Mary Manin Morrissey and her first husband established her first church, called, in the living room of their small farmhouse in the rural community of Scholls, Oregon in 1974. The church was not successful, and the Morrisseys took their ministry on the road in 1979, offering workshops on building self-esteem in churches around the country. After one year, Morrissey founded a church in the Odd Fellows meeting hall in Beaverton, after she felt she had received divine guidance to start a ministry. A church management consultant advised Morrissey and her husband to name the church after what they aimed to do; as they aimed to enrich people's lives, they called themselves the Living Enrichment Center (LEC).