New Life Fellowship (Letterkenny)
Describe the congregation’s History.
New Life Fellowship was started as a church plant in 2001 when Rev Mark Loughridge was called to jointly be the minister of Milford RPC (25 mins north) and to plant a church in Letterkenny. In the beginning, there were 7 adults (including Mark and Judith) and 4 young people. There used to be an RP Church in Letterkenny in the 1800s, but it had long since gone.
In 2012 the fellowship was established as a congregation and Mark was officially installed as pastor. In 2015, the Sessions of both Milford and Letterkenny decided that to give both churches the opportunity to grow, a co-pastor was required. Jonny McCollum had spent some time on short-term service and college placement in Letterkenny, and so was a natural choice.
Mark and Jonny have worked together in both churches for the past 10 years.
Describe the Congregation.
We currently have an average attendance of 50 at our morning service and 30 at our evening service. We have an age range from babies to eighties, with about half of the congregation being children and young people.
Our church is also quite multicultural —with Irish, Lithuanian, Nigerian, South African, Indian, Ghanaian and other nationalities in attendance.
Describe the Session.
We have four elders: Colin Tait, Robert Tait, Jonny McCollum and Mark Loughridge. Colin and Robert were part of the original church plant.
For both Mark and Jonny, Letterkenny and Milford have been their only charges, serving for 24 and 10 years respectively.
Describe the Building.
We do not currently have our own building, but have met in a Day Centre just off the Main Street for the last 20 years. We have had the joy of seeing the building increasingly filled to capacity in recent years. We’ve had to experiment with several layouts to optimise our space, and there have been a few Sundays where we have had no chairs left. This is ‘a great problem to have!’, but it is still a problem!
Describe the Area.
Letterkenny is a growing town with a population of over 22,000. There are several other Bible teaching churches in the town, and many of the evangelical ministers from across Donegal gather monthly for prayer, which enhances the spirit of unity with other believers.
This unity extends to the Christian young people too, with a youth event - The Edge - being held monthly. Our own young people are involved in this, both in attending and in organising.
In Ireland, only about 1% of the population would identify as evangelical Christian (compared with about 15% in Northern Ireland). So there is a tremendous mission field right on our doorstep. Our town is full of needy people who have never actually heard the gospel.
Describe an average Sabbath.
With two ministers between two churches, we definitely have a unique set-up! For morning services, Jonny and Mark take it week about between Milford and Letterkenny. This leap-frog approach allows for consistency in both congregations and gives people the privilege of hearing two complementary but different preaching styles on a regular basis.
Our Sabbath morning service starts at 11am and is followed by the all important tea and coffee, during which the Sunday School meets. We currently have 5 Sunday School classes for 15+ children aged 4-16. Our evening service is at 7pm, and we have a prayer time twice a month for the first 20 minutes of this.
Everyone takes great delight in our church lunches 3 or 4 times a year, a church weekend (on site) mid-year and a Family Night in December.
Describe an average Week.
The midweek Bible Study on Wednesdays is held in the members’ homes. We also have a Junior and a Senior CY which meet once a month. Young people from other Donegal RP churches come along to these too. About 13 young people would be in attendance at Junior CY and 7 at Senior CY.
This is a great blessing to those who attend as most of them don’t have other Christian friends at school. Describe the congregation's evangelism.
Describe the congregation’s Evangelism.
Much of our evangelism happens through people bringing friends or family to church, and then maybe engaging in a Christianity Explored course. Some of the members have written tracts about their own story, or for specific events. We are also encouraged to see individual members being involved in a variety of groups and in personal outreach.
Mark and Jonny both write weekly for local papers and Mark has a ‘Thought for the Week’ slot on a local radio station.
We had a GO team in June 2024, carrying out work in both Milford and Letterkenny. It also provided an opportunity for Letterkenny young people to get involved in serving and to meet other young people from the wider denomination.
Describe the congregation’s Online Presence.
Some of the young people have taken on the role of an informal tech team, setting up a Zoom for those who cannot attend in person and a radio broadcast to a creche room.
We upload sermons to YouTube. There is also a church Website, Facebook page and Instagram page.
Describe the congregation’s recent Challenges.
We need bigger premises, preferably a building of our own. To accommodate our Sunday school classes, one group of up to 4 people meets on a small square of floor at the top of a flight of stairs - it makes completing worksheets interesting! We would love to have a more permanent and visible presence, and something that better fits our needs.
Describe the congregation’s recent Encouragements.
The most exciting thing is seeing Jesus building his church. Most of our members are first-generation Christians, and seeing their delight in knowing God, and in Christ’s salvation is beautiful. Seeing Christ at work in people's lives and families is exciting and invigorating.
The theme of God’s amazing providence and his covenant faithfulness in families has been a recurring theme in our church’s story as we trace how various people have come to church and to faith. For example, about 17 years ago a man unconnected with the church got a flat tyre, and through a long chain of events, 15-20 people have come to faith in Christ and are now a part of our church family.
The number of children is also a huge encouragement. When I was born (21 years ago!) there were no other children under the age of 14, and it stayed that way for a few years. Now there could easily be 20 children on any given Sabbath.
In the past year, we’ve had 7 people come into membership and 5 baptisms (2 adult and 3 covenant children). We have also seen God answer our prayers for non-believing family members to come along to church.
How could others emulate the congregation?
Church family is something that is very central to the life of our congregation. One easy way this is facilitated is by having tea & coffee (and the much-loved packets of biscuits!) after each service. This allows members to stay and chat and take an interest in the lives of their brothers and sisters.
As well as this, an active church prayer groupchat has been a great benefit and blessing and has enhanced the family feeling. Regularly both big and small requests are sent in, and it is such an encouragement to know that the church family is upholding each other in prayer, and taking a caring interest in each other’s lives.
What can we Pray for?
Give thanks for how Jesus has been working consistently in the lives of people in our area, and how he has added people to his church.
Give thanks for the fellowship and unity in the church and how it is a witness to the reality of a relationship with Jesus. Pray that nothing would damage this.
Pray for a new building that is in the right spot, for an affordable price. Our God is a big God, and he owns all the buildings in Letterkenny, so we can pray big prayers!
Pray for the many unsaved family members and friends of those in the congregation, and for Jesus to continue to save people in our area for His glory.
