Fresh Life Church is a non-denominational Christian church based in Kalispell, Montana.
Founded by Levi and Jennie Lusko in 2007, it grew from a single gathering of 14 people into a multi-site church spanning Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Oregon, and Utah.
Today, under the continued leadership of Pastor Levi Lusko, Fresh Life is known for its high-energy, culturally direct preaching style, its Skull Church evangelistic outreach, and its willingness to talk openly about grief after the 2012 death of the Luskos’ young daughter, Lenya.
[IMAGE: The congregation gathered at Fresh Life Church’s Kalispell campus]
Church History
Founding and the Founders’ Vision
Levi Lusko and his wife, Jennie, pioneered Fresh Life Church in Kalispell, Montana, in 2007. Only 14 people showed up to that first gathering.
The church’s stated mission from day one was to make Jesus famous and teach the Bible in a way ordinary people could actually understand, using whatever technology and cultural language it took to get there.
Lusko grew up in a ministry family himself. His father, Chip Lusko, served as an assistant pastor under Skip Heitzig at Calvary of Albuquerque, one of New Mexico’s largest churches.
That background shaped the expository, book-by-book Bible teaching style Fresh Life adopted from its earliest days, delivered with a much more contemporary presentation than the churches Lusko grew up attending.
Early Years and First Meeting Locations
The small original congregation quickly outgrew its first meeting space and moved into the Strand Theater in downtown Kalispell.
As attendance kept climbing, the church expanded into a second historic venue, the Liberty Theater, running services simultaneously across both buildings and streaming the overflow online.
By 2010, weekly gatherings were drawing hundreds of people in person, with thousands more watching by webcast.
Growth and Development
Fresh Life’s growth accelerated through its Skull Church outreach events, which brought a concert-style, evangelism-focused format to audiences well beyond its original Kalispell base.
The church became known locally for using text messaging, live webcasts, and social media to engage a younger, less traditional crowd than most churches in the Flathead Valley were reaching at the time.
Over the following decade, Fresh Life expanded into a genuine multi-site church, adding campuses across Montana in Billings, Bozeman, Great Falls, Polson, and Whitefish, then crossing state lines into Idaho, Wyoming, Oregon, and Utah.
By 2026, the church reports roughly 15,000 people attending weekly across all of its locations combined, with a global online congregation reaching well beyond that number.
Leadership
Levi and Jennie Lusko continue to lead Fresh Life Church together as its founding senior pastors, with Jennie regularly preaching and shaping church culture alongside her husband rather than serving in a purely supporting role.
Each campus operates under its own local pastor, including Amy Kugler in Billings, Leah Dahlin-Ponti in Bozeman, Bruce Smith in Great Falls, Kyle Heinecke in Kalispell, Austin Mapps in Polson, and Dan Galarza in Whitefish.
Fresh Life’s broader leadership network extends through its relationship with evangelist Greg Laurie, an early advocate and mentor to Lusko who invited him to host Harvest America crusade events, and through the church’s participation in ARC and Life.
Church’s Open Network, both of which connect Fresh Life’s pastoral team to a wider community of church planters.
Beliefs and Doctrine
Fresh Life Church holds to orthodox evangelical doctrine: the inerrancy of Scripture, the Trinity, salvation through faith in Jesus Christ alone, the reality of heaven and hell, the personal and visible return of Christ, and the active work of the Holy Spirit through spiritual gifts.
The church does not teach prosperity theology or a works-based path to salvation, and its theology traces directly back to the Calvary Chapel movement founded by Chuck Smith, the same tradition Lusko was raised in through his father’s ministry.
On questions of sexuality, Fresh Life holds a traditional biblical view, teaching that God’s design for sex and relationships is between a man and a woman within marriage.
Lusko has addressed the topic directly in sermons such as “Everyone Needs Same-Sex Love,” walking through Romans 1 while emphasizing grace and compassion alongside that traditional position, rather than treating it as a subject to avoid from the pulpit.
Worship and Church Life
Fresh Life’s worship style is contemporary, built around a live band and a come-as-you-are atmosphere the church has described as intentionally informal, the kind of place where, as one campus puts it, “it ain’t your gramma’s church, but she’s welcome to come too.”
Sunday services run multiple times at most campuses, and the church streams every service online for people who cannot attend a physical location.
