Church Check: New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado
- Sarah Leann Young
- Jul 28
- 7 min read
Basic Church Information
Church Name: New Life Church
Source: Official church website north.newlifechurch.org, accessed July 28, 2025
Senior/Lead Pastor: Daniel Grothe (Interim Senior Pastor as of June 2025)
Source: The Gazette, June 21, 2025; The Christian Post, June 24, 2025
Governance Model: Board of Elders (Overseers) with Executive Staff and Core Leadership Team
Source: New Life Church FAQs document cited in The Roys Report, July 1, 2025; The Christian Post, July 2, 2025
Other Church Leaders/Staff: Jon Egan (Worship Leader), Eddie Hoagland (New Life Worship Director), Lance Coles (Executive Pastor, resigned July 2025), Brian Newberg (Executive Pastor, resigned July 2025)
Source: The Roys Report, July 1, 2025; The Gazette, July 2, 2025; New Life Church website (staff page, accessed July 28, 2025)
Denomination: Charismatic Evangelical Non-denominational
Source: Wikipedia, New Life Church, updated June 22, 2025
Address: 11025 Voyager Parkway, Colorado Springs, CO 80921
Source: New Life Church website north.newlifechurch.org, accessed July 28, 2025
Phone Number: (719) 594-6602
Source: New Life Church website north.newlifechurch.org, accessed July 28, 2025
Contact/Email: info@newlifechurch.org
Source: New Life Church website north.newlifechurch.org, accessed July 28, 2025
Congregation Size: ~15,000 (weekly attendance across eight campuses, as per 2023 church census)
Source: Wikipedia, New Life Church, citing 2023 church census; The Gazette, June 23, 2025
Building Size/Church Property: Main campus includes a 2,000-seat sanctuary (referred to as the "theater") and the World Prayer Center. Property value not publicly disclosed.
Source: Wikipedia, New Life Church, updated June 22, 2025
Social Media/Online Presence:
Website: north.newlifechurch.org
Facebook: New Life Church
YouTube: Available for livestream services
Other: Livestream available on website, apps on Smart TVs, and streaming devices
Source: New Life Church website north.newlifechurch.org, accessed July 28, 2025; Facebook page verification
Church Specifics
Responsive/Open to Questions: No. The church has not been fully transparent in addressing recent controversies, specifically regarding the Robert Morris scandal and other leadership resignations. Information has been selectively shared through FAQs distributed to congregants, but not publicly.
Source: The Roys Report, July 1, 2025; The Gazette, July 2, 2025
Official Memberships: Yes. New Life Church emphasizes community through "Section Communities" and small groups, which indicates a formal membership structure.
Source: New Life Church website (small groups and community sections, accessed July 28, 2025)
Church Discipline: Yes. The church has a history of dismissing leaders (e.g., Ted Haggard in 2006, Brady Boyd, Lance Coles, and Brian Newberg in 2025) for breaches of trust or moral failures, which suggests a structured disciplinary process.
Source: Wikipedia, New Life Church, updated June 22, 2025; The Roys Report, July 1, 2025; The Christian Post, July 2, 2025
Tithing/Compels Giving: Yes. The church encourages giving, with online giving options promoted and a budget process organized by the senior pastor and elders. Financial guiding principles are referenced, but not fully detailed publicly.
Source: New Life Church website (giving section, accessed July 28, 2025); The Roys Report, July 1, 2025 (FAQ document mentioning budget process)
Financially Transparent &/or Accountable: No. New Life Church claims membership in the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA), which suggests adherence to certain financial standards. However, ECFA’s standards are unreliable because they allow exemptions from transparency if a church claims harassment or if a request is deemed too broad. This makes their accreditation meaningless in ensuring true accountability. The church also uses a purchase order system with spending approval limits (e.g., $1,000 for department heads, $5,000 for Executive Pastors, $25,000 for Senior Executive Staff, and $50,000+ for Elders). However, specific financial details, such as the annual budget, leadership salaries, or detailed expenditure breakdowns (e.g., donations to charities, staff costs, or revenue from church-funded businesses), are not publicly disclosed. The lack of publicly available financial reports and the selective sharing of information (e.g., through FAQs to members only) indicate a lack of true transparency.
Sources:
ECFA membership verification ecfa.org, accessed July 28, 2025; The Roys Report, July 1, 2025 (FAQ document detailing approval limits)
Check My Church, “How To Check Your Church for Financial Transparency,” Feb 19, 2024, checkmychurch.org
Baptism Required: No. There is no explicit requirement for baptism stated for membership or participation, although baptism is likely offered as part of their evangelical practices.
Source: New Life Church website (beliefs and practices, accessed July 28, 2025, no mention of mandatory baptism)
Preaching Style: Topical and Expository. Sermons focus on contemporary issues, spiritual growth, and biblical teachings, often tied to the church’s vision (e.g., Holy Spirit series, prophetic teachings).
Source: New Life Church website (sermon archives, accessed July 28, 2025); YouTube sermon samples (e.g., Daniel Grothe, June 29, 2025)
Worship Style: Contemporary. Known for its prolific worship ministry, New Life Worship, led by Eddie Hoagland, produces albums and songs (e.g., I Am Free, Great I Am). Worship is described as vibrant, with professional musicians and a concert-like atmosphere.
Source: New Life Church website (worship section, accessed July 28, 2025); Wikipedia, New Life Church
Affiliations: Associated with Modern Day Missions (World Prayer Team) and historically linked to C. Peter Wagner’s New Apostolic Reformation through spiritual mapping and warfare practices.
Sources:
Wikipedia, New Life Church, updated June 22, 2025
The Roys Report, July 20, 2025 (comment on C. Peter Wagner)
Safeguards Against Abuse: Minimal. While the church has a Board of Elders and oversight processes, recent scandals indicate gaps in accountability, particularly in handling knowledge of abuse allegations (e.g., Robert Morris case). No specific policies on abuse prevention are publicly detailed.
