For those who weren’t able to be with us last Sunday or if you haven’t yet heard, the big news out of our Africa trip is that there is now a Life Covenant Church in Beira, Mozambique! What an amazing testament to God’s goodness, and an irony as well. We have been cultivating relationships through the Moz seminary in the hopes of planting our first international church with one of the students, and lo and behold the first church is started from the finances and relationships through the orphanage! And amazingly, these planters, John and Maria, are relationships we began on our first trip to Moz several years ago. What a joy and a grace!

Below is an entry from Will Funk’s journal, ending in the story of the church.

"Well today was another absolutely amazing day. As if yesterdays Melanie Center welcome wasn't enough to throw us over the top, today really rocked us. We woke up at 3:30 for our planned 4:00 am departure to Gorongosa Safari Park. We ended up leaving at 5, which is just the way it goes in Africa ;). The 13 kids were on the bus and ready to go - this was the FIRST time they had ever ridden in a bus! They stared out the windows silently with looks of amazement as we buzzed by standard city scenery.

After a extremely bumpy ride in our bus, we arrived 3.5 hours later at the park. The tour was great. We saw monkeys, baboons, warthogs, impalas, but the best was the elephant. Amazing to see in its own habitat. Beautiful.

We then stopped for lunch at the restaurant in the middle of the park. We put our orders in for the 25 people in our party, which completely overloaded the kitchen. The kids had some nice play time as it took 1.5 hours to prepare the food. I had some nice play and connection time with the kids.

The meal was the very FIRST time the kids have ever eaten out (!!). They did so well - behaved great and had stellar manners. Maria was so proud - and she received much praise for how well she taught them manners.

We then made our way home, making one stop along the way to buy some supplies for the Melanie center. We bought them 20 (much needed) plastic chairs, and they were completely blown away - emotional. Amazing how a little gift can bless them so much. We shared a hug as we left the store.

Arriving home at 830 pm, I thought the amazing-ness was over - well it was just beginning. We sat down with John/Maria to discuss a few details, and Al asked a simple question - what is the name of your church (speaking of the church at the Melanie center)? Gives me the shivers to think about this... John paused and collected his thoughts. He began to explain how difficult this decision was and how much they prayed around it. They had a name in mind, but felt that God wanted them to take it in a different direction. He shared how moved he was by Alex's faith and now - that Life Covenant Church wanted to adopt the Melanie center. He said they prayed long and hard, and wanted to know if it would be acceptable if his church could be a daughter church under Life - with the same name "Life Covenant Church" (essentially a church plant!). Wow, shivers, as he knew little to nothing about our passion to plant churches (!). We shared a few tears as I told him about our vision and struggle with planting a church over the last few years. We embraced and welcomed his church into the Life Cov family as our very first international church plant (!!!!). 10,000+ miles apart - God's plan all along - to Him be the glory."

John and Maria (who knew very little about our vision) went on to tell our team how they believe God is calling them to be a church that plants churches, to continue planting “Life Covenants” throughout Mozambique, and to send church planters into the unreached people groups in the northern part of the country. Sound familiar????

God is awesome. Keep praying friends – for God’s hand of blessing on the work we do in Torrance, and for the grace of 1000 churches planted around the world (4 down, 996 to go ;)

Lots more happened on the trip too, and we’ll have more stories this Sunday.

Lord bless you friends, and we’ll look forward to being with you!

Tim
Mt 6:33

Hey friends!

So the Moz team is back, and dang! We’ve used the term “disproportional impact” to talk about the work God has allowed Life to do in general, and especially in Mozambique. Well, the term definitely applies to this trip.

The Moz stories begin tomorrow night, and believe me, you’re going to want to hear this one.

(And a reminder: if you feel like serving Christ with your muscles, swing by the Beck residence tomorrow morning and help load the truck. 400 S. Lucia Ave in Redondo Beach, beginning at 8am).

