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UMDF Featured Churches

"Featured Churches" contains stories and photos of churches that have received loans from the United Methodist Development Fund of the General Board of Global Ministries.

Light of the Canyon United Methodist Church

Have you seen a flower growing out of a crack in the pavement or sidewalk? When I see one I am amazed by God's ability to sow and grow things of beauty in even the most limited space. If the Light of the Canyon United Methodist Church was a flower, that's what it would be.

There isn't much land available in the Anaheim Hills of California. The population is growing and using almost every inch of land in this very attractive area for either business or residential space. In the midst of all this growth, the need for a church became obvious. And the seed was ready for sowing.

A group of 25 began meeting in a school. It wasn't long before this group became a congregation ready to sprout with no place for planting. With God's help they found a small plot of land (1.5 acres) in a business park for sale. Most church developers will tell you that is no more than a crack in the pavement. With the help of the California-Pacific Congregational Loan Fund, they were able to seize this opportunity to plant their church. With a few modular units they moved out of the school into a temporary church home. While they longed for a real church building, the congregation wanted to pay the land off first. The repayment process took longer than they anticipated but the time was not wasted. It was a time of spiritual preparation (you might even say, germination).

The growing congregation took the old adage, "Bloom where you are planted" seriously. With space so limited, the congregation wanted to be sure that their church would be more than a place for worship on Sunday morning. It would be an active and integrated part of the community. A building, which would fulfill their ministry needs, required planning, preparation and resources. Light of the Canyon United Methodist Church turned to the United Methodist Development Fund for the mortgage on the building. Rev. Tom Rothhar says, "Without The UMDF loan, we would not have a church building right now."

The month of December marks their first full year in their new church building. They celebrated their anniversary with a ministry fair that highlights over 20 different ministries in which the congregation is currently involved - from prison ministries to English as a Second Language classes, feeding the homeless to youth ministries, bible studies to financial and debt recovery counseling. Their church building is a ministry tool.

From a school room with 25 people to modular buildings to an empty hardware store (during the construction) to a beautiful building looking over the canyon with a congregation of 220 and growing, the congregation knows "We are a church regardless of what building we are in." It is a flower growing through a crack in the pavement, a tribute to God's grace and power, a Light of the Canyon.