Go Lakers!

Check out this photo video! It's great. It was done by one of New City Church members--Kathy Pyon!

Video: Lakers win 15th championship - Los Angeles Times

The Original Team

The pastoral staff at New City is changing. Jonathan McCracken, Christine Whan, Jason Bilbrey, and I have been together for almost a year now. Christine is going to start a full time program for her graudate degree at UCLA in Fall and Jason started to work full time at Fuller and will continue at Fuller part-time. So, they have decided to step down from their pastoral role. I am sad that the Original Four is breaking up. We have grown together and bonded as a team. However, they are not going anywhere. Both Jason and Christine will stay at New City as lay leaders. They are just stepping down from their pastoral roles.

In Memory of those Fallen for the Cause of Freedom

I want to honor those who have fallen while protecting freedom around the world. I believe we owe more than we know to those who have given their lives to the cause of freedom. Let's make sure we all honor their bravery and heroism!

Several weeks ago, in a sermon entitled Sword vs. Cross, I argued that the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of this World (I don't mean the principalities of evil in a spiritual sense but just the governments of this world) are utterly different. In fact, I argued that they are basically the opposite. The Kingdom of this World is based on justice, coercion, and the sword. It is the Kingdom of Power-Over. The Kingdom of God is about grace, sacrificial love, and the cross. It is the Kingdom of Power-Under, the power of self-sacrificing love. And I preached that Jesus' mission, and as such, the mission of the Kingdom of God is not to take over the Kingdom of this World and force the agenda of the Kingdom of God on others through the tools of the Kingdom of this World.

Then, I discussed the dangers of fusing the Kingdom of the World and the Kingdom of God together. Some of you might have thought that I was a pacifist who does not believe in taking up arms or defending our country. That's not where I stand at all. Our military is an important part of the Kingdom of this World. It's essential. There are a lot of crazy rulers/terrorists out there. We need to defend our freedom and we honor those who have given their lives to the cause of freedom. The point I was trying to make is that two Kingdoms should not be fused together because Jesus didn't fuse them together.

Baptism and Celebration at New City!

Our baptism celebration on March 29, 2009 was incredible. We had six people share their testimonies, and we dunked them, symbolizing the death to the old life and the beginning of the new life in Christ! I've never had more fun.

You can see the video of the baptism by clikcing here.

Here are some pictures.

Easter Fest and Celebration at New City Church of LA

Join us at New City for our Easter Brunch, Celebration, and Easter Fest for Kids! It's going to be a CELEBRATION of our Lord's resurrection.

Here's our Easter Invitation Postcard sent to All of the residents of downtown LA.

Easter Fest for Kids at New City Church of LA

New City Church of LA is preparing for the Easter Fest for Kids on Sunday, April 12, at the Los Angeles Theatre Center (the New LATC). We are sending out 20,000 invite cards to downtown residents for our Easter Fest for Kids.

New City Church of Los Angeles, a new multi-ethnic, multi-socioeconomic church in downtown, invites the public to Easter Fest for Kids on Sunday, April 12 at the beautiful lobby of the Los Angeles Theatre Center (the New LATC) at 514 S. Spring St. We will have an Easter egg hunt, a bouncy house, face painting, bubbles, arts and crafts, food, and other things, all for free to the public.

In this economically difficult time, we want to create an event where families can come and just have fun without worrying about whether or not they can afford it. There is very little activity for kids in downtown, and so, we want to do something fun for them.

Here’s the schedule of our Easter Fest for Kids:

• 10 am: Brunch (no charge) for kids and adults
• 10:20 am-12 pm: NewCityKidz! (fun at our children’s ministry: games, singing, dancing, Bible stories, etc.)
• 12 pm to 3 pm: Easter egg hunt, bouncy house, arts and crafts, bubble tricks, face painting, and lunch for kids and adults at the lobby of Los Angeles Theatre Center (the New LATC), all at no charge

There is free validated parking for all at Joe’s Parking Structure, right next to the church. Just follow the sign.


