While Paul was imprisoned in Rome, the church at Philippi dispatched Epaphroditus to visit the apostle and deliver some much needed support. In response to their generosity, Paul penned a letter of thanks in which he wrote the following: “I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:3-6).

As I write this newsletter, I am reminded that I began this amazing adventure called “Life Connections” ten years ago. Much has been accomplished, and there remains much to do. But in light of Paul’s words to our Philippian brothers and sisters, I am struck by the fact that I have not been alone on this journey. I am so very thankful for each of you who have prayed and supported this ministry through the years, thus encouraging me to press on.

I am encouraged too by Paul’s reminder that we can be confident in our walk because He who began a good work in us will carry it through to completion on the day of Christ Jesus! It is my heartfelt desire to complete the task that God has placed before Life Connections: To be a catalyst for unity, connecting people and ministries together; to be a means by which people come into a relationship with our Lord because of a unified Body of Christ.
So, thanks again for your prayers . . . your support . . . your partnership in this amazing journey!

Tyler Lennon
LCI President

What’s Been Happening at LCI?

A letter from one of our Costa Rica Missions team members that worked with our partners Missions Impossible…

Costa Rica!

Hey Tyler,

Mission’s trips are never what you expect them to be. We go to serve, but God always has much more in mind than can be seen or even understood often until later. This last trip was definitely a testimony to that. His ways are so much higher than ours. Though He clearly worked through us in different ways, I am certain that His work in us was far deeper than we realize. That’s because though He loves to work through us, the fact is He doesn’t need to & the work in us is far more needed. Where we thought we had experience we were stretched. Where we thought we would bless, we were blessed. Where we sought to encourage we were encouraged. Where we wanted to love, we were out loved in many ways. As usual God did exceedingly abundantly above our thoughts or desires. Having said all that, serving God in a foreign place, is still to me one of the most powerful experiences a person can have. We truly act like Jesus, the ultimate missionary, who left heaven for 33 years to share the love & power of God with us. How awesome it is to follow in His steps.

Blessings to you
Paul

3rd Annual Bring Life Golf Tournament
Life Connections hosted the 3rd annual Bring Life Golf Tournament at Malibu Country Club on June 21st. This was a great opportunity to share Life Connection’s vision of unity with many who might not otherwise come in contact with our ministry. Forty-four gofers participated in the event (with the Danny Boehle/Michael Lennon foursome winning for the second year in a row!

Pastor Summit

In May, Life Connections again facilitated the annual Westside Pastor Prayer Summit at Serra Retreat Center in Malibu, CA. Though maybe not quite as well attended as past Summits, the gathering proved to be a wonderful time of encouragement as pastors connected with one another and prayed over the City.

National Day of Prayer

May 6th was the National Day of Prayer, and Life Connections was asked to take an active role in rallying local churches to gather at Bel Air Presbyterian Church to pray for the Entertainment Industry, our City and our Nation. Some of the leaders present that evening included Pastor Lloyd Ogilvie, Pastor Greg Waybright, Rev. Rankin Wilbourne, as well as several entertainment industry professionals. I am pleased to report that about 500 people responded to our call!

Homeless Forum

Life Connections continues to be used as a catalyst for unity among churches in service to the poor. We recently facilitated our second Homeless Forum in Hollywood, gathering like-minded individuals from 17 different churches and ministries.

Upcoming Activities:

Trips to Los Angeles and Tijuana
We are excited to be hosting a team from Point Lookout Church, New York in the Los Angeles area during the first week of August. Activities will include service among the homeless in Hollywood, a visit to the Kingdom Center in Ventura, and working with one of our partners who labor within the inner city of Los Angeles. Then it’s off to Mexico for a visit to the City of Angels Orphanage in Tijuana over the weekend of August 6th through 8th. Please keep us in your prayers!

It seems like so much has happened already this year . . . and it’s only April!

