Life Pacific University continued to strengthen its commitment to equipping leaders for the Church, the workplace, and the world through three new church partnership agreements signed during Foursquare Connection 2026 in San Antonio.
The Memorandums of Understanding with New Life Everett, Lakeshore Christian Fellowship and Dream Center Esperanza represent a growing movement of collaboration between LPU and the Foursquare family. Each partnership is designed to create more accessible pathways for students, ministry leaders, chaplains, and emerging leaders to receive Christ-centered, Spirit-filled education while staying connected to real ministry in local churches, mission contexts, and communities.
For LPU President Angie Richey, PhD and everyone at Life Pacific University, the agreements reflect the heart of the university’s mission and its desire to serve churches and leaders across the Foursquare movement.
New Life Everett
The agreement with New Life Everett creates a new opportunity to connect formal education with hands-on ministry formation in the local church. New Life leaders shared that the vision had been years in the making and came from a desire to help students continue learning while also experiencing the church in motion.
“This is a dream come true for us,” Dr. Richey said during the New Life Everett signing. “To be able to partner with a church like yours, and knowing you as alumni, in the beautiful Pacific Northwest, we couldn’t be more excited to raise up more leaders.”
“We’ve always had a vision for continuing education no matter what, throughout a lifetime,” Heidi Messner, co-lead pastor at New Life Church, said. “How do we raise up another generation that doesn’t get stuck because they don’t know what it looks like? How do they experience the actual church in motion along with education? We thought this is the perfect one.”
The partnership also builds on New Life Everett’s long history of developing and sending leaders.
“New Life Church has a long legacy of developing leaders, raising up leaders, and sending them out,” Matt Messner, co-lead pastor at New Life Church, said. “To add the formal education component through Life Pacific University will position us for the next wave of leaders that New Life can develop and commission.”
President Richey said the heart behind LPU’s Church Micro-Site partnerships is to support pastors and churches already doing meaningful leadership development in their communities.
“Our pastors are the true MVPs,” President Richey said. “They’re on the front lines, they’re subject matter experts, and what they’re doing in the way of discipleship and development is worth replicating. The world has become masterful at replicating what it values, and I think it’s time for the Church to be even more excellent at replicating what we say we value.”
Lakeshore Christian Fellowship
LPU also signed an agreement with Lakeshore Christian Fellowship in Tega Kay, South Carolina. The partnership reflects a shared commitment to developing leaders who are prepared to serve in the Church, in the marketplace, and in the world.
For the leadership at Lakeshore, the agreement is rooted in the belief that leadership is not limited to one setting or one type of ministry. It is part of the calling God places on every believer’s life.
“We know the Bible says that all people have been called to go and to make disciples of all nations, baptizing, teaching, essentially that we’re all called to be leaders in God’s kingdom,” Pastor Brandon Dirmann said. “And we believe whether it’s full-time vocational ministry or it’s marketplace, that everyone has a call of God on their life to lead.”
Through the agreement, Lakeshore Christian Fellowship and LPU will work together to help students and emerging leaders receive academic formation while staying connected to the life and mission of the local church. The partnership creates a pathway for leadership development that is both practical and deeply rooted in discipleship.
“We’re excited about and passionate about building and equipping leaders that are going to build the Church, advance God’s kingdom, and change the world,” Pastor Dirmann said.
The Lakeshore partnership represents the kind of collaboration LPU hopes to continue expanding with churches across the Foursquare movement: churches that are already forming leaders, discipling communities, and sending people into meaningful ministry and work. By adding an academic pathway through LPU, the goal is to strengthen that work and help more students take the next step in their calling.
Dream Center Esperanza
A separate agreement with Dream Center Esperanza expands opportunities for students to connect classroom learning with meaningful service and ministry in Puerto Rico. The partnership builds on existing relationships with LPU students who have already served with Dream Center Esperanza and experienced the organization’s work with families facing addiction, abuse, and poverty.
“Recently, we had LPU come back in February, and it brought back that idea of, how can we partner?” Pastor Daniel Rivera shared. “How can we take what God is doing here and take it to the next level?”
Through the agreement, students will have opportunities to connect service, evangelism, and community engagement with academic formation.
“We already have interns staying in Dream Center Esperanza for three to 10 months,” Pastor Daniel shared. “It was a natural connection to this partnership. We’re excited that people can come and see God move through service and evangelism, but also have an academic part to it as well.”
The Dream Center Esperanza signing also reflected the strong relationship already forming between LPU students and the communities they serve.
“You have students on fire for the Lord, and they get to come and put boots on the ground and serve with us and serve our people in the community,” Pastor Yolanda Rivera shared. “We’ve already seen what your students are capable of doing, and their hunger to pursue the Lord and be the hands and feet out there.”
While Puerto Rico offers a beautiful setting for students to serve, the heart of the partnership is the people and the ministry taking place there.
“Yes, the beaches are beautiful, but what they bring to the island and what they bring to our people is even more beautiful,” Pastor Yolanda said.
Together, the agreements mark an important step forward in LPU’s growing network of church and ministry partnerships. From the Pacific Northwest to local church leadership development to hands-on ministry in Puerto Rico, LPU is creating new ways for leaders to be formed, equipped, and sent.
Each partnership reflects the same shared purpose: to make Christ-centered education more accessible, connect learning with hands-on ministry, and prepare leaders who are ready to serve where God is calling them.
As LPU continues to expand its partnerships with churches, ministries, and Foursquare leaders, the university remains committed to strengthening the Church through practical, Spirit-filled education that helps students and ministry leaders take the next step in their calling.
