The history of New Life in Christ Church is a remarkable story of the loving leading of the Lord and the foresight and commitment of the faithful. It is marked by dependence on and surprises by God. While hope in the Lord’s plan for our church has stirred us to action, some dreams have not come about, and others were postponed. Still, throughout the past nearly 50 years the Lord has led us to fulfill what He wants for us.
New Life in Christ Church began as a Bible study in the early 1970s when several couples in the Fredericksburg area gathered to seek deeper understanding of God's Word. In 1972, MR and Judy Fulks moved to the area and helped spark this movement. The Christian Women’s Club asked them to begin a couples’ study, which led to growing spiritual hunger among participants.
In 1975, ten families called Doug Kittredge to serve as founding pastor, promising to financially support the new church. The first worship service was held on July 13 in the Kittredge home, with 33 people in attendance. That same year, New Life in Christ Church was named with three goals in mind: to establish a real church, to affirm Christ’s headship, and to highlight the new life believers receive (2 Corinthians 5:17).
Early services were held at the Fulks' farm and in a local TV station. From 1975–1978, the church moved frequently before settling in a renovated warehouse on Kenmore Avenue. During these early years, the congregation grew steadily and began emphasizing outreach and discipleship.
God has consistently provided the physical space necessary for the mission and growth of New Life in Christ Church. In the early years, worship took place in homes, a TV station, schools, and a renovated warehouse on Kenmore Avenue. In 1985, with an expanding congregation and the desire to host Fredericksburg Christian School, we purchased land in Spotsylvania County. Our new building opened in 1988, offering dedicated space for worship, education, and community outreach.
In 2005, we launched the “Delighting in God” campaign, resulting in a 20,000-square-foot expansion that included classrooms, a youth room, and a music room—enhancing our ministry capacity to children, youth, and the arts. The addition was completed in 2011.
When Fredericksburg Christian School moved out in 2009, the modular classrooms left behind were creatively repurposed by our deacons into housing for missionaries and seminary interns.
In 2023, the “Looking Up; Reaching Out; Inviting In” campaign was launched to build a 148-seat balcony. Completed in 2024, the balcony allowed us to return to one unified worship service on Sunday mornings.
Our baseball field, located on the lower portion of our property, has developed into a significant outreach opportunity. With over 130 children involved annually, this ministry has become a joyful entry point for families in our community to engage with the life of the church.
From its inception, New Life in Christ Church was deeply committed to global missions. The first missions conference was held in 1976, based on Psalm 67:1–2. Over the decades, the church has supported dozens of missionaries and sent members across the globe.
In 1984, youth director Bob Becker led the first international mission trip to Mexico. We provided housing to Kefa Sempangi and his family, welcomed missionaries such as the Allens, Dortzbachs, Hannons, and Schwabs, and partnered with leaders serving in Austria, East Africa, China, and Japan.
In 2007, Shirley Dawson generously donated her home to be used as missionary housing. Although we were not able to retain the property, we sold it and invested the proceeds with care and prayer. In time, this enabled us to develop three manses: two homes on church property created from former modular classrooms left behind by Fredericksburg Christian School, remodeled by our deacons to serve missionaries on home assignment and seminary interns. The third is our college ministry house, purchased in 2017 under the leadership of Pastor Doug and Pastor Sean, inspired by the vision and early leadership of Josh and Anacari Storms. This home houses our college ministry staff as they reach students at the University of Mary Washington and other local colleges. Bob and Dayra Rumbaugh currently lead this fruitful ministry.
Missions partnerships have continued from the 1990s until today, including work on almost every continent of our planet, with special focus on churches in Israel and Bethlehem, West Africa and Peru. Mission trips extended to Peru, Japan, Senegal, Colombia, and the Cherokee Nation. We also cultivated relationships with local ministries like Choices Women’s Center, the Central Virginia Justice Initiative, as well as outreach to Afghan refugees.
God has graciously provided a strong faith promise commitment from our congregation, so that overall giving to missions is now close to 20% of total church giving.
Worship and the arts have played a vital role in the life of the church. Jonathan and Veronica Allison have nurtured a generation of worshipers through choirs, chimes, bells, and worship teams.
Alongside them, Esther Servais directed dramas and Judy Hinson composed Bible musicals. Productions included: Esther: For Such a Time as This, Daniel: Not Alone, Fiddler on the Roof, and more. In 2010, Veronica Allison founded the Festival of the Arts, celebrating creativity to the glory of God.