In walking out our calling to be a catalyst for unity in the Body of Christ, the Lord has led us to become involved in so many different aspects of church life.  Whether co-hosting an event focused on women in leadership within the church, or leading a forum on how to end homelessness in Hollywood, or taking a team to Mexico to serve in an orphanage, the Lord continues to use LCI as a means of awakening the need for oneness with the Body of Christ.  And in the midst of all that, we continue to facilitate pastor gatherings, orchestrate times of prayer and worship, and network ministries and leaders together.

In his letter to the disciples living in Corinth, Paul drew an analogy between the human body and the Church.  In so doing, he reminds the reader that “. . . God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is there are many parts, but one body” (1 Corinthians 12:18-20).  And as it is with the human body, so it is with the Church . . . many parts, but only one Body.

At LCI, we realize that our role is to help connect all the various parts that make up the Body of Christ, thereby strengthening the Body to better advance the Gospel message.  And it is because of your involvement through your prayers, your volunteering and your financial support that we are able to continue this vital work. Thank you!

Mexico

The Ambassadors:

“It’s too dangerous, you shouldn’t go!” was the sentiment of everyone close to me. But I had a calling on my heart, and traveled down to Mexico with ten other members of Metro Calvary Chapel.  All of my fears disappeared when I walked through the gates of the orphanage, and a young boy immediately dragged me to the playground to play hide and seek.  There were probably around thirty children, all of whom had a smile and a story to tell… but sadly I couldn’t you speak a word of Spanish.  The ladies taught, baked, and played with the kids, while the men helped build a wooden structure for shower facilities at the orphanage.  After a days work, the group celebrated by eating some of the best tacos on the planet. The next day we were visited by Tijuana’s chief of police, who is also a Christian. He thanked us for all of our hard work and told us how 80% of charity and missionary work has ceased over the past year, because people are fearful of traveling to Mexico anymore. Right now is one of their most desperate times. 

Our group leader, Tyler, quoted 2 Corinthians 5:18, “Now then, we are all ambassadors of Christ,  as though God were pleading through us:” . Those holy words reached in and touched my soul. I realized that I am an Ambassador and have a responsibility to represent the Lord in this world. I went away for a weekend to Mexico with ten strangers and came back with ten brothers and sisters. I saw Christ’s light shine through them as they made a difference to the children’s lives. If you believe in Jesus, then you too are an ambassador and have the responsibility to represent the Kingdom. I strongly encourage you to experience an LCI Mission trip, as mine was memorable, beautiful, and life changing.

Blessings,

- Simon Lythgoe

Spiritual Spa

Life Connection’s women sponsored our February Spiritual Spa day, bringing together 35 women, representing 17 churches.  Led under the teaching of Suzanne Baker Founder of the Spiritual Spa ministry, with Worship & Testimony ~ the women entered into a sweet time of:

            Ardent Concern ~ LOVE

            for one another ~ UNITY

            that brings joy  JOY of the LORD

 Ending our time together with a greatly needed & sought after time ’soaking in the Lord’ the women were deeply blessed. A most delicious luncheon was enjoyed, of course! A heart-felt appreciation to Kathy Howarth for her generosity in opening her home for the LCI women to host this gathering. Such a positive response was received by the women, we continue to Pray Forward to our next Spiritual Spa gathering!

Homeless Forum

On March 18th, Life Connections (along with Ecclesia Church and Broken Hearts Ministry) co-hosted the third in an on-going series of homeless forums, this time at the historic Pacific Theatre in Hollywood. There were over 50 in attendance (17 churches and ministries in all) as the audience was challenged to come together in unity in order to deal with this growing problem. The principle speaker was Sam Gallucci, Senior Pastor of Harbor Community Church in Ventura, who shared a true-life story of transformation about 18 churches that have joined together in that community in attempt to end homelessness. Though the forum is over, our involvement has only just begun. LCI continues to work with local ministry leaders as we attempt to unify the local Church around this critical issue. Please pray that the Lord would bless the Church of Hollywood with a spirit of unity.

