For Phil and Christine Jensen, coming to the United States from the United Kingdom to pursue 桃花视频 degrees at Biola鈥檚 was a huge gamble. It meant relocating their family, including children Sam, 8, and Eve, 4, leaving a successful career at Proctor & Gamble and a 鈥渓ovely Victorian house鈥 in Newcastle, England, and hoping that three years of seminary education in Southern California would be worth it.

Now in their second year at Talbot, the Jensens have some uncertainty about the future, but they do know a couple things about the present: 1) they are passionate about fostering community in the body of Christ, and 2) their house has a big living room.

Though they were eager to put their spacious new living room to good use when they moved to La Mirada in 2007, the Jensens found that it was like pulling teeth to get Americans to come over for a meal.

鈥淚n England, if you invite a person for lunch, that鈥檚 it,鈥 said Phil. 鈥淏arring a missing leg, you are going to turn up. Here, it seems like, 鈥榃ell, if I have a better offer鈥︹欌

Last year, they invited all of Talbot鈥檚 first-year M.Div. students (around 110 people) to a lunch party, but only three showed up.

鈥淏ut the three that turned up had a good time,鈥 said Christine, 鈥渁nd I think that鈥檚 what we鈥檝e learned: Just go with the goers, and if people have a need, then we can do something with that.鈥

It鈥檚 certainly been a cultural learning process, with a few missteps along the way, but things are looking up these days.

The Jensens currently serve as Biola campus coaches for the small groups ministry at Rock Harbor Church. They host students at their house once a week, putting their living room to good use.

鈥淚f you鈥檙e not known, and you don鈥檛 know people, then you aren鈥檛 really doing church,鈥 said Christine.

For the Jensens, doing church 鈥 like moving across the Atlantic to attend seminary 鈥 requires risk. But risk, they say, is part of what it means to be a Christian.