits and accountability.

"For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 6:23 (NLT)

Speaker: Pastor CJ Ward

New Life Gillette Church, Gillette, WY. Sundays at 8 AM, 9:30 AM and 11 AM.

Series: While I Breathe, I Hope (Week 7 of 8). Next week is the final week; bring a friend.

Join a Life Group: https://newlifegillette.com/lifegroups/

Plan a visit: https://newlifegillette.com

Get baptized: https://newlifegillette.com/baptism/

Serve: https://serve.newlifegillette.com

Give: https://give.newlifegillette.com

Subscribe for weekly messages: https://www.youtube.com/@NewLifeGillette

#WhileIBreatheIHope #NewLifeGillette #GilletteWyoming #Romans6 #FreedomFromSin #Repentance

• (00:00:02) - Welcome and Series Introduction
• (00:01:23) - Reading Romans 6:15-23
• (00:02:39) - Prayer Before the Message
• (00:03:06) - The Rattlesnake Encounter Story
• (00:05:05) - Snake Bite Statistics
• (00:06:26) - The Christian Conundrum: Does Obedience Matter?
• (00:07:11) - Overview of the Book of Romans
• (00:08:36) - Why Do We Follow the Rules? (God as a Bummer)
• (00:11:17) - Genesis 3: The Serpent's Deception
• (00:13:42) - Our Reaction to Rules: Hiding and Shame
• (00:15:23) - Paul's Answer: Slavery to Sin vs. Righteousness
• (00:17:51) - Sin as a Snake: Wages of Death vs Gift of Life
• (00:19:17) - Deuteronomy 30: Choose Life
• (00:20:31) - God's Compassion, Not Anger, Behind Sin
• (00:21:33) - Sin Is What's Killing Us, Not God
• (00:22:07) - Invitation to Surrender to the Holy Spirit
• (00:23:21) - Step One: Confession
• (00:25:33) - Step Two: Repentance
• (00:27:01) - Step Three: Changing Habits
• (00:29:55) - Step Four: Accountability
• (00:32:02) - Living Free from Sin's Control
• (00:33:31) - Closing Prayer

What do you do when faith doesn't feel certain anymore? In this message, we look at the story of Doubting Thomas (John 20:24-29) and ask what Jesus actually does when we bring Him our hardest questions — rebuke, or welcome?

Using an extended rock-climbing illustration, this message shows how doubt works like a cycle — the more we fear falling, the more likely we are to fall — and how both intellectual doubt (hard questions about Scripture and suffering) and emotional doubt (feeling like God answers everyone's prayers but yours) can multiply in silence and shame. But Jesus doesn't ask us to hide our doubt. He moves toward us in it.

Scripture: John 20:24-29 ⛪ New Life Gillette Church | Gillette, WY ️ Series: While I Breathe, I Hope (Week 6)

Next Steps:

• Join a Life Group
• Connect with our care team
• Find mental health resources

Subscribe for weekly messages from New Life Gillette Church.

#WhileIBreatheIHope #NewLifeGillette #GilletteWyoming #DoubtingThomas #John20 #MentalHealth #SundaySermon

• (00:00:02) - Introduction and Scripture Reading: John 20 (Doubting Thomas)
• (00:02:19) - Opening Prayer
• (00:02:56) - Rock Climbing: Top Rope vs Lead Climbing Explained
• (00:06:00) - The Danger of Falling in Lead Climbing
• (00:07:22) - Focus and Fear: Alex Honnold and the Mind's Role
• (00:09:06) - Doubt as a Self-Fulfilling Cycle
• (00:10:36) - Thomas's Doubt in Context
• (00:12:38) - Why Doubt Feels Distant Until You're In It
• (00:13:26) - Doubt and Mental Illness: Depression and Anxiety Parallels
• (00:15:22) - Intellectual vs Emotional Doubt
• (00:19:04) - Personal Struggles with Doubt: Infertility and Loss
• (00:20:20) - Faith, Therapy, and Mental Health Together
• (00:22:58) - Satan's Strategy: Shame and Secrecy Around Doubt
• (00:24:47) - Jesus's Response to Thomas's Doubt
• (00:26:36) - Climbing Story: The Fall and Being Caught
• (00:30:51) - Learning to Trust the Belayer (and God)
• (00:31:26) - Letting Jesus Catch You in Doubt
• (00:32:13) - Doubt Throughout Scripture and the Call to Honesty
• (00:34:29) - Closing Prayer

What if the thing holding you back isn't your past, but believing you'll never change?