Central City Pastors

For quite some time, we have been sensing a need for pastors in the Central City area of Los Angeles to come together in prayer. While previous attempts have proven unsuccessful, more recent indications seemed to signal that there had been a “seasonal” change of some sort. This, coupled with a divine appointment with a local pastor, led us to initiate a prayer gathering. Now, once a month on a Saturday morning, a handful of local pastors and leaders are gathering for prayer. Please join us in asking the Lord of the harvest to bring forth significant fruit as a result of this first step.

NDP

LCI will be helping with two different National Day of Prayer Events on May 6^th. From 12:00pm-1:00pm at Alumni Park at Pepperdine University will have a time of prayer for the Malibu community and our Nation. Also in the evening will be Entertainment Industry ministries and local LA Churches will be partnering and praying at Bel Air Presbyterian Church at 7:30pm-9:30pm. Would love to have you come join us if you are in the neighborhood.  http://www.hollywoodprayernetwork.org/NDOP

Golf Tournament

On June 21^st at Malibu Country Club we will be hosting our 3^rd annual “Bring Life” Golf Tournament. We need your support and would love for you to join us. For more info please go to our Website. www.lcibringlife

The Entertainment Industry Christian ministries and the local LA Churches are partnering on THURSDAY, MAY 6th at Bel Air Presbyterian Church for a National Day of Prayer Celebration. The third annual partnering of industry professionals and local churches at Bel Air Pres. marks a growing unity of Christians in our city to gather together to pray for God’s blessings on His people. The evening’s planning committee believes that we are experiencing a definite shift toward spiritual unity and growth and we believe that this cultural change is coming through the prayers of God’s people across America.
Anyone is welcome to join us on May 6th, from 7:30 – 9:30pm. The evening’s prayer leaders include Pastor Lloyd Ogilvie, Pastor Greg Waybright, Rev. Rankin Wilbourne, and some entertainment industry professionals. There will also be incredible music, including The Hollywood Mass Choir and much more. We invite you to experience and participate in this gathering of two unlikely worlds as we partner in prayer for our country, our state, our city, our churches and our media.
National Day of Prayer: Thursday, May 6th 7:30 – 9:30pm, Bel Air Presbyterian Church, 16221 Mulholland Drive, LA, CA 90029. For more information, list of Prayer Leaders, or directions, visit http://www.hollywoodprayernetwork.org/NDOP or call 818.788.4210 x550

LCI Vision/Mission
Over this past year, we sought the counsel of Bob Ray, President of The Institute For Achievement & Results, who helped us refine the vision and mission of Life Connections International. It was a time of deep reflection and carefully listening for the Lord’s voice. After a lot of hard work (and it was work!), here’s what we came up with:
Our Vision is Unity within the Body of Christ.
At LCI, we envision a united Body of Christ, in all of its marvelous diversity, each part working in harmony with one another, whether locally or abroad, that the kingdom of God might be advanced, and that life – life in Christ Jesus our Lord – might freely flow to the nations.
Our Mission
The Mission of LCI is to be a catalyst for Unity within the Body of Christ, nurturing connections among leaders and ministry organizations in order to create lasting partnerships that will prepare God’s people for works of service, promote outreach to surrounding communities, and to further the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We achieve this through the following three areas of emphasis:

• Communicate – At every opportunity LCI communicates God’s heart for unity among His Children.
• Cultivate – LCI cultivates relationships that foster transformation, both individually and corporately.
• Connect – LCI serves to connect churches, organizations and individuals, thereby forming partnerships or networks that individually and collectively further the cause of unity.

So there you have it! In everything we do, LCI is a catalyst for unity, whether working with the church down the street (maybe yours!) or taking a team to a city half way around the world. Come join us in our effort to unite the Body of Christ as one!