Lord bless you friends, and we’ll look forward to being with you tomorrow -

Tim
Mt 6:33

Our Mozambique team should touch down in LA in about 47 minutes, and it sounds like they are bringing a host of great stories with them. I’m told the trip was VERY fruitful, and I’m looking forward to hearing the stories and seeing the pictures in coming weeks, as well as seeing what God put on their hearts as far as new work he will lead us into in our ministry there . . .

Thanks everyone for praying, giving, and cheering them on, and thanks Team for taking two weeks of your life to serve Jesus and represent Life in Africa!

On another note, we haven’t promoted this well so apologies to those who are just now hearing it, but we are doing a spiritual disciplines seminar/day retreat on Saturday Aug 28.

Longing for a more robust spirituality? Different ways to engage with God in prayer and Scripture? To grow in your understanding of how God has uniquely wired you to connect with him? To have more tools in your toolbox for connecting with God and growing in your faith? If you are a ‘yes’ to any of the above, I think you’ll be deeply blessed by this event. We’ll be meeting from 9am to 3pm in a local park and taking a practice-oriented look at the great array of spiritual practices commended to us by the Scriptures and two thousand years of church history.

Hope you can come! You must sign up to attend, which you can do on Sunday or by replying to this email ($10 suggested donation to cover lunch and materials).

Finally, what a great send off for the Dave Beck and family this past Sunday! They are moving to Sacramento the beginning of next week, and there are two ways you can help them as they get ready to go. One, the Beck’s will be having a massive garage sale this Saturday, and if you are inclined to come shop, please do so. Two, this Sunday is packing-the-truck-day. If you can come lend a hand, show up at their place beginning at 8am and help us get them squared away. The Beck casa is located at 400 S. Lucia Ave in Redondo Beach.

Lord bless you friends, and we’ll look forward to being with you this weekend -

Tim
Mt 6:33

Vacation is good. We’re rested and spunky, souls refreshed by Sea World, mountain air, and lots of family time. And my total disregard for shaving has resulted in some serious unkempt facial shag . . .

Two quick reminders:

Uno – tomorrow (Sunday) night we bless Dave Beck and family as we send them off to the wilds of Sacramento! If you have not heard, Dave will be starting soon as the lead pastor of one of our sister church plants, Sanctuary Covenant. A great church, and a great opportunity! We’re very stoked for the Becks, and have been really blessed to have them traveling with us for this season. It will be a great night of worship and teaching, followed by sundaes. Come out and help celebrate/appreciate Dave and the fam . . .

Dos – keep praying for our Mozambique team! The team reports that ministry is really going great, and their efforts there are really being felt. Pray that God continues to use them big time, and for good health and safe travel. This is a family effort – thanks everyone for your high level of participation in this trip!

Lord bless you friends, and we’ll look forward to being with you tomorrow -

Tim
Mt 6:33

So Life’s second-ever team to Mozambique leaves in nine days! Amazing the work God has allowed us to participate in there, and what a blessing that we can send five of our finest to serve Christ on our behalf this summer.

This is a really strategic trip in terms of what we’re doing for our partners there, and the ways we are helping them reach to those around them. Check out a sampling of what they/we will be doing there:

• Providing the Melanie Center (and by extension, their community) with clean water via lifetime filtration devices
• Full health screenings for each of the kids at the Melanie Center (thank you Lisa Taft, RN extraordinaire!)
• Hosting a community health clinic at the Melanie Center, with classes on hygiene, nutrition, and sex education.
• Life’s kids have custom made t-shirts for each of the kids at the orphanage.
• Hosting an outreach lunch for Mozambicans to learn about and apply for microloans with Opportunity International.
• Visiting our partners at ISTEM (seminary training Mozambican church planters).
• Networking with current and prospective ministry partners in the areas of church planting, evangelism, and theological training.
• Taking the orphans and staff for a safari day at Gorongosa National Park. [note: if this one sounds surprising, Gorongosa is the nation’s pride and joy, yet most Mozambicans never get to see it. It would be like living in Anaheim but being too poor to ever visit Disneyland.]
• Bringing much needed supplies, including Portuguese Bibles and Sunday School curriculum, computer software, hand sanitizer, vitamins, sewing patterns, etc.

Sunday night we will be praying over our missionaries, and they hop on a plane the following Saturday. We’re proud of you guys!!!!!