Source:
The Roys Report, July 1, 2025
The Christian Post, July 2, 2025
The Gazette, June 20, 2025
Red Flags:
Leadership Scandals: The church has faced significant controversies, including the 2006 dismissal of founder Ted Haggard for alleged sex and drug use, and the 2025 resignations of Senior Pastor Brady Boyd and executive pastors Lance Coles and Brian Newberg for misleading the congregation about knowledge of Robert Morris’s child sexual abuse in the 1980s.
Sources: Wikipedia, New Life Church, updated June 22, 2025
The Roys Report, July 1, 2025
The Christian Post, July 2, 2025
Information Control: Limited transparency regarding leadership transitions and financial details. FAQs about recent resignations were distributed in print to members, but not publicly, suggesting controlled communication.
Sources: The Roys Report, July 1, 2025
The Gazette, July 2, 2025
Historical Practices: Engagement in spiritual mapping and warfare, including anointing villages in Mali and mapping Colorado Springs to combat demonic forces, which may raise concerns for some due to its controversial nature within evangelicalism.
Source: Wikipedia, New Life Church, updated June 22, 2025; Jeff Sharlet, Harper’s Magazine, 2005 (on spiritual mapping)
Lack of Financial Transparency: Despite ECFA membership, the church does not provide detailed financial reports, leadership salaries, or expenditure breakdowns publicly. ECFA’s exemptions, which allow churches to withhold information if they claim harassment or if requests are deemed too broad, undermine its credibility as a third-party accountability mechanism. This lack of transparency raises concerns about potential financial exploitation.
Source: ECFA website ecfa.org, accessed July 28, 2025; The Roys Report, July 1, 2025; Check My Church, “How To Check Your Church for Financial Transparency,” Feb 19, 2024 checkmychurch.org
Pastor Background
Educational Background: Daniel Grothe (Interim Senior Pastor) – Limited information available. No specific details on his education are provided in public sources. Previous pastor Brady Boyd’s educational background is also not well-documented, though he served as senior pastor from 2007 to 2025.
Source: No specific educational records found for Grothe or Boyd in search results or church website (accessed July 28, 2025); The Gazette, June 21, 2025 (Boyd’s tenure)
Ministerial History:
Daniel Grothe: Served as Associate Senior Pastor at New Life Church for 20 years before being named interim senior pastor in June 2025 following Brady Boyd’s resignation.
Source: The Christian Post, June 24, 2025; KOAA, June 20, 2025
Brady Boyd: Senior Pastor from 2007 to 2025, previously served at Gateway Church in Southlake, Texas (2001–2007) under Robert Morris. Resigned in June 2025 due to misleading statements about his knowledge of Morris’s abuse allegations.
Source: The Roys Report, July 1, 2025; The Gazette, June 20, 2025; The Christian Post, June 24, 2025
Ted Haggard: Founder of New Life Church (1984), dismissed in 2006 following allegations of sexual misconduct and drug use.
Source: Wikipedia, New Life Church, updated June 22, 2025; The Christian Post, June 24, 2025
Salary: Unknown. No public information is available on the salaries of Daniel Grothe, Brady Boyd, or other staff.
Source: No salary data found in search results or church website (accessed July 28, 2025)
Red Flags:
Lack of Transparency: Limited public information on Daniel Grothe’s background and qualifications raises concerns about openness.
Source: No specific background details found in search results or church website (accessed July 28, 2025)
Pastoral Misconduct: The church’s history of leadership scandals (Haggard, Boyd, Coles, Newberg) suggests recurring issues with accountability and vetting processes.
Source: Wikipedia, New Life Church, updated June 22, 2025; The Roys Report, July 1, 2025; The Christian Post, July 2, 2025
Knowledge of Abuse: Court documents indicate Boyd and others were aware of Robert Morris’s abuse allegations as early as 2007 and 2011, yet Morris was invited to preach and serve as an overseer, pointing to potential oversight failures.
Source: The Roys Report, July 1, 2025; The Christian Post, July 2, 2025; KOAA, June 16, 2025; The Gazette, June 20, 2025
Church Bylaws & Articles of Incorporation
Bylaws: Not publicly available in full. The church operates under a Board of Elders with a structured budget and approval process, as outlined in FAQs. The governance model emphasizes elder oversight and executive staff collaboration.
Source: The Roys Report, July 1, 2025 (FAQ document); The Christian Post, July 2, 2025 (governance structure changes since 2008)
Articles of Incorporation: Not publicly accessible. As a member of the ECFA, the church claims adherence to certain financial accountability standards, but ECFA’s exemptions undermine its reliability, and specific documents are not shared online.
Source: ECFA website ecfa.org, accessed July 28, 2025; Check My Church, “How To Check Your Church for Financial Transparency,” Feb 19, 2024 checkmychurch.org; No articles found in search results or church website
Final Rating: Not Recommended
About Our Rating
Based on our investigation, New Life Church in Colorado Springs is not recommended due to significant red flags, including recurring leadership scandals, limited transparency in financial and governance matters, and historical practices that may concern some Christians (e.g., spiritual mapping). The church’s reliance on ECFA membership as a claim to financial accountability is misleading, as ECFA’s exemptions allow churches to withhold critical financial information, rendering their standards ineffective. The handling of the Robert Morris abuse allegations and subsequent leadership resignations in 2025 further erodes trust. While the church has strengths in its worship ministry and community engagement, these are overshadowed by issues of accountability, information control, and lack of true financial transparency. Our Ultra-Libertarian Christian perspective prioritizes transparency, integrity, and robust safeguards against abuse, which New Life Church currently lacks.
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