Hey friends -

Some great Sundays coming up to keep on your radar:

Mozambique night Sept 12 – We’ve had some great stories from the Moz team but there are more coming. On Sunday the 12th the night will be devoted to the team so there will be a lot of stories, pictures, video, and reports on what God is teaching them. There is a lot to celebrate, and in addition, listening to what God is doing is part of how we as a body discern what steps to take next. Hope you can make it!

Baptism night Sept 19 – This is going to be great! On Sept 19 we will be having our worship gathering at my office (no, not Starbucks – my actual office), which is a really nice location for an outdoor service, huge Jacuzzi for baptism, fire pit, etc (try not to hate me). And we’ll top off the night with dinner together too. Good times! (Want to be baptized that night? Let me know.)

New series Sept 26 – On the 26th we’ll be kicking off our fall teaching series on the parable of the prodigal son, or as it should be known, the story of the gracious Father. This is one of the richest passages in the Bible, and there is an amazing amount of insight for us to glean from it.

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

Tim
Mt 6:33

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