Meet Our Staff

Pastor Ken Heath is originally from New York City. He put his faith in Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior as a senior in High School. Ken later felt called to full time Christian ministry and completed his major in Biblical Studies at Houghton College. From there he went to Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Hamilton, MA for his master's degree in pastoral counseling (1984), and is currently working on his Doctorate degree at Gordon-Conwell in World Missions and Cross-Cultural Studies (D.Min). Ken is married to his lovely wife, Mariann, and they have two grown children, Joanna and Daniel. Ken has served as the Associate Pastor at the Haverhill Alliance Church (Haverhill, MA) and has planted two churches (Hudson, Manchester NH). He serves as the Senior Pastor of New Life Christian Church in Hudson, NH. and is now working on another church plant in Lowell, Ma.

As natives of the greater Nashua area, Pastor Andy Birr and his wife Sandy are thrilled to be called to serve the Lord at New Life here in Hudson. They recently spent 5 years in Haverhill, MA where they led the Middle School and High School Youth ministries. Strangely enough Andy did not always love the Nashua area. From age four he was trying to dig to China in the back yard. In High School having a good time often meant going to Boston even if they only went to Burger King and back home again. However after travelling in six continental areas and working in three; he has not only realized that this really is a great place to live and raise a family, but that he is called to live with and minister to the people here.

Growing up Andy was also disappointed with his church experience. "It was fun except for the sermons I guess... I tried to listen sometimes, but I'd usually fall asleep before it was over. I was looking forward to getting out of Nashua and my home church after high school. I had planned to go to Marquette University to study law. Due to a strange turn of events, I ended up at Gordon College, a Christian school only an hours drive from Nashua. While I was there I met people who talked about God when they weren't in Sunday school. They said that Jesus had changed their lives and they wanted to live their lives to honor Him. I thought they were a bunch of misguided Jesus freaks and I decided that I would invest my time partying in the woods with the rest of the kids who 'didn't get it'. After my freshman year I travelled for a year and then went to Keene State when I got back. While I was there I made All-Academic Athlete and made a lot of friends but I started to feel a deep sense of emptiness and I really felt like something was missing in my life. God directed my attention to the memories I had of Gordon and my 'Christian friends' there who really had hope and a sense of purpose. I wondered if they really might have something that I would want if I found it. I decided to start reading my Bible because I didn't know any Christians or churches in the area and I thought reading the Bible might be a good start at least. One day while I was praying I really felt like God spoke to me and changed my heart. That was both the beginning of my call to a deeper relationship with Him and the ministry.

"I finally knew that God was real, that He loves me and that He wants to have a relationship with me, but I had spent my whole life in the church and never understood that. How could this be? I didn't have all the answers, but I wasn't about to be quiet about it. I decided to go back to Gordon to learn from these people I met there what it meant to live life as a Christian who really honors God and loves others. After school I went to be a missionary in China for 12 months and then I got a little side tracked. I came home for family reasons, but I really wasn't sure where I should go to get a job. I ended up coaching swimming at the YMCA in Merrimack; where I had helped out part time in the summers and on weekends, and then I found a job at Fidelity. This was good for my wallet and my ego; but it wasn't God's plan for the long term. Eventually I found myself at Seminary at Gordon-Conwell where I am currently finishing two Masters degrees: the Masters in Divinity (M.Div) and another in Counseling. Since we have been at Seminary we have had the awesome opportunity to serve in Youth Ministry which we feel God has called us to for many years to come. God has blessed and protected us in amazing ways on this journey. I have so much more to learn, but I am honored to be called to stand at the Crossroads and come alongside others pointing the way to the only one who can bring us hope and new life... Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord."