The Home Church is Moving to a New "Home"
Here's What You Need to Know...
For the last 1.5 years, THC has been doing our weekly corporate worship services at Killian Elementary School. Soon that is changing
GOOD BYE KILLIAN!
Killian was, in my opinion, an upgrade over our previous location when we were squished in a small room, dealing with a jam-packed parking lot, & our marijuana-dispensary neighbors. Though our neighbors were nice and chill... very chilllllll – we did have a slight issue regarding the marijuana-aroma sneaking into the shared wall - our Children’s Ministry room… haha… let’s just say we had the most chill kids of any church in America! ;) (comedic exaggeration here folks, are kids were not getting high - although we do teach them to worship the "Most High"... ok, moving on)
Well, we’ve been given another opportunity to move. The move comes with favorable pros as well as some cons to become aware of. On January 28, 2018 – the covenanted members of THC voted in favor of moving back into “Mom’s house”, and it makes for a “Beautiful” situation ;)
Beginning this Easter Sunday – April 1, 2018. The Home Church will be moving our Sunday corporate worship services, to our mother church: “Beautiful Church”
Well, we’ve been given another opportunity to move. The move comes with favorable pros as well as some cons to become aware of. On January 28, 2018 – the covenanted members of THC voted in favor of moving back into “Mom’s house”, and it makes for a “Beautiful” situation ;)
Beginning this Easter Sunday – April 1, 2018. The Home Church will be moving our Sunday corporate worship services, to our mother church: “Beautiful Church”
Here Is the *NEW* Sunday Service Time/Place:
The Home Church
Service Time: 2:00pm
1717 S. Otterbein Ave., Rowland Heights, CA, 91748
Service Time: 2:00pm
1717 S. Otterbein Ave., Rowland Heights, CA, 91748
As you can see, we are also moving the time from 1:45pm to 2:00pm.
Moving the time allows us to free up additional parking spots and have more time to prepare for service.
Seven "Pro's" of This Move -
1. Easier Set Up/Tear Down Process –
No more going early to our storage unit! No more driving everything back to the storage unit, after the service too! Lucas, David, and Ariella are rejoicing! We will be able to leave most/all of our THC items at Beautiful Church.
2. Better Children's Ministry Situation –
We will now have access to Beautiful Church’s downstairs classrooms. Currently, our THC children meet on the cafeteria hallway floor of Killian. Janice and all our Children's Ministry Teachers are rejoicing!
3. Bigger Sanctuary, Stage, & Sound System–
With this move we position ourselves to fit more people for future growth. We can fit more people/things on stage for Praise Team growth. And our sound system receives a big upgrade. Our rinky-dink sound system has been on its last legs for a while now. Let's retire that faithful friend.
I can picture our Praise Team and John Ko rejoicing at the sound of this.
4. Lingering After Service –
Perhaps the thing I disdain the most about our current building situation at Killian is kicking you out every Sunday at 4pm. We have to do this because we rent Killian by-the-hour in our contract. Moving to Beautiful Church at the 2:00pm time slot means we are the last service of the day there. Fellowship can continue uninterrupted. No more Pastor driving you off the property like cattle. Feel free to linger! Linger people! Lingggeeerrrrrr!
5. Better Community Visibility –
THC would now has permission to put up signs on church property. It's a more visible location on the corner of Colima & Otterbein. This will be good to establish a greater community presence here in Rowland Heights. Hoping that our signs and banners can intrigue seekers and the unchurched to check us out.
6. Better Display of THC & BC Working Together –
The reality of our church plant is that we are not operating completely independent from Beautiful Church. We are laboring alongside Beautiful Church. We are the direct byproduct of Beautiful Church's prayers, financial support, and leadership.
This move provides for a more visible display of what has been taking place between our two churches. This will give way for the potential for greater unity to take place between our congregations. Seeing our Korean-Mother-Church around more is a great thing!
If you aren't Korean it's time to learn how to properly greet - as we seek to honor them in our interactions.
7. No More Dealing w/Craziness of Renting a School –
In the past two years, we’ve had to cancel and move around multiple services due to holidays falling on Sundays. Moving to BC gives us a more stable and permanent worship situation.
No more going early to our storage unit! No more driving everything back to the storage unit, after the service too! Lucas, David, and Ariella are rejoicing! We will be able to leave most/all of our THC items at Beautiful Church.
2. Better Children's Ministry Situation –
We will now have access to Beautiful Church’s downstairs classrooms. Currently, our THC children meet on the cafeteria hallway floor of Killian. Janice and all our Children's Ministry Teachers are rejoicing!
