The Life Cycle of Renewal is an annual rhythm designed to help us engage with Christ’s renewing work in our city, our world, and our lives. While poverty is often defined in solely socioeconomic terms, we are each created in the image of God with innate value and dignity and this intrinsically-valuable personhood is not only affected by economic and social systems, class, and material wealth, but also by relationships, spirituality, culture, family, and opportunity. Brokenness in any of these areas creates poverty. We share a mutual poverty in which we can identify with one another.

Christ, in his love for us, identified with our poverty, died to set us free from the yoke of slavery, the curse of sin and death, and to make us whole as part of his family forever. He continues to make us whole — this is our personal renewal in Jesus, our poverty redefined as he moves us into flourishing! He meets us in our brokenness and calls us beloved. He meets us in our isolation and shame and calls us sons and daughters. He meets us in our slavery and sets us free. He meets us in our lack and woundedness and heals us, provides for us, and builds us up in his kingdom. As we receive and experience this renewal from Christ, we then pour it out and minister renewal to the city of Los Angeles. We love because Christ first loved us.

We have been filled with the Holy Spirit and blessed with every spiritual blessing. Our poverty is no more, our brokenness healed, and we are made complete in Christ.

“For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.” Then the righteous will answer him, saying, “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?” And the King will answer them, “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.”
Matthew 25:35-40

This is the picture of the fullness of renewal and how we minister it to others as unto the Lord. This final quarter of our annual Life Cycle of Renewal is an opportunity for us to see the interconnectedness of Christ adopting us into his family with other believers, setting us free from the bondage of sin, and how we are only made whole in him.