MENIFEE, Calif.--A Web site designed by a Church of God member expressly for evangelism has been experiencing rapid growth, announced its creator.

AbundantLiving.org was founded by David Liesenfelt of Lake Elsinore, Calif., pastor of the Orange County Fellowship of God of Irvine, Calif. Mr. Liesenfelt said he built the site to teach about the "abundant life that can be found through the teachings of Jesus Christ to those outside of our traditional fellowships and tradition."

Bill Lussenheide

David Liesenfelt

A church as a resource

Mr. Liesenfelt called the congregation a "resource" for "those who want to learn about and experience the abundant life Jesus came to bring. Many struggle with the meaning of life or how to truly be happy and content. The teachings of Jesus Christ and those found throughout the Bible shed light on the laws and the principles of living which will bring about lasting success and peace in your life. God wants you to live an abundant life."

Members of the fellowship receive regular E-mail notifications of new articles and audio messages as they are posted on AbundantLiving.org.

"No cost, no obligation, just valuable, life-changing teachings provided free of charge," said Bill Lussenheide of Menifee, a member of the group.

The graphics on the Web site were designed by Mr. Lussenheide's wife, Terri. Mr. Lussenheide helps with promotion of the site.

"I have used the Internet to attract and retain new subscribers to the site," he said. "By primarily sharing the site with Internet user groups, chat rooms and E-mail groups, over 50,000 non-Church of God individuals of all walks of life have been exposed to our teachings about Jesus."

1,000 people on the list

Of the contacts, almost 1,000 people have signed up as E-mail subscribers for the Orange County group's articles and online sermons.

"All of this has been done just since December of 2003," Mr. Lussenheide said, "and done on a spare-time basis."

Responses have come in from 25 countries including Russia, China, India, Africa and several Islamic nations. According to E-mails sent to the group, many of these were the first contact these people had had with "Christian teaching."

Recently a Southern California Christian radio station, KBRT, 740 AM, Costa Mesa, aired nine half-hour programs featuring Mr. Liesenfelt and Scott Scharpen of Mission Viejo, Calif.

'Dollar Bill' Lussenheide

"We use multiple outlets to promote the site and in fact may soon even rubber-stamp dollar bills with our Web address too," Mr. Lussenheide said. "That would be one flyer that no one would ever throw away."

Mr. Lussenheide said he recently checked with the U.S. government to verify that stamping a message onto paper currency is legal.

"There really isn't much excuse for not evangelizing the gospel," he said. "We have achieved remarkable results with just four people involved on a part-time basis and a budget of just $15 a month."

The Orange County Fellowship of God meets at 2025 Alton Pkwy. in Irvine each Saturday morning at 10:30.

Church Links  -  Addresses  -  Church Logos  -  Finances  -  Photos  -   Memorial

The Study Library  -  In Transition  -  Messages Online  -  Live Services

Back Issues  -  Subscribe  -  Email List  -  Ad Rates  -  Site Map

© The Journal: News of the Churches of God