Since the foun­da­tions of New Life were laid, Cody and Chelsea Groves have faith­fully and dili­gently loved and served the church in every aspect of their lives. 

Cody and Chelsea’s begin­nings with New Life were prompted by two things that remain at the fore­front of their min­istry: a desire for gospel-centered com­mu­nity and rely­ing on the Lord through prayer. “We were mem­bers of Liv­ing Hope in col­lege and decided to stay in Col­lege Sta­tion after grad­u­a­tion because of the church com­mu­nity that we were a part of. God changed every­thing about us while at Liv­ing Hope and we felt that he was call­ing us to step out in faith when the Col­lege Sta­tion church plant was announced. We were at the first meet­ing in a very crowded room of about 70 peo­ple. We met, and prayed, and talked, and loved, and orga­nized, and researched, and…Yes! It was a crazy-ton amount of work. And it took time. But it was a joy and God had called us to that and we trust that he still has us here now for a reason.”

Five years after that meeting, Cody and Chelsea have not relented in devot­ing them­selves to the church. Cody serves as the Admin­is­tra­tive Pas­tor at New Life. In short, he helps to over­see lead­er­ship devel­op­ment, stew­ard­ship, and oper­a­tions. Chelsea cur­rently serves as the Preschool Coor­di­na­tor. She over­sees the vol­un­teer teams and lead­ers that make our preschool learn­ing envi­ron­ment hap­pen. 

The Groves fam­ily not only serves in these vital roles, but they also serve in their daily lives. Their home has been open for weekly Life Group meet­ings since New Life began. On any given day you may see Cody shar­ing lunch with young men, lead­ing them in dis­ci­ple­ship. You may find Chelsea at the store, pur­chas­ing items for the bridal shower she is host­ing for a church mem­ber. Cody and Chelsea do an incred­i­ble job teach­ing their chil­dren about the fin­ished work of the Gospel, and set an exam­ple of Gospel-centered par­ent­ing for many. Their two chil­dren, Chan­dler (4) and Audrey (2) are excited to wel­come a new baby brother or sis­ter into the fam­ily early next year!

Their lives are a con­stant sac­ri­fice for their fam­ily, the church, and their com­mu­nity. “Our lives cen­ter around our work at New Life. This is not a job for us but a call­ing. A lifestyle. There are no con­ver­sa­tions had or dates where we do not end up talk­ing about ‘church stuff’. It is who we are. We love Jesus, want our kids to, and are blessed to serve the men and women and kids at New Life."

"Over the years, many have served us well seek­ing to chal­lenge us in our walks with Jesus by ask­ing good ques­tions and car­ing for us in sim­ple ways. Watch­ing our kids so we can have time alone together, sonic drinks, and friend­ship are all encour­ag­ing to us. Lead­er­ship is lonely but we have found fel­low­ship with many through the years while serv­ing at New Life.”

As Cody and Chelsea are enter­ing a new sea­son of rest and prepa­ra­tion for a grow­ing fam­ily, they can con­tinue to be served by the their church com­mu­nity. While Sun­days are busy and week­nights short, the Groves fam­ily can be blessed by the help­ing hands of friends and church fam­ily. Their con­tin­ual ser­vice to the church and the church body is so valuable, and by serv­ing the Groves fam­ily, Cody and Chelsea’s lead­er­ship can con­tinue in a way that blesses the church.