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"When my daughter got baptised, one of the pastors asked her if she was attending EPIC. She had been too scared to attend, but was given the opportunity to go along with another young person the very next week. We had been praying for her to find a Christian community, and she now feels surrounded by such incredible young people that have the same heart for God. She is well connected in EPIC, attending Thursdays and Sundays, and even shared her testimony at EPIC on her birthday. Only two years ago, she was riddled with anxiety, worry, and confusion about her place in the world. But God has done incredible things in her life and surrounded her with amazing people. Her faith has matured in such a short time and is something to behold. Now, she is pretty much discipling me!"
Deb – Central Campus
“Two years ago, I was ready to end my life. On the surface, I had it all – my wife, my son, a good job, and a home – but inside, I was lost. Depression and alcohol consumed me. One night, I counted to 10, prepared to get up and end it all. But as I moved, my sleeping son rolled over and placed his arm across my chest. I stopped and wept. The next morning, I knew I had to go to church. A friend had mentioned LIFE years ago, so I drove there. I sat in the car park for an hour, wrestling with fear, doubt, and anger. But something urged me inside. On my way to the entrance, I decided if I didn’t feel welcomed, this was my last hope for living. But I got to the doors and some beautiful ladies welcomed me! I felt a weird feeling like I was meant to be there. I waited in the foyer, and then a guy called me over. He told me a bit about himself, and his life was so similar to mine. Then, during worship, I broke down. My pride melted, and the Holy Spirit filled me. I knew in that moment: God had saved my life. Through the Alpha course, my eyes were opened to Jesus. I’ve found an incredible community, deepened my faith, and experienced baptism, communion, and anointing. Today, I am SAVED, I am HOME, I have HOPE, and I BELIEVE!”
Lipoi – South Campus
"My experience at LIFE has been huge! From the start, we were the type to just attend church and would usually find our way to the back. My wife and I started serving and were soon asked to join the Adventure Kids team helping in Base Camp in LIFE Tauranga. This took me out of my comfort zone, but it was all for a purpose. For me, to be serving means to deny yourself and be vulnerable to the purposes of God, and putting yourself out there. I believe God put me in this position, so that I can use my gifts, talents and time to help steward the upcoming generation. God is good!"
Marty – Tauranga Campus
"In this diverse city, I feel there is a place full of love and warmth, that is the community centre. There are lovely volunteers here who provide free dinners, second-hand clothes and various help to those in need. Their dedication makes this city a better place. No matter who you are or where you come from, the community centre welcomes you. There is no discrimination, no prejudice, only love and warmth here. Come here, feel the love, pass on the love, and make our city a big family full of warmth and love."
Māngere LIFE Community Kitchen Diner
“Kindness can make a real impact in our community. I decided to serve in hopes of making a change in someone’s life through doing God’s work. It is fulfilling to be able to give and see our locals coming back weekly, with smiles as big as my own.”
Liza, LIFE Community Kitchens Volunteer
Through LIFE Venues, we have been able to offer a range of modern multi-purpose event locations across Auckland with high-capacity seating, extensive staging, high-spec audio-visual platforms, and outside broadcast capabilities.
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Our Kingdom focus at LIFE embraces a heart for the bigger picture of what God is doing, and wherever possible we will invest into helping the wider body of Christ.
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2022 has been yet another incredible year at LIFE despite the various challenges of Covid and the economy. We have so many things to be thankful for as we reflect on God’s goodness in another year in seeing the amazing impact and change in so many people’s lives through the work of each of our four focuses as we have outlined in this year’s annual report. Some of the key financial highlights of 2022 have been:
Giving – We have continued to see people’s faithfulness and generosity in giving with over $23m given through tithes and Expansion offering across LIFE.
Expansion - Through expansion offering (total received for 2022 $3.4m) we were able to contribute $1.8m into funding the growth of our own Community initiatives impacting thousands of people including Christmas Box, LIFE Community Kitchens and The Giving Store. Also $400k to Kingdom, $500k to funding the set up and operation of two new campuses in West Auckland and Tauranga, and $2.2m to the initial phases of construction of our new Melbourne campus.
Community - Our impact through LIFE Community continued to grow rapidly to the value of $24.5m for 2022 including the value of volunteer time and sponsored and donated goods. A significant portion of this impact is through Skills Update, QES, LIFE Homes and Healthy Lunches where external funding (largely Government) not only funded the services we were able to provide to assist many people but generated a surplus of $1.2m enabling us to repay debt from the acquisition of Skills Update in 2021 setting a path for ongoing self-funded growth in the future.
Melbourne campus– Considerable obstacles around planning consents were overcome and construction commenced late in 2022 on a brand new campus for Melbourne including a 600 seat auditorium, kids facilities, foyer and kitchen. Funding lines are in place with CCFS Bank to settle the purchase of Sims Street in April 2023 for a total of $20.6m. Construction of the new campus is estimated at $9m and is targeted to be complete by October 2023 and is being funded through the incredible lean in and generosity of people giving to Expansion and support from NZ.
Total Income and expenses - Our total income was $49.5m with total expenses of $44.4m. Our net surplus after funding and depreciation costs across the whole of LIFE for 2022 was $5.1m with a $3.5m net surplus in Church, $0.1m in Business and $1.5m in Community. These surpluses were largely used to fund the development of the new Melbourne campus and repay debt from the acquisition of Skills Update within LIFE Community.
Balance Sheet – We are incredibly blessed to be in a very strong financial position at the end of 2022. Through the consistent generosity of so many people across LIFE and the growth in value of our property - our total assets were valued at $186.6m and liabilities at just $31.6m giving us net equity of $155.0m at December 2022.
Bank Loans – Of our total liabilities $21.0m was in bank loans. From a church perspective we became debt free on all our Auckland campus properties through Legacy at the end of 2020. Our borrowings as of December 2022 are specifically for Community ($8.3m) with the acquisition of Skills Update in 2021 and for Business ($10.4m) with the investment in a West Auckland fully tenanted property and the deposit on our Melbourne property ($2.3m). We continue to be very grateful and humbled by the faithfulness and generosity of so many people right across LIFE in their giving of time, energy, and resource to serve others through each of LIFE’s Four Focuses. We look forward with expectation and excitement to the year ahead!
Paul Schnell
General Manager at LIFE
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