3. Bigger Sanctuary, Stage, & Sound System–
With this move we position ourselves to fit more people for future growth. We can fit more people/things on stage for Praise Team growth. And our sound system receives a big upgrade. Our rinky-dink sound system has been on its last legs for a while now. Let's retire that faithful friend.
I can picture our Praise Team and John Ko rejoicing at the sound of this.
4. Lingering After Service –
Perhaps the thing I disdain the most about our current building situation at Killian is kicking you out every Sunday at 4pm. We have to do this because we rent Killian by-the-hour in our contract. Moving to Beautiful Church at the 2:00pm time slot means we are the last service of the day there. Fellowship can continue uninterrupted. No more Pastor driving you off the property like cattle. Feel free to linger! Linger people! Lingggeeerrrrrr!
5. Better Community Visibility –
THC would now has permission to put up signs on church property. It's a more visible location on the corner of Colima & Otterbein. This will be good to establish a greater community presence here in Rowland Heights. Hoping that our signs and banners can intrigue seekers and the unchurched to check us out.
6. Better Display of THC & BC Working Together –
The reality of our church plant is that we are not operating completely independent from Beautiful Church. We are laboring alongside Beautiful Church. We are the direct byproduct of Beautiful Church's prayers, financial support, and leadership.
This move provides for a more visible display of what has been taking place between our two churches. This will give way for the potential for greater unity to take place between our congregations. Seeing our Korean-Mother-Church around more is a great thing!
If you aren't Korean it's time to learn how to properly greet - as we seek to honor them in our interactions.
7. No More Dealing w/Craziness of Renting a School –
In the past two years, we’ve had to cancel and move around multiple services due to holidays falling on Sundays. Moving to BC gives us a more stable and permanent worship situation.
Four "Cons" of This Move -
1. Limitations on Parking –
I’m going to be very honest with you here. We are taking a downgrade on parking. Beautiful Church’s last service ends around 1:15pm. But many of the BC members linger around every Sunday after the service to eat a meal together. (Watch the video at the bottom to see the announcement I made for Beautiful Church).
Every Sunday this parking lot is jammed packed.
There’s also the issue that at the same exact time of our service – there are 2 other smaller churches meeting in the upstairs rooms – they will be using the same parking lot.
So, here’s what I’m asking THC peeps!
Let’s give our mother church, and the two other churches meeting upstairs, the “parking seat of honor” (Luke 14:7).
Let's prioritize them for a few weeks and re-evaluate the parking lot situation.
In regards to where we should park. Familiarize yourself with the map below.
I’m going to be very honest with you here. We are taking a downgrade on parking. Beautiful Church’s last service ends around 1:15pm. But many of the BC members linger around every Sunday after the service to eat a meal together. (Watch the video at the bottom to see the announcement I made for Beautiful Church).
Every Sunday this parking lot is jammed packed.
There’s also the issue that at the same exact time of our service – there are 2 other smaller churches meeting in the upstairs rooms – they will be using the same parking lot.
So, here’s what I’m asking THC peeps!
Let’s give our mother church, and the two other churches meeting upstairs, the “parking seat of honor” (Luke 14:7).
Let's prioritize them for a few weeks and re-evaluate the parking lot situation.
In regards to where we should park. Familiarize yourself with the map below.
#1 - Beautiful Church Main Sanctuary Entrance -
This is where we will enter into church every Sunday :)
#2 - Main Parking Lot -
I would like for us to prioritize giving these parking spots to the 2 church services that will be using the upstairs room at the same time as us.
But I would also like to open the parking lot to the following THC people:
1. Newcomers & Seekers/ “VIPs”
I plan on making signs that would be placed in the very front for THC newcomers-only - we don't want there to be ANY obstacles for newcomers to check out our service. Imagine coming to our church for the first time only to find no parking at all. I would rather we, the regulars, walk further so that we allow newcomers to have the golden parking.
2. Elderly & Handicapped -
Don't hesitate to park in the main parking lot if you have physical limitations.
3. Those w/Young Children -
We love you Moms and Dads. Park in the main parking lot.
Now...
If you are a “regular” to THC on Sundays, try to park on #3 or #4
#3 - "The Hill" -
There is parking up on "the hill" that you can use. You would need to park half on the grass and half on the road. Make sure your emergency break is on.
#4 - Single Row of DragonFly Parking - READ CAREFULLY!
Dragonfly has graciously allowed us to use some of their parking. But understand, they are only offering us the single row that is against the "Sterling Bank" building. We can't use the Dragonfly parking that is closer to their building. Look carefully where the #4 is.
#5 - Otterbein Street - READ CAREFULLY!
We are free to park down Otterbein St. But!!! We cannot park in the cul-de-sac's of the nearby residents! You can only park on Otterbein Street, itself.
So listen...
If you are a covenanted “Church Member”, you should park at #3, #4, or #5. You have covenanted to be the ones to serve and sacrifice for our church.
