Mark Machia, Pastor
Raised in rural upstate New York, Mark spent his early adulthood as an unbeliever living a fairly dissipated life, but in 1987 he came to faith in Jesus Christ through the witness of a friend and experienced a radical transformation of life. Millissa’s conversion soon followed and together they plugged into a local church where they grew spiritually, served and were equipped for ministry. By 1991 they were helping to establish a new church in a small town near the Canadian border and in 1992 Mark was ordained to serve as pastor of that church. After eight years of pastoral ministry the Machias relocated to Bosnia-Herzegovina where they served in mission for a year; returning to the US and relocating to North Carolina in 2001. Mark soon returned to pastoral ministry and along with a number of other families, he and his family helped to plant New Life Community Church in 2002. Mark and Millissa have been married since 1986 and Millissa has been an RN since 1989. The Machias have three grown children: their son, an ASU grad, is married and serving as an Army Infantry officer, and their two daughters are attending college. Mark earned a Master of Theological Studies degree from Tyndale Seminary in Toronto in 2000, and a Master of Divinity Degree from Carolina Evangelical Divinity School in 2009.

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 four children. Rachel is a graphic artist and serves at New Life in the areas of publications, graphics, and website development.