Dr. G. Vincient Dudley Sr.’s Metro East ministry expands
By Gregory S. Carr
For the St. Louis American
On Sunday, June 19, the members of the New Life In Christ Interdenominational Church marched into their new $4.3-million facility, located at 689 Scott Troy Rd. in Lebanon, IL. The march has been a pilgrimage of faith and commitment, led by its dynamic pastor, Dr. G. Vincient Dudley Sr.
The church held its first worship service in a Sheraton Hotel in O’Fallon, IL. in January of 2001 with a core group of 28. Two years later, over 1,500 members, called “Life Changers,” lined the streets of O’Fallon to drive from the Sheraton to the new church for a ceremonial dedication. In addition to the sanctuary, the new facility houses a childcare center, full-court gym and spacious, state-of-the-art kitchen to serve the hungry.
“God is using New Life In Christ to reach the Metro East – from 28 (congregants) to 1,500 in two years,” Dudley said.
New Life has not been without challenges in establishing its new place of worship.
“The number one challenge, believe it or not, was not to get the land, but financing. Banks fear churches. Our church is only two to three years old, so it was difficult to get a loan,” Dudley said.
Conceiving the building, too, was a challenge.
“In planning a church, you involve the congregation by energizing them, and explaining what it means to grow and go out and save the lost,” Dudley said.
“As a pastor, it was a challenge to keep them focused on what was important, which is the spiritual aspect of the building.”
Dudley knows whereof he speaks. His doctoral dissertation was entitled, “How to Plant and Grow Churches.” Dudley has obtained degrees from the University of North Carolina-Greensboro, Virginia Union, the University of Memphis, Oklahoma University and Samuel Dewitt Proctor School of Theology.
“My wife Glenda said that it seems like I’ve always been in school,” Dudley said. “But I come by it honestly. My father is a bishop, and I come from a strong ministerial background.”
His educational commitment recently expanded with Dudley’s May 21 appointment to the O’Fallon District 90 School Board. He becomes the first African-American to hold this position.
In the past two years, the church has awarded over $40,000 in college scholarships to local students. The church has plans to expand its building to include a Christian Academy for Kindergarten through eighth grade. The church also has a ministry goal of reaching the youth through mentoring programs, such as Sons of Valor and Daughters of Promise.
For adults, Dudley and his members conduct outreach ministries in the local community to help the homeless, prison inmates and senior citizens in nursing homes. New Life In Christ also has partnerships with international ministries in Africa and Panama.
Dudley, a retired Air Force chaplain, started New Life In Christ on Scott Air Force Base. This gave many people the impression that the congregation is primarily composed of military people.
“And, when people get here, they say, ‘Gosh, we know all these people,'” Dudley said.
“We have people from all different walks of life. It’s a very diverse church. We range from the unemployed to the entrepreneur. The Metro East has gravitated towards us.”
The new structure will only provide more gravitational pull.
“This new facility will help us to create a new Christian lifestyle,” Dudley said. “We want to become change agents for Christ in the Metro East community.”