Tucked into the Jefferson Park neighborhood of Los Angeles on Normandie Avenue, just blocks from the University of Southern California, Abundant Life Christian Church has been a steady presence since 1983. The building it now calls home was acquired in 1984, and the church has drawn generations of worshipers to its blended, Word-centered Sunday services. Members describe the community as intergenerational and family-oriented, and the congregation belongs to the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), a denomination that welcomes all to the Lord's Table just as God has welcomed them.
Nine People at Julie's Restaurant
Abundant Life began on September 9, 1983, at an organizational meeting held at Julie's Restaurant in Los Angeles. Nine dedicated people gathered around a vision that founding pastor John E. Tunstall IV believed had been given to him by God. Those nine were Rev. John E. Tunstall IV, Jo Ann Robinson, William Bynum, George Jacobs, Ruth Hughes, Mary Nix, Judith Richardson, Karen Dickerson, and Elvira Vinson. They prayed together and committed to the work of organizing a new church.
The name, Abundant Life, was drawn from John 10:10: "The thief cometh not, but for to steal and to kill, and to destroy; I am come that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly." The church's logo reflects the same passage: a dove representing the Holy Spirit with rivers of living water pouring out.
The early days were lean. Worship, Bible study, and prayer happened in a rotating cast of locations: the Tunstalls' garage, a hat factory called Action Headware, house-to-house koinonia fellowship, Crenshaw High School, and the old Imperial Theater. On November 19, 1984, the congregation became the owners of the building at 3500 South Normandie Avenue that remains its address today, a Jefferson Park property adjacent to USC.
A Mission Shaped Like a Baseball Diamond
The ministry at Abundant Life is described in a way that is uniquely its own: a baseball diamond. First base is "Bring Them In." Second base is "Disciple Them Up." Third base is "Send Them Out." Home plate is "Lead Them Home" - reaching the heavenly home. The same four phrases serve as the formal mission: Bring Them In, Disciple Them Up, Send Them Out, and Lead Them Home.
The vision statement expands the picture: to be a Christ-centered, Spirit-led, love-driven, community-focused local church for all people, in all seasons, for the glory of the Triune God. Ten core values give the diamond its shape. Abundant Life is to be passionately committed to Jesus, biblically measured, prayerfully dependent, morally pure, relationally healthy, socially responsible, joyfully grateful, evangelistically bold, environmentally conscious, and personally generous. Each value is anchored to a specific passage of Scripture, from Matthew 16:24 to Hebrews 13:16.
Sundays at 10:00 AM, With Study Before and After
Worship at Abundant Life is built around three weekly touchpoints. Sunday Bible Study begins at 8:30 AM, followed by the main worship service at 10:00 AM. On Wednesdays, prayer gathers at 6:30 PM, with Bible study following at 7:00 PM. The Wednesday rhythm is described as "Believe God Together," an open call to pray in community before opening the Word.
The Sunday service is described by the church as dynamic and Word-centered, with a vibrant blend of contemporary and traditional worship through music and arts. There is no official dress code, and visitors are free to worship in whatever makes them feel most comfortable. Services are also available each Sunday online through the church's YouTube channel, so distance or mobility is not a barrier to joining in.
Children are a regular part of Sunday morning. Children's Church is offered for ages two through twelve on the second and fourth Sundays during the worship service, so families can worship together with age-appropriate teaching for their kids.
Disciples of Christ: What Abundant Life Believes
Abundant Life's statement of faith lays out twelve convictions that tie it to the wider Disciples of Christ family. The church believes in one living and true God who exists eternally in three persons - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It confesses Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the Living God, and proclaims Him Lord and Savior. The Bible is received as the inspired Word of God, without error in the original writings, the complete revelation of His will for salvation, and the ultimate authority for belief and life.
Two practices define the rhythm of the church. Abundant Life practices the baptism of believers, emphasizing that God's grace demands a response of faith and discipleship, while also recognizing baptisms performed in other churches. And the congregation gathers at the Lord's Table for communion every Sunday, experiencing at that table what the church calls the gracious, forgiving presence of Jesus Christ. This open table is a hallmark of the Disciples tradition.
Beyond belief, Abundant Life is shaped by commitments to covenant community rather than top-down obedience, to God's reconciling mission in the world, to visible Christian unity across denominational lines, to the priesthood of all believers, to the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, to the diversity of lived experiences, and to the coming reign of Jesus as Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer.
