Why We Are Moving to Hollywood

Below pretty much sums up why we are moving to Hollywood. It is our resignation letter to the elders of our prior church.


April 27, 2008

To the elders of Immanuel Bible Church:

It has been our family’s privilege to spend the last three years as part of the Immanuel Bible Church (IBC). At the end of May 2008 Amy and I will be resigning from the IBC church membership. We ask the elders to release us from our covenant with the church. Our family will be relocating to the city of Hollywood with the expressed intent of initiating a gospel movement within the city. We will be serving as missionaries under the oversight of the Hollywood Church, a non-denominational church plant of Calvary Bible Church (Burbank) and Cornerstone Community Church (Simi Valley).

While the decision to leave IBC is a recent development in our lives, it has long been our family’s desire to minister to our geographic neighborhood in a more meaningful and intentional way. Moving to Hollywood will also be a small step in fulfilling our long-term goals of becoming missionaries and church planters to global urban cities. Through our study of the Acts of the Apostles (as well as other scriptures) and of early church history, we have come to believe in the strategic role of cities in God’s plan.

Our mission to Hollywood will be long and arduous with very little certainty of success. The primary focus of our ministry will be grass-roots oriented as we seek to develop relationships with the un-churched and de-churched population of Hollywood. Our goals will be to not only bring them to a saving faith with their Savior Jesus Christ, but also to disciple them into healthy and reproducing Christians. Finding them will not be difficult; developing redemptive relationships with them will be.

Hollywood is a dark city. It is home to numerous religious cults and new age philosophies. They have been without Jesus for too long and have since replaced the worship of the living God with idols of their own imagination.

We covet yours as well as the prayers of Immanuel Bible Church as our family embarks on this endeavor to bring glory to our Maker through the proclamation of His gospel.

Blessings,

Albert and Amy

Our Missional Journey Into Hollywood

Today marks our first official day of ministry in Hollywood. It is our first Sunday serving and worshiping with with our new church community, the Hollywood Church.

In the coming days and months, we hope to share our thoughts along our journey to serve and love the city of Hollywood. We are not particluarly good writers or thinkers, so we ask for your forgiveness in advance for any poor writing or, God forbid, poor theology. Ultimately, this blog is primarily for ourselves first and then to you the reader.

I'm not quite sure how often we plan on posting or what the exact content will be. But we invite you all to interact with us.