About | Life in Christ

About Life in Christ

Sharing God's love and message through real relationships, real conversations,
and the real truth of the gospel.

Who we are

Life in Christ is a Christian ministry rooted in the San Francisco Bay Area and committed to experiencing, expressing, and expanding the Kingdom of God. Today we reach people through the Life in Christ podcast, local small groups, online Bible courses, and a growing community of believers who want their faith to be more than a Sunday habit.

We believe the Christian life is the ultimate adventure — not a checklist, not a performance, and not a private hobby. It is a daily walk with a living Savior who meets us in the ordinary moments and calls us into something far greater than ourselves.

Our story

Our roots reach back to the early 1940s, when a small but vibrant church began gathering in El Cerrito, in the East Bay of Northern California. We were formally incorporated on October 1, 1946, and for the next five decades we were known first as El Cerrito Tabernacle and later El Cerrito Christian Center.

In 1997 we legally changed our name to Life in Christ Ministry. It wasn't a shift in identity, values, or vision — it was simply a decision to let our name point not to a building or a neighborhood, but to the core of who we are: in Christ.

Since the 1940s the shape of the work has taken many forms — the heart behind it never has. Across more than eight decades, Life in Christ has supported missions at home and abroad, sponsored schools and orphanages in the U.S. and overseas, mentored ministers and missionaries, served the homeless, run recovery small groups, trained lay leaders, shared the gospel with those who have yet to meet Jesus, and walked with believers into deeper discipleship. The methods have evolved. The mission hasn't.

Today, Life in Christ preaches the Word of God, supports missions and benevolence work, partners with ministries that are making a real difference in the world, and fosters local communities of believers in their lifelong adventure of walking with Jesus.

Our mission

Our mission is simple: to help people know Jesus, grow in Jesus, and go share Jesus with the world.

Know. We introduce people to the person of Jesus Christ — not a religion, not a ritual, a relationship.
Grow. We disciple believers through Scripture, small groups, and honest community where questions are welcome and growth is expected.
Go. We equip every follower of Jesus to carry the good news into their family, workplace, neighborhood, and the nations.

What we believe

We hold to the historic, biblical Christian faith:

The Bible is the inspired, authoritative Word of God.
There is one God, eternally existing in three Persons — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man, born of a virgin, crucified for our sins, risen bodily from the dead, and coming again.
God is present and active in the world today through the ministry of His Holy Spirit — drawing people to Christ, producing in them the fruit of the Spirit (the character of Christ), imparting to them the gifts of the Spirit, and empowering them to live and serve in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone — not by our works.
Every believer is called to live as a disciple, love their neighbor, and make more disciples.

Meet Pastors Flavio and Valeria Carvalho

Valeria and I have been married — and co-pastoring together — since 1990.

We joined this Life in Christ in 1995, back when it was still called El Cerrito Christian Center, and we've been part of this ministry every year since — praying with people, teaching Scripture, and walking with this community through births, deaths, weddings, hard seasons, and Sunday mornings for more than thirty years now. We have two daughters, Sophia and Raphaella, and in the last three years God added two grandsons to the family. (They are, as advertised, the best.)

Along the way I picked up a B.A. in Theology from Bethany University, an M.A. in Biblical Studies from Fuller Theological Seminary, and — later — a J.D. Alongside ministry I also practice law in immigration, family law, and estate planning, which puts me in the middle of some of the most hope-filled stories I've ever been part of.

Outside of ministry, our family loves to travel (we've made it to five continents so far), and at home I'm usually reading, writing, or listening to everything from Tom Jobim to James Taylor. The verse I keep coming back to is Matthew 22:37–39 — "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind… and love your neighbor as yourself." That's the whole thing, really.

Valeria is a pastor, a preacher, and a spiritual leader in her own right. She is a wife, a mother of two, and — most recently — a grandmother. Outside the pulpit she has built a successful career as a realtor and businesswoman. Whether she is preaching a sermon, parenting our daughters, serving a client, or praying with a friend, the same thing is true of her in every role: she is an ambassador for Christ.

If anything on this site stirs a question or a thought, reach out. office@lifeinchrist.org is the fastest way to reach the ministry, and we'd love to hear from you.

What we do

The podcast. Short, honest conversations about faith, Scripture, and life. Available wherever you listen to podcasts.

Local small groups. A space to study the Bible, pray together, and build the kind of friendships the New Testament describes. We'll help you find or start one near you.

Connection to the local church. We partner with like-minded churches throughout California, across the United States, and — really — around the world. If you're looking for a local church where you can worship, thrive, and serve, we'd love to help you find one.

Online Bible courses. Self-paced teaching for people who want to go deeper than Sunday morning allows. See the Services page for current offerings.

One-on-one connection. If you're wrestling with a hard question, a hard season, or just wondering where to start, we're a real person and a real email away.

Get involved

Listen to the podcast.
Join a small group.
Take an online Bible course.
Partner with the mission — link to Donate page.
Contact us — link to Contact form.