Church Visit

Church Report by Rameses Sorrell

Snapshot of Church/Demographics

For the Church in Mission report I visited Los Angeles Christian Presbryterian Church-Hillside Ministry located at

2241 N. Eastern Avenue

, in El Sereno California. It is a small ministry with about 50 members. Hillside ministry, is a predominantly Korean American church with a growing multi-ethnic community including Hispanics, African-Americans and non-asians. It is the English speaking ministry of the Korean Ministry congregation of the main church which only speaks Korean. Comprised of individuals from early 20’s to late 30’s it has been in existence for about 12 years. The Pastor’s name is Pastor Sam Koh. He has been the pastor at the church for about a year prior to the departure of the previous pastor, Sam Lee who left to another church in Sunland about a year ago.

Theology of Church

The church creed is the Lord’s Prayer together with the Apostle’s Creed:

The pastor says that there is a “reformed” tinge, within the church, meaning that there is a focus foundationally on God’s glory and divine Sovereignty as a crucial beginning point   for theological reflection. Many people are Calvinistic in their theological approach, however, Pastor Sam’s background is Wesleyan, balancing justification by faith with an emphasis on the Spirit’s ongoing process of sanctification in the life of the believer.  

Worship,Liturgy, Sacraments

            Pastor Sam tries to hold true to the practices of the Presbyterian church as is set forth in the handbook of bylaws given to him each year by the KM Senior church pastor, while at the same time trying to push the boundaries of practice: For example, holding true to scripture and the meaning of the word “baptism,” the last baptism performed was a full emersion superseding, “sprinkling” which holds true to traditional baptism of Presbyterians.  Sacraments, the Lord’s Supper, which is the reading of scripture, breaking of bread, with one bread and one cup of wine/grape juice representing the elements of Christ’s body is held in the traditional sense. The worship style is the contemporary style of worship, with a Praise team comprised of modern musicians singing contemporary Christian songs openly and freely. There is “Freedom of Expression” and no “house rules,” you can raise your hands, jump up and down, sit in your seat and basically worship how you like as long as you don’t hurt anybody. The Congregation gets into the Word through Expository preaching and afterward there is a call in response to the reading followed by prayer.

Community Formation

            Hillside Ministry has four goals called “Connect Four.” They are 1. Connect to Christ, 2, Connect to Church Community, 3. Connect to El Sereno/Backyard community, 4. Connect to our Great Commission. They want everyone to connect as a family, The pastor encourages new visitors/members to stand up and greet people they have never seen before and give them a handshake or hug and welcome them into the community. They also encourage people to join in on the small groups happening every Thursday in Los Angeles, and Orange County, attend married couples groups once/mth and the Hillside 101 Bible study every Sunday before service.

            In addition, the latest great work done by Hillside Ministry is the joining of forces with King’s Table Ministry, a predominantly Hispanic American Ministry that is comprised of a lot of El Sereno community members as well as ex-gang members, graffiti artists, and ex-prison inmates. With this merging of the ministries comes multi-ethnic worship. The 70%-80% of  Hispanics, etc that reside within the El Sereno community in which Hillside resides are now being reached simply by Hillside reaching into their backyard instead of outward. Pastor Sam would like to look within the Metropolitan context to reach young men and woman who may be of different cultures, and races to develop and open themselves up to ministries that may represent the community in which they reside and worship.

Organization/Leadership            There are leadership meetings every Tuesday with leaders of the KM LACPC from which deacons are picked to become part of ministry.

Mission: Witness, Service, Transformation, Creation, Dialogue, Reconciliation, Inculturation

            There is an outreach done with Pastor Joey of King’s Table Ministry from Sept-Oct in Downtown Los Angeles in which people come out share gospel, fliers, food, give church services. Also “Angel Tree” in December in which food is served during the Holidays is an outreach ministry. There are summer missions trips, to Korea, Mexico, China, Mongolia, etc. that the KM funds. All these situations allow people to witness and share the gospel. However, the bulk of it is done one on one with the Pastor, or through his disciples. As people are counseled there is transformation through the Spirit as specific questions are answered. Dialogue occurs, as people open up and come to know one another as well as the Lord. Reconciling to Christ happens through messages, letting people know that He is not far away. It happens in groups of people where a member of one group may have been hurt by parties of another larger group; Amends need to be made through counseling and empowerment of the Spirit.

Our culture consists of sports, fun, entertainment, and you name it, therefore fellowship is a big part of the Hillside Ministry. There are events held several times a year that encourage togetherness, the love of Christ, teamwork. There is the 3-on-3 Basketball tournament, Bowl-tober, the annual bowling tournament; etc. the church provides scholarships to those that cannot afford the events. There is the Christmas Banquet and Thanksgiving potluck where Ham, Turkey and all the holiday fixin’s will be served. There will be slideshows highlighting all the different events, fun, and retreats experienced by the congregation throughout the year. There is food every Sunday after service encouraging more fellowship and church community and “getting to know one another” under the name of Christ.

“That’s what it’s all about, relationship with the Lord and relationship with people.” Pastor Sam Koh Hillside Ministry

Matthew 6:9–13-Lord's Prayer

Pray then like this: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

The Presbyterian Church

The Presbyterian Church uses the same text as is in the 1662 Book of Common Prayer, but with the modernized spelling "catholic" and some changes from upper to lowercase letters.

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,

maker of heaven and earth.

And in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,

who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,

and born of the virgin Mary,

suffered under Pontius Pilate,

was crucified, died and was buried.

He descended into hell.

On the third day He rose again from the dead.

He ascended into heaven

and sits at the right hand of the Father.

From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,

the holy Christian church,

the communion of saints,

the forgiveness of sins,

the resurrection of the body,

and the life everlasting. Amen.^[21]