A Church at the Corner of Highway 59 and East Berry Avenue

New Life in Christ Church sits on a single corner lot at 102 East Berry Avenue in Foley, Alabama, at the intersection with Highway 59. Foley is a small city positioned between Mobile, Alabama and Pensacola, Florida, and roughly ten miles north of the white sand beaches of the Gulf of Mexico. The church describes itself with four short lines that set the tone for everything else: Interdenominational! Anointed Preaching from the Word of God! Lively Singing! Genuinely Friendly People!

Pastor Paul Wilde and his wife Carolyn Wilde have made the church's identity inseparable from the King James Bible and from an unusual practical ministry. The church does not pass an offering plate during services. It does not charge for its Sunday breakfast or Bible classes. And on its own property, it maintains two fully furnished houses, called the Prophets' Chambers, that are offered free of charge to any full-time pastor, missionary, or evangelist who needs a season of rest. Visitors who stop by on a Sunday morning will find the parking lot full before 9:00 a.m. and a long table laid out for the free breakfast that precedes the day's Bible classes and worship services.

What They Believe

The church's Statement of Faith opens with the lines, For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven (Psalms 119:89), and then lists nine convictions that animate everything taught from the pulpit.

Members affirm belief in one God who is ever present as three in one: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. They hold the Bible to be God's inspired and infallible Word. They believe in the atoning death of Jesus Christ, born of a virgin, the only begotten Son of the living God, and the only ransom for sinners. They confess the bodily resurrection and ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ, salvation through the cleansing blood and Person of Jesus Christ when a person repents and receives Him as Savior and Lord, and water baptism by immersion as the burial of the old man of sin. They also affirm the filling and sanctifying power of the Holy Ghost that enables a believer to live a holy and godly life, the literal return to earth of the Lord Jesus Christ, the resurrection of both the saved and the lost with their eternal destinies in heaven or hell, and a commitment to meet regularly with a body of believers to strengthen and build one another up in the faith.

The Bible study course offered through the church is built specifically for use with the King James Version, and the church publishes a booklet called Which Bible Should I Read? that argues against modern translations. One short summary line is repeated in multiple places: The Bible is the infallible, inspired Word of God. The statement that frames the church's own front page is direct: If you are looking for a politically correct church ... you will not be happy here. We do not strive to be politically correct, but we do strive to be Biblically correct.

A Sunday That Begins with Breakfast

Sunday is the rhythm of the week, and it is built around food and teaching before the worship services. The day's schedule at New Life in Christ Church runs like this: a radio broadcast at 7:13 a.m. on WHEP 1310 AM and 92.5 FM (also carried on Riviera Cable TV Channel 7 as audio only), a free full breakfast buffet at 9:00 a.m., Bible classes for all ages at 9:30 a.m., the morning worship service at 10:30 a.m., choir practice at 4:30 p.m., children's choir practice at 4:45 p.m. on the first Sunday of each month, and the evening worship service at 6:00 p.m.

The breakfast is open to anyone who comes, with no charge. The Bible classes are arranged for every age group. The morning service is the main gathering of the week, and the evening service continues the teaching in a more intimate setting. Music is a steady thread through the week: the choir rehearses on Sunday afternoons, the children's choir meets once a month on the first Sunday, and the music library sold through the church leans heavily on classic hymns such as Amazing Grace, The Old Rugged Cross, How Great Thou Art, In the Garden, Mansion Over the Hilltop, and When the Saints Go Marching In.

Wednesday Nights and Monday Prayer

The week has two additional pillars beyond Sunday. On Monday evening from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m., the church hosts an Intercessory Prayer Meeting, a single hour set aside for the gathered church to pray together. On Wednesday evening at 7:00 p.m., an Evening Worship Service brings the body back for preaching, often delivered by a guest speaker or one of the church's own deacons when Pastor Wilde is away.

These two weekly meetings give the deacons and lay preachers in the congregation regular room to preach. The archived sermon pages show Deacon Toby Hollis preaching on Wednesday nights and Sunday mornings throughout 2024, 2025, and 2026 on subjects such as Salvation: The Word . . . Not Just a Word, How To Overcome Distractions, The Fall, Compassion, and Communion. Deacon David Leigh, Deacon Lorenzo Johnson, and Deacon Fritz Sanks also preach on a rotating basis.

The Prophets' Chambers: Two Houses for Weary Ministers

The single most distinctive ministry of New Life in Christ Church is one that almost no other church runs. On the property sit two completely furnished houses that the church calls the Prophets' Chambers, and they are offered free of charge to any full-time pastor, missionary, or evangelist who needs rest. The scriptural basis is the Shunammite woman's chamber for the prophet Elisha in II Kings 4:8-10, and the church quotes Jesus' words to His disciples: Come ye yourselves apart and rest a while.