Pastor TJ and the Founding Pastor
On August 1, 2023, Pastor Terry L. Coon, Jr. - Pastor TJ - became the second Senior Pastor of Abundant Life Christian Church. He was formally installed on Sunday, September 10, 2023, after the retirement of founding pastor John E. Tunstall IV on March 1, 2023. The call followed a national search led by the Board of Elders and was enthusiastically and unanimously approved by the congregation.
Pastor TJ was born and raised in the Los Angeles area and grew up at East 105th Street Christian Church (DOC), where he acknowledged his call to gospel ministry and preached his first sermon in September 2006. He was licensed and ordained in 2010 and served as Worship and Teaching Pastor at Citylights Church in Long Beach from January 2011 to July 2023. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Biola University (2010) and a Master of Arts in Theology from Biola's Talbot School of Theology (2020). He has been married to his wife Rhea since 2015. His favorite verse is Ephesians 5:8: "For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light."
Founding Pastor John E. Tunstall IV, a native of Indianapolis, Indiana, earned his Bachelor of Science from Indiana University in 1972 and a Master of Divinity from Christian Theological Seminary. Before coming to Los Angeles in 1981 to pastor United Christian Church, he served as associate and youth pastor at Second Christian Church in Indianapolis and as pastor of First United Christian Church in Xenia, Ohio. He founded Abundant Life in 1983 and shepherded it for more than thirty-nine years. Over twenty-six members have announced a call to ministry under his leadership, and more than twenty-five hundred people have passed through the church. He has served on the board of Project Impact, on the regional board of the Pacific Southwest Region, and as chairman of the board and a professor at the Southern California School of Ministry, where he received an honorary Doctor of Divinity. He founded and served as first president of the African American Convocation of the PSWR and served as president of the Christian Ministers' Alliance.
Fellowship Groups Across Every Season of Life
Abundant Life's small-group life is built around the conviction that gathering matters - that "we are better when you are here." The church calls this philosophy Better Together and offers several ongoing groups, each meeting on a predictable weekly or monthly rhythm.
The 55+ Ministry, sometimes called the Seasoned Saints, gathers members ages fifty-five and older for fellowship and age-related conversation. It meets on the second Sunday immediately after service. Bridge Ministry serves members ages thirty-five to fifty-four, focusing on fellowship and outreach, and acts as a connector across the other groups; it meets on the same second Sunday following worship. Children's Ministry, for ages two through twelve, takes place on the second and fourth Sundays during the service.
The Christian Men's Fellowship (CMF) meets on the first Saturday of each month at 10:00 AM at the church, encouraging the men of ALCC to use their gifts to support one another and the church at large. The Christian Women's Fellowship (CWF) meets on the first Saturday at the same time, alternating between in-person at the church and Zoom. Within CWF, The Heart Sisters gather on Thursdays at 7:00 PM via Zoom for a deeper-discipleship women's Bible study based on guided books. Finally, YAYA (Youth and Young Adults) provides a faith-based safe place for ages thirteen through thirty-four, meeting on the second and fourth Sundays immediately after the service.
For families with younger children, the Sunday Children's Church slot and the multi-day Vacation Bible School each summer offer additional rhythms of formation. Giving is supported online through a dedicated giving portal.
Partnering Beyond the Walls
Abundant Life lives out its social-responsibility and evangelistic-bold values through a network of partnerships that the church lists as resources for its members and neighbors. Locally rooted collaborations include Project Impact, STEM Prep Elementary, the campus ministry at USC, and House of Blessing, a faith community serving the unhoused in the area. Recovery is supported through partnerships with Alcoholics Anonymous and Cocaine Anonymous, and pastoral care is reinforced through 2nd Call and Broken Mended and Restored, a marriage and family ministry.
Denominationally, the congregation sits within the Pacific Southwest Region of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and is part of the African American Convocation of the same region, a connection that links Abundant Life's life in Jefferson Park to the wider body of Christ across Southern California and the Southwest. Mision Iglesia, a Spanish-language congregation sharing the church's address, extends the same building's reach into the Spanish-speaking community.
From the nine who met at Julie's Restaurant in 1983 to today's blended Sunday worship and midweek prayer gatherings, Abundant Life Christian Church continues to point its people toward the home plate of God's kingdom, inviting everyone who walks through its doors at 3500 Normandie Avenue to be part of the journey.