WHAT IS LIFE CENTER?
Life Center is a church that gathers in multiple locations, with multiple languages and multiple ministries that are unified around one mission. Life Center is led by our Senior Pastor, Tyler Sollie. He partners with the Executive Leadership Team, Campus Pastors, the Life Christian Head of School, and other ministry leads and team members to accomplish the mission and the vision. Each of the ministries and staff are supported, covered and accountable to the Senior Pastor and the Life Center Church Board who function as the covering and accountability for our Senior Pastor.
OUR HISTORY
Life Center started in 1918, at the height of the Spanish Flu pandemic. Our founding pastor, Reverend Frank Grey, was tarred and feathered and run out of his hometown in Spokane, Washington for believing in the active, present-day working of the Holy Spirit. What started as a small group of believers who took steps of faith to build the church’s first building downtown Tacoma on 12th & G, and later developed our current Central Campus on 19th & Union Ave, has grown to multiple thousands of people who are ministered to each week through the church in its multiple locations (Central Campus, North Tacoma Campus, Rainier Campus, and Online) and languages, and its ministries, including Life Christian Academy and Life Manor.
Pastor Buntain was the Senior Pastor of Life Center for 40 years, and under his leadership, the church flourished. As a result of his vision and faithfulness, we now operate a private Christian school called Life Christian Academy, which is Pre-Kindergarten through High School with 800+ students. We also own an independent living community called Life Manor.
Life Center is part of the Northwest Ministry Network of the Assemblies of God. Our current Senior Pastor, Tyler Sollie, was elected to his role in December 2018.
Want to know more about the history of Life Center? Download the book, The Joy of Belonging, written by Harold F. Gray from our 75th anniversary which covers 70 years of the existence of Life Center by clicking here!
OUR MISSION
We exist to bring LIFE in Jesus to EVERY LIFE in our communities.
This is our why. It is why we do what we do. Each word has weight and significance.
Bring: active, not passive. Engaged in doing and being, not just coming to consume. It is something we embody, not just information we share.
Life: this is what Jesus said he came to bring to us, as his followers (disciples who are living on mission with him), this is what we bring to the world around us.
In Jesus: this is the present tense. It is active, alive and now. Life in Jesus is a present reality that changes everything.
Every life: this is our mission field. Every child, student, young adult, single adult, married adult, empty nester, retired person and senior citizen. Our work will not be done until we can say this about every life.
Communities: Life Center exists in and for multiple communities. This is plural on purpose. This includes regions, cities, languages, and the call to be a multiethnic church that brings the “life to the full” that only Jesus provides.
OUR VISION
We are committed to being a church that will:
REACH WIDE
The Gospel is for EVERY person, and salvation is received the same way for all: BY FAITH THROUGH GRACE. We reach wide because this is what Jesus did and what He continues to do. Reach is an active word, not passive. Life Center isn’t something we attend; it is a place to belong that is actively on the mission with Jesus. We believe every life is welcome at the foot of the cross, and the IMAGO DEI matters to us. We look for and love the image of God in all people.
(1 Timothy 2:4; Acts 15:6-11, 19-21; Luke 15; Mark 2:16-17).
BUILD STRONG
Jesus made His mission clear: as we reach people with this Good News, we also make them disciples. We celebrate decisions, but we are passionate and committed to make disciples. This is why we teach, train, and equip people to BE THE CHURCH, not just go to church. To be strong in the mission that Jesus invites us into, we must build people who are strong in their faith. Biblical literacy matters. Prayer matters. Generosity matters. Healthy families and marriages matter. Bringing life in Jesus to a post-Christian secular society matters. This all takes equipping and building. Our goal isn’t to build Life Center big, our goal is to build the people of Life Center big. We want to make disciples of Jesus who know how to make other disciples of Jesus.
(Matthew 28:18-20; Jude 3, 20; Galatians 5:22-23; 2 Timothy 2:2)
LOVE WELL
To Jesus followers, love isn’t a recommendation. Love is a mandate. A church that doesn’t love ceases to be a church – because its purpose is to reveal and embody the love of God to the world. We don’t settle for only loving others in the church well (though this is required and the path toward unity – see John 17). We understand that we are called to love the world well. This is why we believe in the mission of Jesus both local and global. Imagine loving a city so well that there is no other answer except: Jesus must be real. Let’s make that happen. This is why Life Center C.A.R.E.S. is so much more than a program, or something we do. It is a vital part of how we are going to love well the world that Jesus has placed us in.