Each house has a comfortable living room, a full kitchen, two bedrooms, a laundry room, and a deck. One has one bath, the other has two and a half. Guests who have stayed include Judge Roy Moore; Music City Brass from Summerville, Georgia; Christ Town Ministries from Quincy, Florida; Wings of Life from Mobile, Alabama; Linda Fulenwider, whose husband serves in leadership within an Assembly of God Fellowship; Joe and Lori Pileggi; Charlie and Diane Waghorne from Louisiana; and many others. The thank-you notes collected on the church's page echo the same refrain: rest, refreshment, and a quiet place to recover before returning to ministry. Reservations are coordinated by Pastor Paul Wilde.

Bible Courses, Books, and Music CDs

New Life in Christ Church operates a substantial publishing and teaching arm. Through its Bible Courses and Books Available page, the church distributes nearly thirty printed works authored primarily by Carolyn Wilde, with suggested donations ranging from four dollars for short tracts to twelve dollars or more for full-length softcover books. Titles cover a wide range of subjects, and several themes come through clearly.

The largest project is the multi-volume Torchbearers, which traces Christian heroes from Polycarp in the second century through the Wesleys, Luther, Tyndale, Augustine, George Mueller, Gladys Aylward, and onward to a fictional contemporary runner named Dave. The book has been endorsed by hospital chaplains, evangelists, and youth leaders who say they use it in youth ministry.

The Salt Shaker Series is built around the number seventy-seven: 77 Bible Verses to Grow On, 77 Proverbs to Make You Wise, and 77 Prophecies of Christ, each pairing a verse or proverb with an original poem.

Other titles include Is God Calling His People to Tolerance?, which presents the church's view that Christians are called to endurance rather than passivity in the face of cultural change; The Chip, a survey of biblical end-times teaching about cashless commerce and the Mark of the Beast; Triumphant Through Tribulation; God's 7 Steps to Financial Peace; We've Come This Far by Faith, the Wildes' own memoir of living by faith while raising eight children; How to Raise 8 Children and a Husband Without Raising Your Blood Pressure; Smitten Shepherds, written for pastors who are burned out and considering leaving ministry; God, Why Am I Sick?, which lays out seven biblical reasons for sickness; A Tale of Two Cousins; and shorter booklets including Are You Saved or Deceived?, The War Within Us, Evolution . . . Fact or Fiction?, What the Bible Says About Drinking, A Look Inside Islam, A Look Into the Mormon Temple, Jehovah's Witnesses, Speaking in Tongues - The Gift That Divides, To Teens With Ears, The Truth About Lies, What Would Jesus Do in Alabama?, and Come My Children! I Have Mixed a Brew for You, a brief warning about the Harry Potter books.

Three music CDs accompany the written materials, each containing roughly a dozen to two dozen songs drawn from the classic hymn tradition, including Amazing Grace, The Old Rugged Cross, Peace in the Valley, Just a Closer Walk With Thee, He Hideth My Soul, and This World Is Not My Home.

The Bible study course itself is structured as a series of softcover books that walk through the books of the Bible one at a time, including the Psalms, Matthew, Luke, Acts, II Corinthians, I Timothy, James, Job, Proverbs, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Jonah, Mark, John, Romans, Ephesians, Hebrews, and Revelation. Sample pages from each volume are posted online so prospective students can see the teaching style before ordering.

The Care Ministry and the No-Passing-the-Plate Approach

One of the first things a returning visitor notices is that no offering plate is passed during the regular services. The church explains that it stopped passing plates years ago out of disappointment with the constant pleading for money in modern churches, and out of concern that some people were staying home because they had nothing to put in the plate. In place of plates, offering boxes sit at the back and sides of the sanctuary. Members and visitors drop in their tithes and offerings quietly as they come and go.

Plates are passed only on three occasions: when guest speakers or guest singers are visiting, when someone in the church or community has an urgent financial need such as losing a home to fire, and once each month for the Care Ministry Love Fund. The Care Ministry Love Fund is the church's main outward-facing benevolence arm. It supports missionaries and mission organizations, purchases thousands of Bibles for prison chaplains and prisoners, provides food for the needy, and cares for orphans. The church also lists among its stated purposes: to provide food for the hungry and help for the needy, to comfort the broken-hearted, to pray for the sick, and to provide a refuge from the world.

Because the church owns its property free of mortgages and has no outstanding debt, every gift given through the Care Ministry Love Fund goes directly to the work described above. The Wildes' own book We've Come This Far by Faith tells the story of how an anonymous gift of more than $220,000 paid off the church's mortgage in answer to prayer alone.

