Over a year ago, the Lord inspired me to ask my friend at the Department of Natural Resources a simple question: “New Day Community Church owns 18 acres surrounded by neighborhoods without any park…could we form some kind of partnership to share the land with our neighbors?” At that moment, New Day Nature Trails was conceived.
We entered into a partnership with the DNR and cleared the land of invasive species last year in phase 1. This year in phase 2, we plan to establish new walking trails and refine the beauty of the property. As one neighbor said last summer, “This is going to be an absolute treasure to our community!”
We are responsibly caring for God’s creation and sharing it with our community, and we get the benefit of enjoying it too! What I love most about this project is how it is such a clear expression of our Christian faith. God offers salvation freely to everyone through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We freely offer the New Day Nature Trails to our community as a reflection of that gift. “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God” (Eph 2:8).
Everyone is invited to join the New Day family in Hosting New Day Nature Trails, beginning May 1st, 2023. We are teaming up to be out on the trail every calendar day from May to October. Sign up weekly, monthly, or whatever frequency works for you. You can spend a few minutes or a few hours, it’s up to you.
On your day, as you enjoy a beautiful nature walk, you will look for neighbors to warmly greet on behalf of New Day. You can tell them about our trail restoration project, offer to pray for them, share a testimony, invite them to church, share the gospel, or all of the above! For the parts of your walk where there isn’t a neighbor to talk to, pray. Pray for the neighborhood, the project, and for God’s will to be done here as in heaven.
Marilee and I continue to hear from the Lord how he wants to use this project and use YOU to bring his blessing to people that live in this community. We can’t wait to hear the testimonies of how you were able to demonstrate the love and kindness of God, and how you were able to explain the “why” behind that love: the Gospel!