TLCF History

So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved. (Acts 2:46-47)

Contents:

Dry Bones Christian Faith Center

Early Roots of the Church

Lockwood Community Church

Dry Bones Community Christian Church

The Change to True Life Christian Fellowship

The Move to Lockwood

True Life Christian Fellowship Today

History:

The story of how True Life Christian Fellowship came to be is rooted in our area’s semi-recent history. It begins, not in Lockwood, but in the hills of Bryson-Hesperia.

Dry Bones Christian Faith Center

Dry Bones Christian Faith Center (located on Smith Road in Bryson-Hesperia and currently called “Whisper Canyon”) was a combined vision of two couples (Terry and “Dena” Simmons, and Bill and Barbara Oeland) to form a donation-only camp retreat in Monterey County where Christian groups could come, fellowship, and be refreshed. In 1976 Terry bought out his family member’s acreage (which was all a part of a Spanish land grant to a descendant of Terry), and he and the Oelands formed the corporation. The name “Dry Bones” comes from Ezekiel 37 where God breathes life into the dry bones of Israel...and it was hoped Christian groups (churches, Boy Scouts, Awanas, family reunions, youth groups, etc.) could come without cost being an issue and find new life breathed into them.

Slowly, through donations of time, labor, money and materials, the camp took shape. Currently it has a chapel, a pole barn, two cabins, three homes, a shop, a large bathroom and shower facility, a zip line, a waterslide, and hiking and Scripture trails.

Early Roots of the Church

The origin of True Life Christian Fellowship began in 1977 when Terry Simmons—recently graduated from seminary—was asked by Irwin “Cal” Stewart, a ranger at Lake San Antonio and the father of Stan Stewart who attends our church and heads The Most Excellent Way, to take over the American Missionary Fellowship’s Sunday morning Protestant Service at the lake (the lake already had Saturday evening Catholic Service). Terry did this as a part of Dry Bones’ bylaw provision for a Sunday morning community service. When summer came to an end most of the attendees were locals and they decided to continue services and move them to Hesperia Hall. When the Chapel at Dry Bones was finished in 1980 the decision was made to move the services to the Chapel from Hesperia Hall (which was far draftier and in worse shape at that time than it is today). The growth of the church at Dry Bones included planting mission churches like Lockwood, helping Oak Shores establish their own services in the early 80s, a large youth program, ice cream socials and once a month evening services with barbeques or movies which the community was invited to, a vacation Bible school at Lockwood, etc.

Lockwood Community Church

Terry Simmons and the church at Dry Bones began Lockwood Church as a missions outreach in October of 1980. They put a lot of work into refurbishing Lockwood Hall (across from the school), to include painting, fixing doors, fixing the septic system, putting in the heater, and acquiring trailers for children’s church. In August of 1989 Lockwood decided to break away from being a part of Dry Bones’ missions and to form its own church and affiliate with the American Missionary Fellowship. The mission church was begun with Terry as pastor and had many interim pastors, with the pastors in recent history being Jim Sweet followed by Ken Oravsky followed by Wayne Lidbeck (the American Missionary Fellowship regional head who traveled from Arroyo Grande to Lockwood each Sunday) followed by Ted Loeschner, whom Wayne appointed as the pastor.

Dry Bones Community Christian Church

After Terry Simmons left Dry Bones, Bill Oeland became pastor there. He was succeeded by Jim Sweet who came to the camp from Lockwood Church in the early 90s. When Jim left the area in January of 2000, Erick Reinstedt, who was leading the youth group outreach with his wife Mary Ann, was asked by Harry and Nancy Batrum to pastor the church and to join them on the board of Dry Bones Christian Faith Center. Erick and Mary Ann brought to the pastorate a strong heart for reaching out to the community (as the church there had done in the past). The Dry Bones Youth Group was already a strong outreach, having grown since Erick and Mary Ann’s first Hume Lake trip in March of 1997 (in previous years the church had had a strong youth program, but when Erick and Mary Ann started attending in 1996 there was no youth program at that time).