And if you are a Shepherd or a Leader in the Church, you should park at #5. We are the ones that need to model what small sacrifices look like for the rest of our church (And yes, this is a very small sacrifice to make)
So, let’s make room for newcomers! Let's make room for our other Christian brothers and sisters using the facility at the same time! Let’s get that cardio in!
By the way… this shouldn’t make us late. A 2pm start time is more than do-able to show up on time. Parking down Otterbein is not a valid excuse for being late peeps! Nice try!
Thanks for familiarizing yourself with the parking adjustment! Now, back to some other things to become aware of with our move to Beautiful Church:
2. Service Time Pushed Back –
It’s not a huge deal, but we are pushing back service 15 minutes. That means getting out 15 minutes later.
3. Extra Effort to Recognize Cultural Differences –
We are moving into a Korean Church. There will be Korean writing (and people) everywhere.
If you are not Korean, this may feel different than what you’re used to. There’s also a Chinese church that will be above us too.
You may feel a little uncomfortable, that’s okay! I’m not Korean either, hehehe.
There is lots to learn in terms of cultural differences between 1st and 2nd generations. You may walk past people who don’t acknowledge you in a typical-“American"-way. You may hear lots of Korean or Chinese. Don’t let yourself feel out-of-place.
Replace the awkward feeling and take this as an opportunity to celebrate our cultural differences and honor our brothers and sisters! It’s pretty awesome that every Sunday this building has Christians worshipping Jesus in 3 different languages. Every Sunday, somewhere around 700 souls will lift up the Savior! Pretty awesome thinking about that!
The Home Church may "feel" more Asian with this move, but understand that those are just signs, banners, and languages – our heart/purpose is still to be a church for all people :)
God has these churches to reach the immigrant community in the area. And our "reach" are the second/third-generation as well as the English-speaking community in the area. We need each other to optimize Kingdom-impact!
I would encourage you to learn how to honorably greet our Korean/Chinese brothers and sisters in a way that would cause them to smile. It may seem weird to you. You may be tempted to think, "Why should I accommodate for them?"
Don't think that way. That's very inward-focused. Instead, take this as a gift from God to honor someone different from you. It is the very Gospel of Jesus that compels us to think this way.
Because Jesus left His Heavenly privilege. Jesus temporarily left His Heavenly culture. And came to us. In way that we could understand the heart of God. Men and women later went out of their way, devoting their lives, to bring us Jesus' heart/Word to our language - English. Why? So that we could understand God's heart.
So we must be willing to abandon our cultural preferences to honor those different than us. In doing so, we allow for a superior culture to reign supreme over every ethnic culture: The culture of the Kingdom!
THC, know that I will always lead our church to “take the higher road” and “give the seat of honor”. And lest we think "we" are the ones sacrificing for "them", understand... Beautiful Church has invested significantly in our church plant to better allow our church to be a success! Let's return the favor! ;)
4. Added Responsibility of Taking Care of Beautiful Church –
The pro of having “nicer things/tools/facilities” also comes with a greater expectation that we properly honor our mother church and their “things” (some of which are quite expensive).
We will have to strongly enforce a no drink/food policy in the main sanctuary. We will need to really treat this building like our own “home”.
Since we are the last service on Sundays, your pastor has already taken the liberty and told Beautiful Church’s leadership that every Sunday, after our service, they can expect their sanctuary, children’s rooms, & bathrooms to be returned to clean condition.
We want Beautiful Church to love that we are there.
We want Beautiful Church to be blessed by our presence.
We don’t want to be the older son/daughter that moves back in home with Mom & Dad and we are a burden instead of being a blessing.
So, come on Sundays… with hearts ready to worship our King, heads eager to learn from the Scriptures, and hands ready to serve :)
The blessing will be ours. That's not my promise. That's our King's promise:
Acts 20:35 -
"In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”
P.S. Here is a video I recently made for Beautiful Church :)
This is where we will enter into church every Sunday :)
#2 - Main Parking Lot -
I would like for us to prioritize giving these parking spots to the 2 church services that will be using the upstairs room at the same time as us.
But I would also like to open the parking lot to the following THC people:
1. Newcomers & Seekers/ “VIPs”
I plan on making signs that would be placed in the very front for THC newcomers-only - we don't want there to be ANY obstacles for newcomers to check out our service. Imagine coming to our church for the first time only to find no parking at all. I would rather we, the regulars, walk further so that we allow newcomers to have the golden parking.
2. Elderly & Handicapped -
Don't hesitate to park in the main parking lot if you have physical limitations.
3. Those w/Young Children -
We love you Moms and Dads. Park in the main parking lot.
Now...
