Churches for Life Honors Dr. Jeff and Mrs. Renee Gibbs with Arne Molbach Award for Life at Annual Life Team Summit
ST. LOUIS, Mo., April 28, 2014 /
Christian Newswire/ -- At the annual Spring Life Team Summit, Churches for Life (CFL) presented its 2013 Arne Molbach Award for Life to Dr. Jeff and Mrs. Renee Gibbs. Arne's widow, Pat, was on hand to present the Award before a crowd of enthusiastic life-affirming supporters. After joyful applause, the Gibbs were quick to express thanks and to give glory to God.
The Gibbs have been long-time champions of the sanctity of human life. They have labored consistently to equip students in life issues at Concordia Seminary (LCMS) in St. Louis where Jeff is a Professor of Exegetical Theology. Pastor Doug Merkey, President of CFL, first met Renee while praying on the sidewalk in front of a Planned Parenthood clinic. A relationship with Renee and her husband began to grow and eventually led to launching a Life Team at the seminary. Jeff and Renee have also been instrumental in helping CFL develop a thriving partnership with Lutherans for Life.
CFL established the Award for Life in 2011 in honor of long-time mentor and friend to the ministry, Arne Molbach. It is given to an individual or couple that embodies CFL's mission and core values. Arne embodied CFL's mission, which is to nourish churches as gospel-driven champions of the sanctity of human life. His counsel was formative in the early stages of the ministry and helped clarify its core values:
1. Gospel-driven: we champion life because Christ champions our lives in the gospel
2. Church-focused: we focus on equipping local churches because Christ has ordained that they are the locus of all that is redemptive
3. Life-affirming: we value human life at all stages because human beings are created in the sacred image of God
4. Relationship-grounded: we value personal relationships and recognize that ministry flows from them
5. Grace-and-truth balanced: we strive to faithfully share biblical truth in the context of grace