(John 3:16-17; Matthew 22:34-40; John 13:34-35; 1 Corinthians 13).
OUR VALUES
Our values matter. It is one thing to write values on the wall, it is another thing for us to embody them and express them.
Here is something important to remember about them: Values that are not lived out may be nice statements, but they have no power. We want our team to not only learn our values, but to also live our values.
OUR VALUES ARE REVEALED IN WHAT WE DO.
There are Seven Life Center Values that will drive what we do and why we do it.
WE VALUE:
The Presence of God
The Authority of Scripture
Inspiration that is Spirit led and Spirit-empowered
Authenticity & Unity
The next generation
Mission Motivated locally and globally
Generosity in our living and giving
OUR BELIEFS
About God
We believe there is one God who is the Creator and the Leader of the universe. He eternally exists in three persons: the Father (God), the Son (Jesus), and the Holy Spirit. (Gen. 1:1; Matt. 28:19)
About Jesus Christ
We believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, in His virgin birth, His sinless life, His atoning death on the cross, His resurrection on the third day, His exaltation to the right hand of the Father, and that He will return again to reign as Lord of Lords. (Matt. 1:23; Heb. 4:15, 7:26; 1 Cor. 15:3; John 11:25; 1 Cor. 15:4; Heb. 1:3; Acts 1:11; 1 Tim. 6:13-16)
About the Holy Spirit
We believe in the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit that empowers each Jesus follower to live a godly life. The body of each believer is a temple in which the Holy Spirit is present. Therefore, every believer must foster a life of being filled with the Spirit, which is both an initial and an ongoing experience for Jesus followers. The Holy Spirit provides us with power for living, understanding of spiritual truth, guidance in doing what is right, and spiritual gifts to build up the church and empowerment for witness. (Rom. 8:11; 1. Cor. 6:19-20; Eph. 5:18; Acts 1:8)
About the Bible
We believe that the entire Bible is the inspired, infallible, and inerrant Word of God and that the authors were moved by the Spirit to write the books of Scripture. The words of the Bible are the primary source for teaching and equipping Christians for a life of righteousness. (2 Pet. 1:20-21; 2 Tim. 3:16—17)
About Humanity
We believe that human beings were created in the image of God to have fellowship with Him but became alienated from that relationship through sinful disobedience. As a result, humanity is totally incapable of coming back into a right relationship with God by its own effort. (Gen. 1:26; Gen. 3; Rom. 5:12-19)
About Salvation
We believe that the shed blood of Jesus Christ on the cross solely provides for the forgiveness of sins. Therefore, salvation is received only when a person places their faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus as the sufficient payment for their acknowledged sin. This salvation is not earned but a gift available by the grace of God alone. (Mark 10:45; Acts 2:38; Eph. 2:8-9)
About Life with Jesus
We believe that for every Jesus follower the old way of living for ourselves is in the past and the new way of living for Christ is for the present and for the future. By obedience to the Scriptures and daily yielding to the Spirit we will mature and become conformed to the image of Christ, which should be exhibited by love for God and for our neighbor. (2 Cor. 5:17; Matt. 22:37-39)
About Church Life
We believe that the Church is the body of Christ, of which Jesus is the Head. The purpose of the Church is to gather believers to honor God by being a powerful witness for Jesus Christ in a lost world. God wants to build up His Church, which is why the Holy Spirit gives a variety of spiritual gifts to believers such as: encouragement, serving, teaching, healing, prophecy, etc. We practice two ordinances in the Church instituted by Christ Himself: water baptism and Holy Communion. (Col. 1:18; Matt. 28:18-20; Rom. 12; 1 Cor. 12; Luke 3:21-22; Luke 22:14-20)
About Healing
We believe that Christ’s power to heal, evident in the Gospels, is available to all believers today through His atoning sacrifice. The Church is to lay hands on the sick, anoint them with oil, and pray faithfully for their recovery. (Isa. 53:4-5; Jas. 5:14-15)
About the Second Coming
We believe that Jesus followers who have died will be reunited with those still alive at the second coming of Jesus Christ. This event will be followed by the millennial reign of Jesus, a final judgment, and the appearance of a new heaven and a new earth. (1 Thess. 4:16-17; Rev. 20:1-6; Rev. 20:11-15; Rev. 21; Rev. 22)