A Brief History

Life Church is affiliated with New Life International. Pastored by Paul and Jill Bennetts, Life Church was established as an independent congregation in March 1987, the first of several churches planted in different suburbs of Christchurch from the city New Life Centre, now known as Majestic.

For the first 19 years the church met in a variety of hired venues, moving on as the congregation grew in size. Life Church has gone through a few name changes too - from Avonhead New Life Centre to Northwest New Life Church and more recently, Life Church.

In December 1995 the property at 34a Hansons Lane was purchased, site of the historic Ballantyne homestead which is now used for staff offices.

The purchase of this property set in motion years of negotiations for the necessary approvals to build a facility suitable for church and community events. The perseverance paid off and in November 2006 La Vida Centre was officially opened.