The Victory Hour on WHEP Radio

Pastor Paul Wilde hosts a weekly radio program called The Victory Hour, broadcast on WHEP 1310 AM and 92.5 FM and on Riviera Cable TV Channel 7 (audio only). The program airs at 7:13 a.m. on Sunday mornings and reaches listeners across Baldwin County. Sermon audio from the radio program and from the church's services has been archived for many years, including sermons on subjects such as The Virus. The Cure., Hell is a Real Place, Sound the Alarm, The Greatest Terrorist, and A Memorial Service for America. A televised interview series also captures Pastor Wilde and Carolyn Wilde in conversation on subjects ranging from revival to American Christianity.

Pastor Paul Wilde, Carolyn Wilde, and the Deacons

New Life in Christ Church is pastored by Paul Wilde, with his wife Carolyn Wilde serving as the church's principal teacher for women's classes and as the author of nearly all of the church's printed Bible study courses and books. Carolyn teaches the Sunday School Hour, an additional teaching slot held on Sunday mornings, and has taught subjects including Names of God and His People, What is Worship?, Prayer is not a Duty, Our God is Able, and What Jesus Preached. Their daughter, Suzanne Courtright, has also taught Sunday School classes and contributed to the church's poetry page.

Pastor Wilde is also the son-in-law of, and predecessor to, a long line of ministers. His preaching through 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023 is preserved in the church's video archive and ranges across subjects such as Water Baptism, The Filling and Refilling of the Holy Ghost, Hell is Real!, The Days of Noah! The Days of Lot!, Prepare for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, God Still Heals Today, Before the Rapture There is Tribulation, and America's Fall.

The church's lay leadership is shared among several deacons. Deacon Toby Hollis, who is Pastor Wilde's son-in-law, preaches regularly and has delivered sermons such as Compassion, The Fall, Oh No! Look at the Time!, and Communion. Deacon David Leigh preaches on subjects including The Danger of Self Deception, The Narrow Way, and The Dangers of Harboring Pet Sins. Deacon Lorenzo Johnson has preached on Doing the Will and Word of God Without Excuses, Forsake All to Follow Jesus, and Jesus is the Rock of My Salvation. Deacon Fritz Sanks serves as the church's Worship Leader and has preached on Spiritual Growth and Development and Quit Compromising.

A Pulpit Shared with Guest Preachers

Alongside the pastor and the deacons, New Life in Christ Church regularly opens its pulpit to guest preachers and evangelists, and the church has preserved video and audio of more than a decade of guest preaching. The Sunday morning service is sometimes taught by the same guest for both the morning and evening services, and the Wednesday evening service is frequently given over to a single guest speaker.

Recurring guest preachers include Evangelist Mike Courtney, who has preached on What is Wrong With Me, The Focused Life, Jesus is Enough, Preview of Paradise, A Prayer for Perspective, and A Great Word From God's Word: Nevertheless; Evangelist Larry Jordan, who has preached on The Spirit Controlled Life, God's Care for Cracked Pots, The Importance of the Holy Spirit and Prayer, Hope for Hurting Parents, and Repentance; Cecil Whitton, who has preached a sermon series called The Table and messages on Be Still, Zacchaeus, and The Holy Spirit; Mardy Guidry, who has preached on Biblical Praying, Obedience, Steadfast Praying, and Run the Race with Endurance; Bob Zannini, who has preached on Ambassadors of the Kingdom, Jesus, The Lion King, The Spirit of Antisemitism, and God's Timing; Joe Alzate, who has preached on When God's Presence Comes to Your House, The God Who Answers By Fire, and Circumcision of the Heart; and Benito Fresquez, John English, Peter Yeoman, Alfred Ivery, Robert Storey, Jason Goad, and many others.

The archived sermons span back to 2013 and cover subjects that recur in the church's wider teaching: revival, the rapture, tribulation, the return of Christ, sin, healing, water baptism, the filling of the Holy Spirit, the authority of Scripture, end-times prophecy, America, and the marks of a faithful Christian. The deep archive of guest preaching is one of the practical reasons the church maintains its two Prophets' Chambers on the property: many of the same ministers who fill the pulpit also stay in the guest houses during their visits.

Poems from the Church Family

The church maintains a page of original poetry written by members of the congregation, with the largest body of work contributed by Carolyn Wilde. The poems cover the same subjects that fill the pulpit and the printed courses. The Gospel of Wealth argues that the pursuit of earthly riches contradicts the example of Christ. Mary Had a Little Lamb retells the gospel story through the image of the Lamb of God. The Journey meditates on whether the reader has made the trip to Calvary. 'Twas the Night Before Christmas tells the Nativity as the moment when God broke into a sin-darkened world. The Prayerless Church calls the sleeping church to wake and pray. Remote Control, written by Suzanne Courtright, traces how television can slowly desensitize a believer. Give Thanks and Sanctuary by E. E. Orewiler round out the collection. The poetry page is a small but characteristic expression of a church where every member of the family, including the pastor's wife and his daughter, is invited to write and teach.