New Vision Fellowship began with a group of people dissatisfied with the direction of their traditional church. As in any birth, pain eventually produced the babbling sounds of new life. Scott Courtney, the church's first senior pastor, and Paul Hooker, the current pastor and the church's first missions pastor, met on a missions project and began to talk about “Purpose-Driven Church” principles. A core group had already begun meeting to develop a church from scratch.
Our first public meetings took place in one elementary school's auditorium, a local Methodist church, a community building, and another school’s gym. Logistics were confusing, but enthusiasm and spirit grew rapidly.
As we grew and talked to other similar churches, we decided it would be good to seek a semi-permanent facility to consolidate all our activities and to secure needed office space. A local shopping center agreed to lease us some warehouse space. At the time, it seemed like a big commitment. This decision has proven instrumental to our growth. With an address came a sense of stability. We spent a great deal of money constructing a church inside an old video store, but it has been a very profitable move in terms of our mission and ministry.
As to the future, we have been blessed with 21 acres at the intersection of Lindsey Bridge Road and Highway 311 in Madison. We have just finished building our first unit on the property and had our first Sunday service here on October 4, 2009. We hope to use the space to creatively continue our ministry to the community and beyond.