About Us
LifeConnect.Church was established in Christchurch, New Zealand in 2021 with an unwavering commitment to profoundly changed lives and deeply connected relationships in Christ Jesus. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men (John 1:4). That Light - Jesus Christ - is the focus and the purpose of everything we do.
We believe that transformed lives and fulfilling, God-honouring relationships are only found in Christ, through His Word and in the power of the Spirit. All who abide in Christ will abound in fruit (John 15:4-5). Jesus summarised the commands of God’s law as recorded in Matthew 22:37 & Luke 10:27; love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength and mind, and love others as yourself. Loving God involves loving people, and loving people is part of loving God. These commands are not interchangeable; our first and highest duty is love for God, from which our love for people will flow.
If your heart desires to know God and to build and enjoy genuine relationships with others, we’d love for you to journey with us!
Our Vision
To establish spiritually and emotionally healthy LifeConnect groups in communities, continually equipping and empowering LifeConnect leaders to work together in our calling to make disciples and serve our community through charitable, socially responsible initiatives. Church happens whenever and wherever followers of Jesus gather in His name, united by His Word, fellowship, communion and prayer (Acts 2:42, Mt 18:17-20). Our vision is a city-wide network of LifeConnect groups: house churches that can meet anywhere, including public places, sanctuaries, and campuses (Acts 2:46, Acts 5:42, Acts 19:9, Acts 20:20, Col 4:15, Rom 16:5, Phm 1:2).
Our Mission
LifeConnect.Church is committed to seeing lives remarkably and forever changed by the power of the gospel of Jesus (John 15:8, 1 Cor 6:11) and nurturing deeply connected relationships in Christ (John 13:34-35). We are dedicated to advancing the life-giving message of God’s Word through evangelism, discipleship, and biblical leadership.
Our Purpose
We live to honour God by continually abiding in Christ (John 15:1-10) and making Christ-like disciples, teaching them in accordance with the Word of God (Matthew 28:19-20).
Leaders
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Paul & Angel Dumaguin
Paul Dumaguin is our lead pastor, on the Board of Trustees, one of our Elders and LifeConnect.Church’s resident funny man.
He loves chowing down laing with his wife, Angel and daughters Angelica and Christina, while their dog, Toby, watches on.
Given the animal Paul would be is a “leadersheep”, it’s no surprise that one of his favourite pastimes is keeping his lawn green and tidy.
Angel Dumaguin serves as head of both the intercessory and Children’s ministries, as well as leading our church service programs.
Aside from Jesus and her family, Angel’s world revolves around being close to nature, or cooking (and eating her wonderful creations).
With food, nature and the heat of tropical Filipino islands being her passions, it’s only natural that if she were an animal, she would be a koala.
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Edward & Zorita Doce
Edward Doce is on the board of trustees, and is both an elder and LifeConnect group leader.
When not spending time with his wife, Tata, or children Mica and Edward Jr, he is a lover of the outdoors, whether doing yard work, tramping or mountain biking.
Don’t let Edward’s Dad status fool you, he wouldn’t hesitate to invite Francis Magalona to dinner for pasta, roast chicken, pork and beef, balancing out the conversation with explorers Ferdinand Magellan and Jacques Cousteau.
Zorita “Tata” Doce is a LifeConnect group leader and heads our hospitality and Rope of Hope ministries. Alongside Jesus, if she could invite anyone to share in her favourite meal of vegetable salad, she would love to be able to once again enjoy the company brother, Jun, and grandmother, Ruperta. There is no doubt they would finish off the dining experience with one of her incredible home made cakes.
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Ryan & Daryl Garpia
Ryan Garpia is on the Board of Trustees as well as both an Elder and LifeConnect Group leader.
He and his wife Daryl love spending time with their kids, Phoebe and Pontiff, and enjoying nature, whether that be their back garden, or out on a hike.
But loving the outdoors doesn’t mean Ryan doesn’t think about the technological advances of the future, he’d love to spend a dinner with Nikola Tesla, Elon Musk and Warren Buffett.
Daryl Joy Garpia is one of our Children’s Ministry teachers and a LifeConnect Group leader.
Her lion heart beats faster as she is spending time with her family, in the garden, reading, or indulging in her favourite Korean and Chinese TV shows.
A Filipino through and through, she can’t choose just one favourite food, with sinigang, balut, nilaga, pansit and steam bun siopao making the top of her list.
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James & Zina Archer
James Archer is on the board of trustees, an elder and a LifeConnect group leader.
A typical day includes a post work hang out with his wife, Zina, and their bird, Ernie, enjoying a meal of nachos, followed by a training session of jiu jitsu and finishing off the night painting plastic models. However, if he could, he’d be soaring the sky and taking in the view as a falcon.
Zina Archer is on the board of trustees, and a LifeConnect group leader.
When she’s not crafting, reading or spending time in nature, she’s chowing down on potato chips. Laughter is important in her life, if she could invite anyone to dinner, it would be a handful of comedians: Jon Richardson, Robin Williams and Jimeoin.
Administrators
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Joisa Gamboa
Joisa “Jui” Gamboa is a LifeConnect group leader and Infoodle administrator. A doting sister to Issy and Brian, and daughter to Ganie and Joan, no spouse… Yet.
An avid reader, she would love to have a dinner party with C.S. Lewis, Suzanne Collins and John Green. Together they would feast on sushi and discuss how awesome being a bird would be.
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William & Mary Ann Tayong
William Tayong is a LifeConnect group leader, cheeky husband to Mary Ann and father to Jericko, Kurt and Trisha. He’s a jolly comedian who dreams of one day being a worship leader. If you’re wanting to speak with him, first place to look is out fishing.
Mary Ann Tayong is a LifeConnect group leader and our finance administrator. She enjoys spending time dreaming about what’s next: whether through YouTube videos on home design or out window shopping. She would love to chow down on some blueberries, mandarins and Filipino pansit with her own personal concert from Justin Bieber, Adele and Taylor Swift.