If you are a “regular” to THC on Sundays, try to park on #3 or #4
#3 - "The Hill" -
There is parking up on "the hill" that you can use. You would need to park half on the grass and half on the road. Make sure your emergency break is on.
#4 - Single Row of DragonFly Parking - READ CAREFULLY!
Dragonfly has graciously allowed us to use some of their parking. But understand, they are only offering us the single row that is against the "Sterling Bank" building. We can't use the Dragonfly parking that is closer to their building. Look carefully where the #4 is.
#5 - Otterbein Street - READ CAREFULLY!
We are free to park down Otterbein St. But!!! We cannot park in the cul-de-sac's of the nearby residents! You can only park on Otterbein Street, itself.
So listen...
If you are a covenanted “Church Member”, you should park at #3, #4, or #5. You have covenanted to be the ones to serve and sacrifice for our church.
And if you are a Shepherd or a Leader in the Church, you should park at #5. We are the ones that need to model what small sacrifices look like for the rest of our church (And yes, this is a very small sacrifice to make)
So, let’s make room for newcomers! Let's make room for our other Christian brothers and sisters using the facility at the same time! Let’s get that cardio in!
By the way… this shouldn’t make us late. A 2pm start time is more than do-able to show up on time. Parking down Otterbein is not a valid excuse for being late peeps! Nice try!
Thanks for familiarizing yourself with the parking adjustment! Now, back to some other things to become aware of with our move to Beautiful Church:
2. Service Time Pushed Back –
It’s not a huge deal, but we are pushing back service 15 minutes. That means getting out 15 minutes later.
3. Extra Effort to Recognize Cultural Differences –
We are moving into a Korean Church. There will be Korean writing (and people) everywhere.
If you are not Korean, this may feel different than what you’re used to. There’s also a Chinese church that will be above us too.
You may feel a little uncomfortable, that’s okay! I’m not Korean either, hehehe.
There is lots to learn in terms of cultural differences between 1st and 2nd generations. You may walk past people who don’t acknowledge you in a typical-“American"-way. You may hear lots of Korean or Chinese. Don’t let yourself feel out-of-place.
Replace the awkward feeling and take this as an opportunity to celebrate our cultural differences and honor our brothers and sisters! It’s pretty awesome that every Sunday this building has Christians worshipping Jesus in 3 different languages. Every Sunday, somewhere around 700 souls will lift up the Savior! Pretty awesome thinking about that!
The Home Church may "feel" more Asian with this move, but understand that those are just signs, banners, and languages – our heart/purpose is still to be a church for all people :)
God has these churches to reach the immigrant community in the area. And our "reach" are the second/third-generation as well as the English-speaking community in the area. We need each other to optimize Kingdom-impact!
I would encourage you to learn how to honorably greet our Korean/Chinese brothers and sisters in a way that would cause them to smile. It may seem weird to you. You may be tempted to think, "Why should I accommodate for them?"
Don't think that way. That's very inward-focused. Instead, take this as a gift from God to honor someone different from you. It is the very Gospel of Jesus that compels us to think this way.
Because Jesus left His Heavenly privilege. Jesus temporarily left His Heavenly culture. And came to us. In way that we could understand the heart of God. Men and women later went out of their way, devoting their lives, to bring us Jesus' heart/Word to our language - English. Why? So that we could understand God's heart.
So we must be willing to abandon our cultural preferences to honor those different than us. In doing so, we allow for a superior culture to reign supreme over every ethnic culture: The culture of the Kingdom!
THC, know that I will always lead our church to “take the higher road” and “give the seat of honor”. And lest we think "we" are the ones sacrificing for "them", understand... Beautiful Church has invested significantly in our church plant to better allow our church to be a success! Let's return the favor! ;)
4. Added Responsibility of Taking Care of Beautiful Church –
The pro of having “nicer things/tools/facilities” also comes with a greater expectation that we properly honor our mother church and their “things” (some of which are quite expensive).
We will have to strongly enforce a no drink/food policy in the main sanctuary. We will need to really treat this building like our own “home”.
Since we are the last service on Sundays, your pastor has already taken the liberty and told Beautiful Church’s leadership that every Sunday, after our service, they can expect their sanctuary, children’s rooms, & bathrooms to be returned to clean condition.
We want Beautiful Church to love that we are there.
We want Beautiful Church to be blessed by our presence.
We don’t want to be the older son/daughter that moves back in home with Mom & Dad and we are a burden instead of being a blessing.
So, come on Sundays… with hearts ready to worship our King, heads eager to learn from the Scriptures, and hands ready to serve :)
The blessing will be ours. That's not my promise. That's our King's promise:
Acts 20:35 -
"In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”
P.S. Here is a video I recently made for Beautiful Church :)
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