Bel Air Presbyterian Church
| Bel Air Presbyterian Church | |
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| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| Denomination | Presbyterian |
| Website | belairpres.org |
| Clergy | |
| Senior pastor(s) | Dr. Mark Brewer |
Bel Air Presbyterian Church is a Christian megachurch located in the Bel Air neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. The church is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) currently averages more than 3,000 in attendance each weekend.
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[edit] History
Since its founding in 1956, Bel Air Presbyterian has become one of the largest churches in Los Angeles. The church's motto is Making Los Angeles the greatest city for Christ. The church is located at 16221 Mulholland Drive, on a hill overlooking the San Fernando Valley.
The original sanctuary organ was a four-manual, sixty-eight rank mechanical action pipe organ by Casavant. It was seriously damaged, mostly by water leakage, in the 1994 Northridge earthquake. It was later rebuilt as a pipe combination instrument with a digital console from Rodgers Instruments Corporation, in protest of which Casavant declared it to be "destroyed" and stricken from their register of surviving instruments. At the time of its re-dedication, it was one of the world’s largest digital/pipe combination organs in the world.
In 2007, the church completed a $12 million dollar campus expansion program, The Campaign for Bel Air: Phase I, which included the two story Education Building, Discipleship Center, and Administration Building, including staff offices with views overlooking the The Valley.
Former Senior Pastors include Dr. Louis H. Evans Jr., Dr. Michael H. Wenning, and Dr. Donn D. Moomaw. Dr. Moomaw gave the invocation at President Ronald Reagan's first inauguration in 1981.
[edit] Present
Bel Air Presbyterian Church is an active member of the Presbyterian Church (USA) (PCUSA) denomination, and has participated in vigorous debates among the mainline denomination, on issues of theology. Bel Air has tended to be more conservative and Evangelical than others in the PCUSA[citation needed]. The church is also a member of the Evangelical Willow Creek Association.
The church is currently led by Senior Pastor Dr. Mark Brewer.
[edit] Congregation
Weekly church attendance currently exceeds 2,500, making it one of the largest and fastest-growing Presbyterian churches in the United States.
Many members of Bel Air Presbyterian Church are involved in the entertainment industry[who?], and many are prominent within the Westside L.A. community. In addition, many young actors[who?]attend the church's midweek young adults service, The Foundry. Bel Air also has many young families from The Valley in its congregation. President Ronald Reagan and First Lady Nancy Reagan regularly attended the church after leaving office, and Mrs. Reagan still occasionally attends.[1] Famous celebrities that have been spotted at Bel Air in recent years include Jessica Simpson, Britney Spears,[2] Paris Hilton, Lance Bass,[3] Sean Astin, and Leonardo DiCaprio,[1] garnering Bel Air the title of "L.A.'s Celebrity Church"[citation needed].
Every Easter Sunday, the church holds the largest worship service in Southern California at the famous Hollywood Bowl, with attendance exceeding 10,000.
[edit] References
- ^ a b "Faith Abundant in - of All Places - Hollywood - Netscape Celebrity". Webcenters.netscape.compuserve.com. http://webcenters.netscape.compuserve.com/celebrity/becksmith.jsp?p=bsf_faithabundant. Retrieved 2009-02-10.
- ^ Britney Spears's Man Mystery Deepens - Britney Spears : People.com
- ^ Mueller, Chelsea. "Dallas - DC9 At Night - Gay Odyssey with Lance Bass". Blogs.dallasobserver.com. http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/dc9/2007/10/gay_odyssey_with_lance_bass.php. Retrieved 2009-02-10.
[edit] External links
Coordinates: 34°07′50″N 118°29′07″W / 34.130581°N 118.485296°W
