Next Level Church began as a dream in the heart of Lead Pastor Joshua Gagnon to start a church that people who were far from God would want to attend. He knew that God had called him to plant a church in New England, where less people go to church than anywhere else in our country. From there, a team of twelve people was formed who became sold out to the vision that God had placed on Joshua and his wife, Jennifer's, hearts. They weren't sure what to expect, but they knew that God had called them to forge a church that would adhere to solid, Christian doctrine, but would be entirely different from the other churches in the community. In spite of being told that churches couldn't grow in New England, they believed that God wanted to transform this entire region through the love of Jesus in a way that hadn't been seen here for centuries.
On March 23, 2008, Easter Sunday, NLC launched as a part of the ARC (Association of Related Churches). NLC saw God do amazing things that day as huge crowds came and were transformed by Christ. It was clear that NLC had been called to do something that was thought of as impossible in New England—seeing God’s church reach the unchurched and grow within Biblical community.
In the short history of NLC, God has blessed them with hundreds of people committing to make Jesus the leader of their life. Next Level's Newington location meets at the Regal Cinemas in the seacoast of New Hampshire. In the summer of 2010, through the generosity of its people, NLC was able to open a fully operational, non-profit coffeehouse in Dover, NH called Kaleo Coffee. The proceeds from Kaleo go directly back into the community to help families who could not otherwise afford to adopt children and to assist in local community projects. Kaleo's "Back Room" is also home to Next Level's Dover location, which opened in fall of 2010. Next Level's Portland location opened on 10.10.10 in the Abromson Center on the campus of the University of Southern Maine and currently meets at the Cinemagic movie theater in South Portland. Next Level Church is launching in Danvers, MA on Easter 2012!
And the most exciting part of the story is that the best is yet to come! God has dreams for His church bigger than we could ever ask or imagine, and Next Level Church will continue to press forward into Jesus' plan for His church by doing things no one else is doing in order to reach people no one else is reaching.