And two brief reminders – hope to see you and your friends at our gathering event at Cabrillo beach this Saturday (starting at 5pm, food, smores, music, etc.), and ladies don’t forget that this Sunday is the last day for early bird registration at the women’s retreat (email deannefunk@gmail.com for more info).

Lord bless you guys!

Tim
Mt 6:33

“I feel like I’ll never be good enough.”

I heard that very honest comment after Sunday’s teaching, and have been thinking about it all week. Where, one might ask, is the good news in knowing that the righteousness God requires is something we can never attain? That my best efforts will never be good enough? Where is the grace in that??? These are good questions, and Matthew 5 is a hard teaching. We are tempted, like Jesus’ original hearers, to ask, “How will I ever measure up if even the religious superstars don’t?” (Don’t know what I’m talking about? Check out the podcast)

Short answer: we don’t measure up, which is why grace is really good news.

Longer answer: for me there are at least four reasons why the news is so good.

One – For me, the good news begins with the hardness of the teaching – that the obedience God requires is more than outward, surface-level conformity. It’s hard news, but exceptionally good, that God is not interested in me simply looking good and going through the motions while the whole time my heart is corrupt. I’ve been outwardly good, and it’s lame. There is nothing good about pretending to be something you really aren’t and really don’t want to be. I am exceedingly glad that God wants something better than that for his children. I need a deeper goodness in my life, and am grateful God wants it for me too.

Two – The really great news is that Jesus has offered us the only righteousness that is righteous enough. Only he can live up to a standard of pure, unadulterated goodness. And in his love for us, Jesus dies for us. Our sins are attributed to him, and his perfect righteousness is attributed to us. It is an amazing, undeserved exchange. Our sins are washed away and we are now, in fact, righteous.

Three – The good news gets better! Not only is Jesus’ righteousness credited to our account, but God is in the process of making us like Jesus. Not only are we declared righteous because of Jesus, but God has made us new creations, with new hearts. And as we lean into Jesus, we find that our desires, thoughts, values, etc., change, and our lives line up increasingly with the new heart and less with the old. We become what we now are.

Four – Finally, and we must keep this in mind, God’s love and acceptance of you and I is not conditioned on how well we perform. God’s love is wholly without strings, and was there for us before we were able to do anything good or bad. And his acceptance of us is based wholly on the work of Jesus, not on our win/loss record. As Paul put it, “It is God who saved us and chose us to live a holy life. He did this not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan long before the world began—to show his love and kindness to us through Christ Jesus. And now he has made all of this plain to us by the coming of Christ Jesus, our Savior, who broke the power of death and showed us the way to everlasting life through the Good News. (2 Timothy 1:9-10)

Love doing life with you. Lord bless you friends -

Tim
Mt 6:33

So this Thursday we begin this year’s Theology Lounge. If you haven’t been part of this before, here’s how it works:

Every summer our small groups take a break and instead we do one large-ish group that is focused on more in depth biblical teaching. It’s our own “seminary lite,” and is a great opportunity to learn and interact at a pretty significant level (file this under “loving God with all your mind”). Classes are a good blend of lecture and interaction.

This summer’s topic is Theology 101: Finding Our Place in God's Story. Dave Beck will be teaching the class (which works out as his doctorate is in systematic theology) Thursdays from 7-9pm beginning this Thursday July 8th. See attached for more details, and to join email Dave at tdbeck@verizon.net.

In other news, next week we begin a teaching series on living a Jesus-like life. As believers in Christ, our ultimate goal is to apprentice ourselves to Jesus, and in the process become like him. For the rest of summer we’ll be exploring what that means and how we can live it well.

And for those who are around tonight, we’ll be looking at some of the biblical themes illustrated in the spirituality of LOST. Whether or not you are a fan of the show, I think you’ll appreciate learning through it.

Lord bless you friends!