Fresh Life places a heavy emphasis on small group involvement, encouraging every new believer to plug into a home Bible study group shortly after making a decision to follow Christ.
Weekly altar calls remain a consistent feature of the church’s services, with trained volunteer teams meeting new believers at the front of the room for prayer, a Bible, and initial discipleship counsel.
Ministries and Outreach
Fresh Life runs children’s and youth ministry programs at each of its campuses, alongside small groups and Bible studies for adults at every stage of life.
The church’s most distinctive outreach tool is Skull Church, an evangelistic event built around live music and a direct gospel message, designed to reach people who would never otherwise walk into a Sunday service.
Fresh Life also traces part of its outreach roots to the O2 Experience, an earlier ministry Lusko launched in 2004 aimed at engaging students through active, high-energy worship.
Through its ARC and Open Network partnerships, Fresh Life also contributes and draws on shared resources, including kids’ curriculum and sermon materials, used by churches across North America.
Media and Resources
Fresh Life Church broadcasts its services live online at 9 a.m., 11 a.m., and 5 p.m. Mountain Time, and every message is archived afterward on the church’s YouTube channel and podcast feed.
The church also operates Fresh Life Radio, broadcasting in the Billings market at 107.1 and 88.9 FM.
Levi and Jennie Lusko co-host the podcast Hey! It’s the Luskos, covering marriage, faith, and parenting, and Levi has written multiple bestselling books, including Through the Eyes of a Lion, I Declare War, and The Last Supper on the Moon, alongside several children’s titles.
Jennie is a bestselling author in her own right, with titles including The Fight to Flourish and Fresh Mercies Every Day.
Impact and Influence
Fresh Life Church has become one of the best-known evangelical churches in the American West, growing from 14 people in a small Montana gathering into a network of campuses spanning five states.
Its Skull Church model, combining provocative branding with straightforward evangelism, has been widely discussed as a template for reaching unchurched, skeptical audiences that traditional church marketing rarely reaches.
Through its membership in the Association of Related Churches and its partnership with Craig Groeschel’s Open Network, Fresh Life connects to a much larger web of North American church plants, sharing training resources and ministry materials with congregations well beyond its own campuses.
Facilities and Campuses
Fresh Life’s main campus operates out of Kalispell, Montana, at 116 1st Ave E, the church’s home since its earliest years in the Strand and Liberty Theaters downtown.
The church now operates locations across Montana in Billings, Bozeman, Great Falls, Polson, and Whitefish, plus a campus serving the Idaho and Wyoming border region in Victor, Idaho, a campus in Gresham, Oregon, and a location in Utah.
Criticism and Controversies
Fresh Life Church’s most painful public chapter was not a controversy but a tragedy: the death of the Luskos’ five-year-old daughter, Lenya, from a severe asthma attack in December 2012.
Levi Lusko has spoken and written extensively about that loss, most notably in his book Through the Eyes of a Lion, using the experience to talk openly about grief and faith from the pulpit rather than treating it as a private matter.
Separately, some critics from more conservative corners of evangelicalism have raised concerns about Fresh Life’s direction in recent years, pointing to Lusko’s past associations with high-profile pastors who later left ministry following moral failures, including Carl Lentz, and his participation in a 2020 community demonstration in Kalispell following George Floyd’s death, which drew criticism from some who felt it signaled a broader cultural shift within the church.
Fresh Life has not issued a formal public response to these specific criticisms, and the church’s stated doctrine, including its position on sexuality, has remained consistent with traditional evangelical teaching throughout this period.
Financial Information
Fresh Life Church operates as a registered nonprofit religious organization, supporting its ministry through congregational giving, which the church solicits through its website and app.
No independently audited public financial reports are readily available for the church, and Flicxa does not publish speculative revenue or budget figures without verified sourcing.
Awards and Recognition
Fresh Life Church has not received widely publicized formal awards, though its founding pastor has been informally described in media coverage as a “modern-day Billy Graham” for younger audiences, reflecting the church’s outsized regional influence relative to its rural Montana origins.
