In 1911, a group of Christian families had a vision for a church- called by God- to make, mature and mobilize believers to reach out into the Beach Cities, and the world, with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.These visionaries began Community Baptist Church in Hermosa Beach.  Growing with each other and sharing their faith, they began making a mark on their community. As their vision grew so did their church.Recognizing what God was doing in and through them, Pastor Leo Bye and the leadership had a vision for a new location that would house their growing Christian fellowship and become the launching point for missionaries both here and around the world.

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Moving to Manhattan Beach began a new era for the church.  Responding to the call to make, mature and mobilize believers for ministry, a worship center and educational buildings were constructed using the latest and best technology of the times. The land cost these trail blazers a stunning $20,000.  Construction costs for all of the current structures except the D building ran a whopping $230,000 to build.

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Following in the line of many great leaders and visionaries of the church, in 1991, Dr. Glen Martin was called to Community Baptist Church and continued in the vision of the founders of the church.  Gifted in recognizing the changes in culture, Pastor Glen facilitated the construction of a new education building. Then, in the summer of 2004, a new renovation began. Including much needed structural improvements, the sanctuary was given a new face both inside and out, creating a beautiful and inviting place to worship.  To accompany this new look and fresh way of addressing the cultural changes, we changed our name to Journey of Faith.  Through the faithful giving to the Arise and Build campaign, those of us that call Journey our home have seen many new Christians and non-Christians find a place for their journey of faith. We are privileged to be part of an amazing spiritual legacy here in the Beach Cities. From 1911 to 2007 we have certainly grown in numbers.  We have also grown in depth with new transformational classes and small groups; new workshops focusing in on specific areas of maturity and Biblical understanding; and a new “missional” focus where every attender discovers their role and responsibility in fulfilling the Great Commission given by our Lord Jesus Christ. We have grown in ministry with supported missionaries on all continents of the world.   Passing on a legacy and ensuring that the Gospel is faithfully passed to our children, grandchildren and generations is at the heart of our church from its beginning. As a church looking forward, we recognize that what was once the best facilities to gather and share the gospel with children and adults, now have great needs for repair due to their continued use almost 7 days a week for the past 50 years. Some are no longer up to code for safety and security. We’ve lost track on how many coats of paint these buildings received over the last two decades.  Having grown far beyond the expectations and financial means of the original builders, we stand at the beginning of new trails we must blaze – to create new and inviting learning environments for our children, students and adults that will also appeal to non-Christian families of Beach Cities.As we complete the faithful giving to our previous vision, our church is invited to embrace a new vision for our children, grandchildren and generations to come.  “Blazing New Trails” includes completing renovation to our existing campus, starting with replacing our remaining buildings that are in disrepair with new facilities.  Once finished we will be renaming the buildings and incorporating visuals and themes to pull together and unite our campus facilities.Our goal is that what people see on our campus will always point to our mission and call- “to touch the world with the reality of Jesus Christ.”“Blazing New Trails” is Phase 3 of a plan that began 10 years ago, to follow the completion of the E building and the updating of the sanctuary.  We have calculated that this phase will take 6 Million to complete over three years.  This breaks down into- 5 million for the new construction of our on-site building. Then, $600,000 will be used as a missional tithe, as we give back to those who need our help. Research has revealed how we could assist in building a training center in Mongolia and an education center in India…both burgeoning new fields God is opening to the Gospel; Or…we could assist the growing movement of Christians in China to expand their training, evangelism and impact for the Kingdom; Or we could put some of the monies toward Faith Academy in the Philipines where missionary children go to school and are cared for while their parents are doing God’s work on the field. The options are incredible and more prayer and research will reveal what God wants us to do.The remaining $400,000 will be used to complete the Arise and Build campaign.We have retained the services of one of the leading Christian finance and resource management companies, John Maxwell’s InJoy Stewardship Services.  This will ensure that God is both honored and glorified in how the money and process are handled.This is your chance to take a step forward in faith and continue the vision and the legacy of those who founded our church.  Over the next 3 months we are going to ask you to pray over your finances and make a commitment to God’s vision for Journey of faith.  This will be, first and foremost, a commitment between you and God. We are asking each person who calls Journey of Faith their home to take an ownership stake in the future of this church.   We ask you to join the vision of this church to leave the next generations a strong platform to take God’s love into the surrounding communities and the world.Through much prayer and wise counsel this church has followed God’s vision faithfully for 50 years.  Anchored to the legacy of those before us, we are building a legacy for those to follow.Once again, Journey of Faith is Blazing New Trails.

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