Tim
Mt 6:33

First off: let me give a big thank you to everyone for your attentiveness and your response to the Stop the Traffik presentation on the 13th (you can hear it on our podcast if you missed it). We had 25-ish people sign up to be part of this team and/or check out the informational meeting next month. One of my favorite things about Life Cov is that you aren’t pew potatoes – this church is always eager to have God invite them to be part of his work in the world! Thank you for that. You understand that church is not a place we go, it’s who we are.

The following upcoming items are also some very good stuff - get them on your radar screen:

• The taco lady – This Sunday the 27th we will be having dinner together immediately after worship, and yes, it will be catered by our infamous friend the taco lady. Great night to bring friends. Want to bring a dessert to share? Email Deanne at deannefunk@gmail.com.

• July 4th and LOST – July 4th falls on a Sunday this year, and we will indeed be having our worship gathering for all who are around that day (there’s a couple hours for grilling between church and fireworks at 9pm). We will be in between teaching series, and the teaching that night will be on what we can learn from the spirituality of LOST. (Whether you were a diehard fan like myself or were not into the show at all, it will make sense).

• Theology Lounge – Every summer we give our small group leaders a break and do one large-small group that is focused on in depth biblical teaching and stretching us to better love God with our minds (think of it as “seminary lite”). This summer’s topic: Theology 101: Finding Our Place in God's Story. Dave Beck will be putting his theologizing résumé to work for us and leading this class. Thursdays from 7-9pm beginning July 8th.

• Beach – The evening of July 31 we will be doing an event at the beach involving food, music, bonfires, hanging out – all spiritual things, I might add . . . more info to come.

It’s good to do life together. Lord bless you my friends, and we’ll see you this weekend -

Tim
Mt 6:33

This is hard to read:

• After drug dealing, human trafficking is the largest illegal industry in the world.
• There are an estimated 27 million people being held in slavery in the world today – more than at any time in history.
• Approximately 80% of these are women and girls, and 50% are minors. Most are forced into the sex trade.
• Human trafficking is happening in the South Bay.

This Sunday we will have a guest speaker from Oasis/Stop the Traffik, an organization that works to free and restore victims of trafficking. As a church we are prayerfully exploring what it would look like for us (in partnership with several other churches) to make the South Bay a traffic-free community.

Will you be praying for this? What a reminder that what we do matters – that nothing could be more important than knowing Jesus and being part of what he is doing in the world.

Lord use us as agents of healing, ministers of justice and righteousness, use us to make a difference, and to make the South Bay look more like your kingdom . . .

Lord bless you my friends, and see you on Sunday -

Tim
Mt 6:33

These days as I’m praying for Life, I find myself praying through the shorthand vision/values statement we’ve been using: Up, In, Out, Together. (You might try it – they make good categories for praying for our church.)

More thoughts on the other values later, but as the month comes to an end I want to throw out a thought on the “together” value.

We believe that when God calls us to salvation that he also calls us to his mission in the world, and that authentic, loving community is the context for that mission.

This summer we are going to Mozambique. Six of us will be on the plane, but it’s not hyperbole to say that WE are going - this is a together thing. God has called us to serve this under-served nation, and we have had the privilege for over four years of being part of God’s work there, and we plan to invest at least 20 years of our lives there. Think about that: in four years we’ve been able to participate with God and others to see a couple thousand desperately poor families gain a means to support themselves, the start up of a seminary for church planters, and the founding of an orphanage. Seriously, what will Mozambique look like after another sixteen years of this?

Even Life’s kids are getting in on the action, as each month they are hearing the story of a different orphan we support there, are praying for them, and are raising money to buy chickens and ducks for the orphanage. (At bed time the other night I asked Abby if she wanted to pray for anything in particular, and she said, “I want to pray for Veronica, our orphan friend in Africa.” Awesome.)

Lifers have always excelled at being generous in their giving, and I want to ask you to consider giving specifically to this trip. Those going are fund raising like crazy, and have committed to paying nearly half the trip from their own pockets (on top of their regular giving). During the month of May we’ve been asking the same of everyone at Life: in addition to your normal giving, would you prayerfully consider giving to this trip?

Thank you friends for being the church, not just talking about church. Truly, it’s a joy and a privilege to do life with you -

Tim
Mt 6:33