Hello Friend,
We are a church that cares for your souls and endeavors to love everyone in our community. We believe the most important decision you will ever make in your life is where will you spend eternity. We would like to be able to sit down with you and explain to you what the Bible has to say about how you can know for sure you are on your way to Heaven.
We offer practical biblical preaching messages and lessons in all church services for you and your family. We hope to help everyone discover their talents and gifts and place them in a ministry that would help them grow closer to the Lord and His church. I would ask that you pray and ask the Lord if He would have you become a part of this local church.
Through Christ,
Pastor Shawn Suri
Meet the Suri Family
Shawn and Brandy are church-planters who are passionate about starting Bible-preaching churches in the rural parts of the Midwest. Before starting New Life Baptist Church of Stephenson, Michigan on May 1, 2022, they started two other churches in Wisconsin — Riverview Baptist Church in Seymour in October of 2002 and Northern Lakes Baptist Church in Eagle River in July of 2017. As young adults, they trusted Christ as their Savior because others cared enough for their souls to share the Gospel with them; their desire is to do the same for others. While serving in the Air Force, Shawn was called to preach and pursued his Bachelor of Arts in Religious Education from West Coast Baptist College in Lancaster, CA; Brandy has her Bachelor of Arts in Writing from UW Superior. They are the parents of seven adult children and grandparents to three.
What’s in the name “Baptist”?
New Life Baptist Church is a Baptist church because of a few simple but defining biblical characteristics. We feel it is important to uphold biblical traits that would help clarify what kind of a church we are. The word Baptist simply means that we believe in…
Biblical authority in all matters of faith and practice.
You will not find visions, revelations, tongues, or extra-biblical “messages from God” at New Life Baptist Church (John 17:17; Acts 17:11;2 Timothy 3:16-17; Hebrews 4:12; 2 Peter 1:21).
Two Officers within the Church.
The New Life Baptist Church has two offices of leadership – Pastors and Deacons.
Scripture refers to the office of pastor with terms such as elder, bishop, and pastor. It gives the responsibility of the pastors to serve the church by leading, teaching and overseeing the church work. It is the responsibility of deacons to serve the church family through assisting with care and the provision of special needs (Acts 6:1-7; 1 Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:6-9; 1 Peter 5:1-4).
Separation of Church and State.
The state should have no power to intervene in free expression of religious liberty (Matthew 22:21; Acts 5:29-31; Romans 13:1-4).
Autonomy or Self-governing Power of the Local Church.
Our church is completely self-governed outside of a denomination (Acts 20:19-30; Colossians 1:18; 1 Timothy 3:15).
Priesthood of the Believers.
Every believer has equal and instant access to God. This means that each believer is his or her own priest and has direct access to God’s truth and God’s will for his life (1 Timothy 2:5-6; Hebrews 4:14-16).
Individual Soul Liberty.
Every man and woman must choose personally to come to Christ for salvation (Romans 10:17, 14:1-8, 12-23).
Security of the Believer.
Salvation is a gift from God that cannot be taken away. When a person is saved, he is always saved. Nothing can separate him from eternal life in Christ, and he can live with full assurance of Heaven as his future home (John 10:27-28; 1 Peter 1:3-5).
Two Ordinances.
We practice two simple ordinances at New Life BC – Baptism and the Lord’s Table (communion). These ordinances have no part in salvation and only serve as pictures of what Christ did for us (Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 2:38-43, 8:36-38; Romans 6:1-6; 1 Corinthians 11:23-24).
To maintain a commitment to the clear teaching of God’s Word without compromise, New Life Baptist Church does not support the National Council of Churches, the World Council of Churches, the National Association of Evangelicals, the charismatic movement (includes tongues, movements, etc.) Ecumenical evangelism, Liberalism, or Modernism (Amos 3:3; 2 Thessalonians 3:6; Jude 3).