In the final week of While I Breathe, I Hope, Pastor CJ Ward opens Romans 12:1-2 with one message: your past does not predict who you can become. Jesus does. Because Christ took the full weight of our sin, God no longer sees our faults. He sees his Son, and he invites us to offer our whole lives to him and be transformed by the renewing of our minds.

"Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think." Romans 12:2 (NLT)

Speaker: CJ Ward, Lead Pastor

New Life Gillette Church, Gillette, WY. Join us Sundays at 8 AM, 9:30 AM and 11 AM.

Series: While I Breathe, I Hope (Week 8 of 8)

Next steps:

• Get baptized: https://newlifegillette.com/baptism/
• Join a Life Group: https://newlifegillette.com/lifegroups/
• Start serving: https://serve.newlifegillette.com
• Give: https://give.newlifegillette.com
• Plan a visit: https://newlifegillette.com
• Subscribe for new messages every week: https://www.youtube.com/@NewLifeGillette

#WhileIBreatheIHope #NewLifeGillette #GilletteWyoming #Romans12 #Transformation #Hope

Why is it so hard to do what we already know is right?

Pastor CJ Ward kicks off our new series, Wisdom, in Proverbs 3. Through a dry brisket, a grandma who could cook anything, and a friend who couldn't pray until he understood prayer, CJ shows the difference between knowledge and wisdom. A recipe doesn't make you a cook, and the Bible isn't a recipe book. Wisdom is where learning and doing meet, and it starts with the fear of the Lord.

"Joyful is the person who finds wisdom, the one who gains understanding. For wisdom is more profitable than silver, and her wages are better than gold." Proverbs 3:13-14 (NLT)

"Fear of the LORD is the foundation of wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy One results in good judgment." Proverbs 9:10 (NLT)

Speaker: CJ Ward, Lead Pastor

New Life Gillette Church, Gillette, WY. Join us Sundays at 8 AM, 9:30 AM and 11 AM.

Series: Wisdom, Week 1 of 3

Next steps:

• Join a Life Group: https://newlifegillette.com/lifegroups/
• Start serving: https://serve.newlifegillette.com
• Get baptized: https://newlifegillette.com/baptism/
• Give: https://give.newlifegillette.com

Subscribe for new messages every week: https://www.youtube.com/@NewLifeGillette

#Wisdom #NewLifeGillette #GilletteWyoming #Proverbs #BiblicalWisdom #FearOfTheLord

• (00:00:02) - Introduction to the Wisdom Series
• (00:02:08) - Reading Proverbs 3:13-26
• (00:03:02) - Prayer Before the Message
• (00:03:38) - Interactive List: Traits in a Significant Other
• (00:05:38) - The Gap Between Knowledge and Doing
• (00:07:04) - Wisdom as the Grain of the Universe
• (00:09:04) - Proverbs Describes, Doesn't Define, Wisdom
• (00:10:03) - The Brisket Illustration: Knowing vs Doing
• (00:13:38) - Confusing Knowledge with Maturity
• (00:14:37) - Fools, Arrogance, and Laziness
• (00:15:42) - Depth Is Wisdom, Not Just Knowledge
• (00:19:06) - The Fool Who Knows Just Enough
• (00:20:11) - Grandma Agnes and True Cooking Wisdom
• (00:21:06) - The Bible Isn't a Recipe for Life
• (00:23:27) - Wisdom as the Intersection of Learning and Doing
• (00:25:25) - The Fear of the Lord Is the Beginning of Wisdom
• (00:27:34) - Closing Thoughts and Prayer

Are we really going to talk about money for four weeks?. In the kickoff to our new series, Life on Mission: Give Generously, CJ Ward explains why money is the most discussed topic in Scripture—and why it’s not about the church's budget, but your heart's freedom.

In this message, you’ll discover:

• Why Resources Indicate Relationships: How your financial habits reveal your true priorities.

• The Scarcity vs. Abundance Mindset: Why we view others as competition and how to break free.

• The Purpose of Tithing: Why God calls us to trust Him with the first 10%.

Is your heart anchored in the generosity of God, or are you living in the fear of scarcity?.

• (00:00:02) - Life on Mission: Generosity
• (00:01:32) - Genesis 4, Personal Character
• (00:03:27) - Red flags in your marriage
• (00:08:07) - Cain and Abel: Relationships
• (00:12:48) - Cain Kills Abel
• (00:19:09) - Abundance is Freedom and Trust
• (00:25:49) - God's Call to Action