member spotlight: janice cepulo

After feeling called to find a church closer to home, Janice found a welcoming and prayer-centered community at New Life where people of all backgrounds truly belong. Here, Janice has experienced growth, healing, and a deeper confidence in God’s calling on the church. Read Janice's testimony below:

In one or two sentences, what was lifelike before you came to our church?

I was going to a great church, but it was in Medina and I lived in Lakewood. The Lord had spoken to my heart about attending a church closer to home so I could be more involved.

What brought you here?

At the time, I was working for Love INC. When I met Pastor Bob, I saw in him the same love I had for the Body of Christ—to truly be one Body, not divided by denominations. I knew that if I ever left Cornerstone Chapel, Lakewood New Life would be the place God was calling me to.

How has your life changed since being part of this community?

It is truly a community of caring, accepting, and loving people of all ages and nationalities. Just as denominations do not matter, neither do age or ethnicity.

What is one specific way you’ve seen growth or healing?

I understand a little more Spanish (I still cannot roll my R’s).

What does “the graveyard is a garden now” mean to you personally?

I grew up in Lakewood, and I saw firsthand many churches come and go. New Life understood the importance of building a foundation of prayer even before the doors opened. Pastor Bob and Yolanda knew they had been called, and they have remained faithful to that calling.

What’s one thing about our church that has impacted you most?

I have the privilege of working at the church. An acquaintance once warned me not to take the job, saying I would become disillusioned once I saw what the pastors were really like. But I have seen what they are really like, and trust me—what you see is what you get.

Through both good and challenging seasons—COVID, Yolanda’s health situation, hurtful personal comments, and the transition to new leadership, just to name a few—I have seen men and women of God in leadership whose hearts’ desire is to do the Lord’s will. They seek Him faithfully and are obedient to His calling.

What would you say to someone considering visiting our church?

Come and check us out—you will not be disappointed. You will experience true worship, not performance, but genuine worship. You will hear the truth of God’s Word, and your time here, whether for an hour or 20 years, will not be wasted.