2010 Mission Trip Opportunities
And speaking of taking a team to another city, here’s a list of our mission opportunities for 2010. Come join us as we Bring Life to the Nations!
Trip Date Application Deadline
Mexico
Mar 12-14, 2010 Feb 26, 2010
Costa Rica
Jun 1-10, 2010 April 30, 2010
Spain
Jun 27 – Jul 4, 2010 May 27, 2010
Mexico
Aug 6-8, 2010 Jul 23, 2010
Uganda
Sep 20 – Oct 3. 2010 Aug 21, 2010
India
Oct 25 – Nov 8, 2010 Sep 26, 2010

Life Connections International • 23852 Pacific Coast Highway #474 • Malibu, CA 90265
www.lcibringlife.org

LCI News

Uganda 2009
My name is Maria Felipe. In 2007, my husband, Richard, went to Kampala, Uganda, with Life Connections Intl. It was there that he became ignited for international missions like never before as he fell in love with the country and its people. While we were dating and after we’d married,
Richard had often mentioned how he couldn’t wait to take myself and his son, Duke (from a previous marriage), to Uganda – in hopes of one day serving there together.

If you’ve had a loved one, a spouse, pass on, you’ll understand me when I say that your greatest joy comes from knowing where they’re at; that they’re Home with the Father. However, the sadness of not having them here is, at times, indescribable. I’ve expressed to many people in these past months that, “I’m not single …though my husband isn’t here.” After almost 6 months without Richard, this is where I’m at and, because of that, my desire has still been to honor my husband as the head of our household. As it was Richard’s desire for us to go to Uganda, I felt it God’s timing when the trip came up in October with Life Connections. Though I was only a few months out from Richard’s passing, I knew the Lord’s calling to go and to “comfort those who are in trouble with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God” (1 Cor 1:3-4).
There were so many eye-opening moments on the trip. Though I’d served as a long-term missionary in Costa Rica in ‘03-’04, my heart had never broken to the level it did in Uganda as I encountered those who were without husbands or children who had lost one or both parents. I’d never truly felt the pain of that before now and, hence, never was able to fully mourn for another at the deepest level. However, I was incredibly encouraged (as I had been while serving throughout Central America) by the joy that was so apparent, in spite of the daily struggles. In a society that still celebrates receiving a set of goats because of how they will impact the family’s survival, I was again reminded of my own blessings and how easily I can take them for granted.
As an added bonus, I was also given the opportunity to meet Richard’s sponsored World Vision child, whom he had made a priority of visiting in 2007, as he lived only 5+ hours from Kampala. As traveling to see him was one of the highlights of my husband’s life, I thought it only fitting to let the boy (also named Richard!) know what had taken place since they had last seen eachother only 2 years ago. What an amazing opportunity I was given to go halfway around the world and look into the face that I have studied so many times from the picture posted on our refrigerator door, not to mention seeing the boy whom Richard had talked about with so much enthusiasm. It was with great honor that I let “little Richard” and his family know about the battle my husband fought and that, as believers in Christ, we will see him again!! Also, I had the privilege of bringing some gifts from Richard’s son, Duke, who has asked to take over the sponsorship, as a legacy to his father.
I have so many people to thank, as I was supported (both prayerfully and monetarily) by wonderful family and friends. Though I was blessed to see numerous places and meet many people that my husband had two years previous, I was prayerfully astute of the fact that, “Lord, I want to follow in your steps, not in Richard’s steps.” I believe that was the case in Uganda, and I pray that my time there becomes a springboard to even more ministry opportunities, as I know that would be Richard’s desire for me!

Hope you had a great summer!  As we end the summer of 2009. I just wanted to send you a little update on what has been happening with LCI. 

It has been a slow year regarding our mission trips; we had to cancel a few of our trips because of no sign ups.  Some of that has probably been caused by the state of the economy, but in the absence of the trips, I also see the way the Lord is opening new doors and new phase of ministry for LCI.  We’ve been seeing a lot of growth in connecting and networking pastors and ministries here in Los Angeles. For example, our efforts to bring pastors together for prayer have resulted in a monthly gathering in Malibu. We are also working with local churches and ministries to expand outreach to international students attending UCLA and Santa Monica College. And we continue to network local churches in our attempts to reach homeless and disenfranchised living on the Westside.   I’d ask that you keep praying for our efforts with this, because I believe it’s very crucial to nurture these connections.  Lord willing, these relationships will continue to develop and build a foundation of unity that will help transform this city.