At the time Erick started pastoring the church it had 10–12 regular attendees and no children or children’s ministry. It was basically a Sunday morning service at the Chapel and a Tuesday evening Bible study at Anita Longmire’s home in Lockwood. Erick and Mary Ann, along with Ruben and Sharon Cortez (the Worship team), started a Sunday evening prayer night and one of their consistent prayers was for outreach to the community and growth. In May Mary Ann prepared a children’s lesson in faith, and that weekend the first children arrived and the church began to grow in both size and ministries. While it still was technically a part of the camp and under the leadership of the Batrums and Erick, the church started to take on a life and mission of its own and Erick named “it” Dry Bones Community Christian Church and developed a logo for it which showed a cross and Tierra Redonda (the butte so visible from the camp’s grounds).

The Change to True Life Christian Fellowship

In June 2003 the Board of Dry Bones Christian Faith center (Harry and Nancy Batrum and Erick Reinstedt) gifted the corporation and all its land to Mount Hermon as an extension of their retreat outreach. (Mt. Hermon is the oldest Christian retreat center west of the Mississippi. It was formed in 1906 and it is located in the Santa Cruz Mountains.) Mount Hermon changed the name of Dry Bones to Whisper Canyon. Even before the actual transfer date it had become clear that the church was outgrowing the camp’s scope and that the Chapel at Dry Bones would need to be available to visiting churches. Work was begun with the state to form a new church from a non-profit corporation called Centennial Schools that Erick and Mary Ann had been given control over in the early 90s by a couple in Montana.

During the formation the name “True Life Christian Fellowship” was proposed by Erick as a name which says that “true life”—in this world and beyond it—doesn’t exist apart from a relationship with Jesus Christ. It was approved by the vast majority of those worshiping at Dry Bones. The word “fellowship” was chosen over “church” as it was felt that it best described the body of believers there and what made us unique. On April 30th of 2003 the new name and articles of incorporation were endorsed and filed with the State of California; Centennial Schools ceased to exist and TLCF was born. The initial board of the church consisted of Erick Reinstedt, Ruben Cortez, and Dave Landon. Shortly thereafter True Life Christian Fellowship received its IRS approval as a 501(3)(c) nonprofit organization.

The Move to Lockwood

During the summer of 2003 it became clear in the hearts of the TLCF board that God was calling TLCF from Bryson-Hesperia to Lockwood, and strong prayer was given to try and find God’s plan for the move since Lockwood already had a church. Originally it was thought that TLCF would go to the Lockwood Community Center since Lockwood Community Church was meeting at the Hall. At that time Ted (Lockwood’s pastor) shared with Erick that the strongest call on his heart was evangelism, and the idea of Lockwood Community Church joining TLCF and the two meeting at the Hall started to solidify. After many meetings, much prayer, and a vote of the body of Lockwood Community Church, the decision was made to end Lockwood’s affiliation with the American Missionary Fellowship and have TLCF come over and begin services at the Hall, which had been Lockwood’s home for a church for years. Even before the first service God had already had a trailer donated for the children to be taught in, which answered the biggest problem with the church meeting at the Hall—where to teach the many children that were coming on Sunday mornings. On Sunday, September 28th, 2003, TLCF held its first service in Lockwood—a combination of both churches blended as one, with Erick pastoring the church and Ted heading its evangelism outreach. After multiple months of Saturday work crews, the Children’s Church trailer was made ready and put in use the weekend before the first rains.

True Life Christian Fellowship Today

Since its move to Lockwood, TLCF has seen wonderful growth in its ministries, as well as new ministries and outreaches. TLCF continues to improve Lockwood Hall where they hold both services and many of their ministries, and the “sanctuary” and grounds has become “home” to many new people. At one baptism held on the north shore of Lake San Antonio there were almost 25 adults and children baptized. In 2005 the Board of Elders saw the addition of Rick Havens who brought with him not only extensive ministry background, but a tremendous love for God. Rick left in November of 2007, and True Life continues to be led by Erick, Ruben, and Dave.

In the summer of 2006 we had two baptisms at Lake San Antonio, and in the Fall we again hosted our community outreach “Light the Night” festival on October 31st. In March of 2007 we began a movie night ministry with the showing of “Facing the Giants,” and we also entered into a milestone lease with the Lockwood Hall Association. This lease came after surveys were posted around Lockwood and unanimous support was given for the lease by those in the community filling out the surveys. With this long-term lease True Life takes over maintenance of the Hall in exchange for guaranteed use of it (and not having to remove our equipment and decorations should we allow someone else to use the building).

True Life Christian Fellowship is truly a community church, with people from all ages, backgrounds, church experience, and income levels worshipping side by side.