The church has also supported Christian education through longstanding partnerships with Fredericksburg Christian School (from its founding in 1979) and the establishment of Christ Covenant School. Until 2009, we were privileged to house FCS’s elementary division and supported their growing needs through facility use and ministry partnership. For over three decades, the relationship between NLICC and FCS provided hundreds of children with biblical instruction, academic training, and a nurturing environment in which to grow. Many NLICC members served as faculty, board members, and volunteers at the school during this season of collaboration.
In 2004, New Life in Christ Church helped establish Christ Covenant School as a new educational ministry aligned closely with the church's theological convictions and missional priorities. Christ Covenant School began with a vision to cultivate disciples through classical, Christ-centered education, and has faithfully equipped students and parents of the church. Today, CCS operates within our facility and plays an important role in our mission to raise up the next generation of Christian leaders.
New Life has actively supported church planting efforts, both locally and internationally. We helped plant New Life Community Church in Stafford with Dennis Rupert, Hope of Christ Church in 2007 with Pastor Leonard Bailey, a congregation planted to serve the growing population of Stafford County and to extend Reformed teaching and shepherding in the region (hopeofchristchurch.org), and Evident Grace Fellowship in 2013, which began with a focus on reaching the Massaponax and Spotsylvania communities with a Gospel-centered, family-integrated vision (evidentgrace.com).
Beginning in 2001, we hosted a Korean-language church plant that particularized as New Life Korean Church in 2018. Our Jerusalem Gateway Partnership, founded in 2007–08, supports Israeli congregations and Bethlehem ministries.
In 2024, we began supporting a Hispanic church plant and a new church in Bowling Green.
These efforts have extended our reach while training leaders to multiply Gospel ministry.
While New Life in Christ church was originally started as a non-affiliated church (with pastor Doug ordained in the RPCES and then the PCA), in 1996, we adopted the Westminster Confession of Faith, and in 1998 we joined the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA). These steps helped strengthen our theological foundations and ecclesial accountability.
Leadership development has always been central. Pastor Doug mentored numerous interns and future pastors. In 2001–02, the session adopted the mission: "Building the Kingdom through Training Leaders."
That same year, we partnered with New Geneva Theological Seminary to provide in-house seminary training. This partnership became a significant part of our vision to equip future church leaders through rigorous theological education rooted in Reformed doctrine and pastoral ministry. Since 2001, multiple men from our congregation have been trained and sent into pastoral ministry, missions, and teaching roles. Classes continue to be hosted at NLICC as part of our ongoing commitment to leadership development.
In 2005, Sean and Julie Whitenack joined the church as Sean finished his seminary studies at New Geneva Theological Seminary. Sean brought with him a background in campus ministry with Campus Crusade for Christ and a strong pastoral heart, especially for discipleship and leadership development. He became Assistant Pastor, then Associate Pastor in 2008. In 2019, the congregation unanimously elected Sean as Lead Pastor, marking a thoughtful and prayerful leadership transition after more than 40 years of Pastor Doug’s faithful ministry.
In the same year, Pastor Sam Capitano was called to serve as Assistant Pastor for Congregational Life. A former federal engineer with a degree in Computer Science and a ruling elder since 2001, Sam sensed a call to ministry and completed his M.Div. through New Geneva Theological Seminary. His full-time pastoral role at NLICC began in 2020, bringing together a love for theology, pastoral care, and the local church.
After this transition, Pastor Doug continued to serve faithfully until his passing on February 10, 2024. His pastoral care, especially his phone calls, left a lasting impact.
In 2023, Bob Rumbaugh was ordained as a minister of the gospel and current served in our college ministry after two decades of service as one of our Ruling Elders.
Currently, over 40 ministries serve the body and community, including:
These ministries reflect the church’s heart to disciple believers, reach the lost, and glorify God.
For 50 years, God has guided New Life in Christ Church with faithfulness, vision, and grace. We have seen Him plant, prune, and grow this congregation for His glory. As we look ahead, we do so with joyful dependence on Christ—our Head and Redeemer—trusting that He who began a good work in us will bring it to completion.
In 2025, we celebrate our 50th anniversary with gratitude for all that God has done through this body. From special worship services and reunion events to mission updates and testimonies of God’s faithfulness, this Jubilee year is an opportunity to remember the past, renew our commitments, and refocus on the mission before us: making disciples of Jesus Christ in Fredericksburg and to the ends of the earth.