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MARCH 25, 2009
CONTACT: Kevin Haah, 213-471-2415, Kevin@newcitychurchla.com
WEBSITE: http://www.newcitychurchla.com/
_
EASTER FEST FOR KIDS AT THE LOS ANGELES THEATRE CENTER SPONSORED BY NEW CITY CHURCH OF LA, A NEW DOWNTOWN CHURCH

LOS ANGELES, CA. –New City Church of Los Angeles, a new multi-ethnic, multi-socioeconomic church in downtown, invites the public to Easter Fest for Kids on Sunday, April 12 at the beautiful lobby of the Los Angeles Theatre Center (the New LATC) at 514 S. Spring St. We will have an Easter egg hunt, a bouncy house, face painting, bubbles, arts and crafts, food, and other things, all for free to the public. Pastor Kevin Haah, the lead pastor of New City Church of LA, states, “In this economically difficult time, we wanted to create an event where families can come and just have fun without worrying about whether or not they can afford it. There is very little activity for kids in downtown, and so, we wanted to do something fun for them.”

Here’s the schedule of our Easter Fest for Kids:

· 10 am: Brunch (no charge) for kids and adults
· 10:20 am-12 pm: NewCityKidz! (fun at our children’s ministry: games, singing, dancing, Bible stories, etc.)
· 12 pm to 3 pm: Easter egg hunt, bouncy house, arts and crafts, bubble tricks, face painting, and lunch for kids and adults at the lobby of Los Angeles Theatre Center (the New LATC), all at no charge

There is free validated parking for all at Joe’s Parking Structure, right next to the church. Just follow the sign.

While the kids are having fun at NewCityKidz, the children’s ministry, the adults are invited to the special Easter Brunch and Celebration Service at 10 am. at the New LATC. Please join us as we celebrate the hope we have in Jesus Christ! Pastor Kevin Haah invites, “Come for brunch and stay for our Easter service! You are going to be warmly welcomed, and I guarantee that you are going to have fun as we celebrate Easter. After the worship service, stay for the Easter Fest for Kids and lunch, all for free. You are going to love the diversity, inclusiveness, and spiritual vitality.” Pastor Kevin continues, “We are a downtown church that looks like downtown. I hope you can join us for Easter.”

The rapidly growing New City Church of LA, which held their grand opening last September, is richly diverse in ethnicity, socioeconomics, age, religious background, political view, and lifestyle, but united in their journey to love and follow—or at least find out about loving and following—Jesus and to love and serve their neighbors, whoever they may be.

Lead pastor, Kevin Haah, a former attorney who was a pastor to Skid Row residents, describes New City Church this way: “We are a Christian church that is, and is called to be, multi-ethnic, multi-socioeconomic, multi-everything, really. It can be difficult to love even those who are like us. But if we can truly love all others—including those who are unlike us—because we believe that ultimately, we are all the same, that every single one of us is more messed up than we can fathom and yet more loved by God than we can imagine, that really speaks to the tremendous unifying and transformative power and beauty of God’s love.”

New City Church’s Sunday service, which is held in an intimate but casual atmosphere, starts off at 10 a.m. with a complimentary continental brunch. The style of worship music is diverse—from traditional hymns with a modern accent, to contemporary praise songs, to songs from various different cultures. Pastor Kevin and the other pastors give fresh, dynamic, relevant sermons straight from the Bible, while Pastor Christine Whan and her assistants lead the fun and creative children’s program. New City Church is completely committed to serving the people of LA, so opportunities to serve and to develop new opportunities to serve the community abound. New City also offers several small groups which meet on various days throughout the week to allow members to “do life” together.

New City Church meets Sundays at 10:00 a.m. at the Los Angeles Theater Center (the New LATC), located at 514 S. Spring St., Los Angeles, CA 90013. Parking is free with validation next door at Joe’s Parking Structure, 530 Spring St. Additional information can be found at www.newcitychurchla.com.

The Alpha Retreat

The Alpha Retreat was awesome! The Holy Spirit came and filled us in a powerful way. Praise God!