New Life Baptist Church will begin services in Medford this Sunday

New Life Baptist Church is opening its doors for worship services on Sunday, June 6 with a 6 p.m. service time. The church is located in the former Medford City Hall building at the intersection of State St. and Whelen Ave. in downtown Medford.

Pastor Dick Chromy explains that the goal of the new church in Medford is to reach those in the community who are not yet affiliated with any church. He noted that new people coming into a community often feel uncomfortable joining the established churches in those areas because they are more focused on their existing members rather than reaching out and welcoming others. “They get protective,” Chromy said. With the number of job openings and the hope of new families moving into the community to fill those positions, Chromy said there is a need to get these individuals as part of a church community. He said many people are just drifting through life without the anchor a church can provide. He said that especially given the times the country is going through, church membership is vitally important.

Chromy, who has served as pastor of Northland Baptist Church near Gilman for the past 13 years, and has 50 years of ministry experience said that he has had people come from the Medford area for services, but noted it is a long drive for regular attendance.

Chromy describes the church’s beliefs as being conservative Biblicist.

“The Bible has the answer for life and Godliness,” he said.

In addition to Chromy, the new church welcomes youth leader David Hecker. Hecker is currently finishing up his final semester at Maranatha Baptist University in Watertown where he is majoring in youth ministry and physical education.

While the worship services will be held at the old city hall location on Sunday evenings, Hecker, who is also the lead counsellor at Camp Chetek will be bringing a group of people to minister to youth at parks each Sunday at 4 p.m. The outreach will include singing songs, short Bible lessons and playing some games. The plan is to have the outreach at a different park each week with that weekend’s locations in The Shopper the prior Tuesday. This weekend’s activities will be at the Medford City Park.

“We care about being involved in the community. We care about people we want to help with life struggles. We want to help them pursue a relationship with God,” Hecker said.

Churches are more than just Sunday services. Chromy, who is just shy of getting a doctorate in counseling, notes that being a pastor is more than delivering a sermon.

“On Sunday, you can be the preacher and the rest of the week you can be the pastor. There is a difference between the two,” Chromy said.

New Life Baptist Church will hold services in the old city hall building on Sunday evenings starting at 6 p.m.