Interesting Facts About Fresh Life Church
- The church started with just 14 people meeting above a downtown Kalispell business in 2007
- Its founding pastor’s father served under Skip Heitzig, one of the largest Calvary Chapel pastors in the country, connecting Fresh Life’s roots directly to that movement
- Fresh Life operates its own FM radio station in Billings, Montana
- The church’s Skull Church outreach used a metal, skull-shaped pulpit with a built-in screen for live text-message interaction during services
- Both Levi and Jennie Lusko preach regularly, an unusual arrangement in conservative non-denominational church culture where a pastor’s wife typically stays out of the pulpit
Timeline of Key Events
- 2007: Levi and Jennie Lusko found Fresh Life Church with 14 people in Kalispell, Montana
- Early years: The church moves into the Strand Theater, then expands into the Liberty Theater
- 2004 to 2007 era: Lusko launches the O2 Experience, an earlier youth-focused outreach that predates Fresh Life’s founding
- Early Fresh Life years: Skull Church launches as the church’s signature evangelistic outreach event
- 2010: A Wednesday night service draws about 400 in-person attendees, with thousands more watching online
- December 2012: The Luskos’ daughter Lenya dies at age five, an event Levi later writes about in Through the Eyes of a Lion
- 2010s: Fresh Life expands into a true multi-site church across Montana and neighboring states
- 2020: Lusko’s participation in a local demonstration draws criticism from some conservative observers
- 2026: Fresh Life reports roughly 15,000 weekly attendees across campuses in Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Oregon, and Utah
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Levi Lusko?
Levi Lusko is the founding senior pastor of Fresh Life Church, which he and his wife, Jennie, started in Kalispell, Montana, in 2007. He is also a bestselling author and the creator of the Skull Church evangelistic outreach.
What does Fresh Life Church believe?
Fresh Life Church holds to orthodox evangelical doctrine, including the inerrancy of Scripture, the Trinity, salvation through faith in Jesus Christ alone, and the active work of the Holy Spirit. The church does not teach prosperity theology and draws its theological roots from the Calvary Chapel tradition.
What’s the story behind Fresh Life?
Fresh Life Church started with just 14 people at a single gathering in Kalispell, Montana, in 2007. It grew through word of mouth and its Skull Church outreach events into a multi-site church now spanning five states.
What denomination is Fresh Life Church?
Fresh Life Church is non-denominational. Its theology draws from the Calvary Chapel tradition, and the church is affiliated with the Association of Related Churches and Craig Groeschel’s Life.Church Open Network, though it does not belong to a formal denomination.
Where are Fresh Life Church’s locations?
Fresh Life operates campuses in Kalispell, Billings, Bozeman, Great Falls, Polson, and Whitefish, Montana, along with locations in Victor, Idaho, serving the Idaho and Wyoming border region, Gresham, Oregon, and a campus in Utah.
Can I watch Fresh Life Church live?
Yes. Fresh Life streams its services live online at its Kalispell campus times of 9 a.m., 11 a.m., and 5 p.m. Mountain Time, with messages archived afterward on YouTube and the church’s podcast feed.
What happened at Fresh Life Church? Is there a tragedy connected to the church?
The most significant tragedy connected to Fresh Life Church is the December 2012 death of founding pastor Levi Lusko’s five-year-old daughter, Lenya, from a severe asthma attack. Lusko has written and preached openly about that loss for years afterward.
Does Fresh Life Church have a stance on LGBTQ issues?
Fresh Life Church teaches a traditional biblical view of sexuality, that God’s design for sex and marriage is between a man and a woman. Pastor Levi Lusko has addressed the topic directly in sermons, emphasizing both that theological position and a message of grace toward people navigating questions of sexuality.
Where does Pastor Craig live?
This question typically refers to Craig Groeschel, senior pastor of Life.Church in Edmond, Oklahoma, whose Open Network partners with Fresh Life Church. Groeschel is not a pastor of Fresh Life Church itself, and his personal residence is not public information; this would make a better subject for a dedicated Craig Groeschel or Life.Church profile than a section here.
Final Word
Fresh Life Church turned a 14-person gathering above a Montana storefront into a five-state ministry by refusing to look or sound like the churches most of its early attendees had already written off. Between Skull Church’s deliberately provocative branding and Levi and Jennie Lusko’s willingness to preach through their own grief in public, the church built its identity on meeting skeptical, hurting people exactly where they are, then asking them to walk to the front of the room anyway.
Read Also
- Through the Eyes of a Lion Book Review and Summary
- Fresh Life Church: Complete History, Campuses, and What to Expect
- Skull Church: What It Is and Why Levi Lusko Started It
- The O2 Experience: Levi Lusko’s Early Ministry to Young People
