Two Stories...
The story of the SoCal Church of Christ is really two stories, which became one. It’s the story of two long and winding paths converging.
The Newland Street Church of Christ began in a humble Westminster home in the year 1949. The small group of Christians, gathered from several congregations in the area, came together with the expressed goal of reaching out to their local community.
The seeds of this new congregation grew quickly. So much so, that they were able to purchase a house of worship, which they moved into on January 11, 1953. It was located at 13852 Newland Street in Garden Grove. The Church would reside at this location for nearly seventy years, continuing to grow and evolve. The Church enjoyed massive growth throughout the 60s, 70s, and 80s, but, as is common in the life cycle of a church, growth slowed as the community demographic changed.
In 1966, North Orange County was experiencing rapid community growth. Church members from nearby congregations (Sunny Hills and Brea) saw that there was a need for a church in the Yorba Linda community. They came together to create a new church.
Their first gathering place was in a Yorba Linda Women’s club, which they rented out. Eventually members were able to pool their resources together to build a church building on a four and a half acre parcel on Eureka Avenue in Yorba Linda.
The church continued to grow, both spiritually and numerically.
In 2010, it became clear that the building was now too large and too expensive for the congregation. They were spending too many of God’s resources on building maintenance and upkeep. Therefore, they sold their building and purchased a smaller office building, which they converted into a place of worship.
Though the new building proved to be a wonderful blessing, and the plan to protect God’s resources had succeeded, the congregation was still searching for ways to grow the Church in Southern California.
In 2019, the Elders of the Church, after much prayer and deliberation, decided that the time had come for a change. The Newland Street building had served its purpose wonderfully, but no longer fit the needs of an older, smaller congregation. In an effort to start afresh, the property was sold, and the Church began looking for new property. In the meantime, they began worshiping with the Ball Road Church of Christ. This was early 2020.
Then COVID 19 struck.
It took over a year to recover from the pandemic, but even after things began to return to “normal”, new property seemed suddenly unavailable. Trusting in God’s providence, the Elders began to pray in earnest that God would provide the Church with a new property or else reveal a new plan. During this time, an idea was formed: an idea to reach out to other congregations in the area.
It began at a fateful dinner shared between two ladies from each congregation. The year was ____. This bloomed into several more meetings, between the leadership of each congregation. As the conversations continued, it became more and more obvious that God had been leading each group to a monumental decision: two established congregations would come together and become something new.
Over the next year, at a slow and deliberate pace, the leadership, resources, and people were united. Almost immediately after the merger became official, a property located at 1036 Taft Avenue in Orange became available. We purchased it on ____, and if the Lord wills, we will be moving in very soon.
Two paths, which God had laid out, converged. Though the process has been rather unprecedented and filled with challenges, there is no doubt in our minds that God has led us to this point. He shepherded two churches, over many decades, through green pastures and dark valleys; through times of abundance and growth, but also through difficulties and decline. But God has granted us a new beginning as the SoCal Church of Christ. We look to our past with gratitude, and to the horizon with excitement.
The best is yet to come!