Latest Update:

As of August 6, 2020

Dear Angelus Temple Family,

I miss you. I find myself in the empty church building, recording online services, thinking about the faces I normally see scattered throughout the auditorium. I only see chairs, but I try to see your faces and pray for you. The times we are facing are unprecedented and unnerving. I am very proud of our production and worship teams for putting in the great work to make our online experience magnificent. Also, we are one of the only churches that I know having guest speakers delivering live messages. Many of you have been blessed and have commented on live chat during the services. As wonderful as online services have been, however, there’s just nothing like meeting live.

The governor and mayor have made their objections clear about returning to church in buildings. The fighter in me would love to defend our rights to assemble based on our authority from God. I have strong feelings about the closure of churches, but my main issue is you. Many in our survey (21%) were opposed to meeting in church, and my obligation is to the climate of the people more than anything. Other congregants were open to the idea of in-person services with safety measures in place. There was also a group that wanted to start right now. This is challenging for a pastor because on one side there’s a group of people that say, “We have rights and let’s go now!” On the other side, there are people who feel the church gathering in person would put people’s lives in danger. This is a very challenging position for a pastor. We are monitoring things week by week. Since March 8th we’ve been model citizens and have refrained from large gatherings. However, it’s been a long time. Week by week we’re going to monitor events going on in the city. The start-up date will come at a time where prayerfully it seems right, when the people of the church feel ready, and we have a solid plan moving forward. My main concern is that the church doesn’t get comfortable in accepting this way of church as the new normal. It’s not. Never has this been the model for the New Testament church. We need to be together and we need to pray for one another and have that altar experience. Thank you so much for your patience.

The outreach side of our church is breaking all records. We’ve doubled our food ministry and when the drive thru reopens on August 18th who knows how big it will get. Our motto has been, “When times get tough, serve!” In addition, outreach vehicles will be traveling to the housing projects of Los Angeles providing free educational help for the students trapped at home due to school closures and need someone to help them with schoolwork. We need your support more than ever during this time. Sadly, the longer the church stays online the more offerings begin to go down. Please continue to tune in for online services and support the ministry going forward. We’ve had to make some cuts in our budget to survive this extraordinary season. We will not give up. We will not quit. Our 26th year anniversary is coming up and we are excited about the future. We’ve been through the fire before and each time we’ve come out without the smell of smoke. Through Christ we are victorious! Looking forward to seeing you online Thursdays at 7pm and Sundays at 9:15am. I love you and don’t let tomorrow die!

-Pastor Matthew Barnett

Give Online

To continue supporting our mission at Angelus Temple and the Dream Center, you can give now through Pushpay or RallyUp.