We did have a team of 13 people that I took down to Tijuana to work with Baja Vision and the City of Angels Orphanage.  Eight of the team members came from Pennsylvania, two from Seattle, and three were from here in Los Angeles.  Sergio Gomez, who leads Baja Vision ministries, was very blessed to have us come. They have had a 70% drop in teams coming to Mexico this year because of many factors, including the Swine Flu, the war with the drug cartels and the economy.  This has really impacted their ministry.  Our presence really blessed them, and during our stay we were able to meet with the chief of police in Tijuana. They have taken the security of mission teams coming over the border very seriously and they wanted us to know that they are keeping an eye out for us.  It was very encouraging and we were able to pray for him and his safety, because he is on the frontlines of the battle.

With September officially here, we are gearing up for next year: we’re looking at dates for mission trips in 2010, we are looking to plan some Bring Life events, and we are starting to facilitate getting a few women the opportunity to serve in Uganda.

Thank you for continually supporting LCI, whether financially or with your prayers.  We need it, and are excited for this next season of ministry.

Grace and peace,

Tyler Lennon

What is a Bring Life Event?
 

In short, a Bring Life Event is Jesus’ prayer as recorded in John 17 made manifest as churches and ministries unite to worship, pray and serve together as the Body of Christ. A Bring Life Event is nothing more than a catalyst for the Holy Spirit to bring the Church together, in all it’s magnificent diversity.
 

What are the objectives of a Bring Life Event?
 

Through our sponsorship of Bring Life Events, it is our prayer that we might be used . . .

• To build up and edify the local Church
  
• To encourage the local Church to fulfill the Biblical call within their community.
  
• To expose ministries, churches and individuals to the capabilities and competencies of others within the local Church.
  
• To encourage the local Church to be the “face of Jesus” within their community; to touch the lost with the gospel message.
  
• To nurture relationships that will endure beyond the event, thereby leading to additional ministry within the community.
  

What does a Bring Life Event look like?
 

Bring Life Events are intended to bring together all aspects of the Christian community including shepherds, worship leaders, youth leaders, businessmen and lay people. The events might take place over an afternoon, or for an entire week. Elements of a Bring Life Event might include . . .
 

• Teaching
  

• What is God’s heart beat for His Church? How do we better fulfill our calling?
  
• How do we rebuild the Spiritual walls of our cities? (Nehemiah 1-8)
  
• Love and reconciliation amidst our cultural, ethnic and denominational diversity.
  

• Leadership conferences
  
• Prayer Summits
  
• Unity training
  
• Evangelism training
  
• Prayer walking
  

• Service projects
  
• Concert events
  
• Evangelism
  
• Events targeting specific aspects of the community (e.g., film and art events)
  

How can I learn more about a Bring Life Event in my community?
 

Just drop send us an email at info@lcibringlife.org

Is making a difference in this world important to you? Then Life Connections is a great place to start. We’re a catalyst for unity among Christians and communities at home and around the world. We’re focused on creating connections among individuals, organizations and events and pulling resources together to bring light into a world that desperately needs it and needs it now. At LCI, we focus on building unity in three ways facilitating short-term missions locally and globally, coordinating Bring Life Events that can reshape an entire city and empowering a turnaround for Los Angeles called ‘Pray for LA’. But that is just part of our story. Jesus said, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few”. Your involvement can make a difference… to one person… or a whole community. Either way, you’re needed and the rewards are priceless. Now is the time and Life Connections is where you can start!

God Bless You.

Tyler Lennon
President
Life Connections International ]]> http://www.lifeconnectionsintl.com/wordpress/?feed=rss2&p=82 0