Mark Machia, Pastor
Mark was raised on a dairy farm in upstate New York. After living a fairly dissolute young adulthood, Mark was converted to Christ in his early twenties and experienced a radical change in his life. In 1986 Mark and Millissa were married and in 1991 they successfully planted a new church near the Canadian border. After earning a Master of Theological Studies degree at Tyndale Seminary (Toronto, ON, Canada) in 2000, Mark and his family moved to Bosnia-Herzegovina to serve in mission. After a year in Bosnia-Herzegovina they relocated to North Carolina where they helped to plant New Life in 2002. Mark and Millissa have three children. Their oldest attends Appalachian State University, the second is pursing the next developmental step in a call to foreign mission, and the third is currently finishing high school. Millissa is an RN at a local hospital and serves on the worship team at New Life. Mark’s ministry focus is on teaching and leadership development. He is currently working on a second master’s degree at Carolina Evangelical Divinity School.

Jerry Miller, Worship Leader
Jerry is from West Virginia, but he grew up in central North Carolina, coming to faith in Christ at 19. He has been a musician for over 20 years and plays several instruments, sings, writes, and arranges music. While in his early twenties Jerry served as a youth leader for 3 or 4 years. After marrying Rachel in 2001, Jerry and Rachel moved to Seattle for a few years. While in Seattle, Jerry served as a guitarist on the worship team of a large church. Jerry and Rachel now have three children and one on the way. Rachel is a graphic artist and serves at New Life in the areas of publications, graphics, and website development.