Our region's first group of Presbyterians came together in 1855 to worship and further God's purposes as they understood them. Suffering major setbacks, First Presbyterian Church of Los Angeles seemed destined to permanently cease its activities only three years after it had started. However, the church became stronger as new settlers arrived from other States. With the help of other churches in Central California, more congregations were established in different locations. Only a few decades later, those churches organized the Presbytery of Los Angeles to strengthen and amplify their ministry.
The Presbytery of San Fernando is a community of mutual encouragement, missional collaboration, and faithful accountability. With your generous contribution and the dedicated involvement of a growing number of volunteers, we move forward together in response to God’s call. We focus our efforts in providing support to our churches as they seek to experience increased vitality, include more people in worship gatherings, and engage our culturally diverse communities.
During 2022 our Presbytery has:
- Worked diligently to fulfill the four-year goals that our leadership identified in 2020. (Visit this link to see a recent report)
- Provided grants to dozens of our churches and New Worshiping Communities seeking to expand their witness.
- Offered coaching and consultation to pastors and leaders in serving established congregations and developing new ones.
- Assisted churches dealing with multiple other fiduciary matters, including important governance, property, and legal issues.
- Walked with several Sessions as they discerned how the Holy Spirit leads them in these times of significant transitions.
- Supported various transformative efforts among low-income populations with North Valley Caring Services, Habitat for Humanity, and other organizations.
- Partnered with Presbyterian World Mission in support of personnel serving strategically in Colombia, Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Niger, Indonesia, and among the Iranian diaspora in Europe.
Our staff considers it an honor to acknowledge God’s gracious providence 55 years after the establishment of our Presbytery and almost 170 years after the early days of Presbyterian ministry in our region. So much has changed, but our call remains the same.
Please know that we are committed to assisting in any way possible as your church continues to worship and serve in the New Year. Thank you for joining us in carrying this fruitful and exciting work across generations of followers of the Savior who is the Light of the world.