Baptist Church celebrates 25th anniversary
Agape Community Baptist Church will celebrate its 25th anniversary with a special worship service at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday, Jan. 30 at the Poway Community Park Auditorium, 13094 Civic Center Drive. Pastor Ralph Garay, who has been pastor of this predominantly Filipino-American congregation for the past 10 years, will lead the service. Special guests will include Pastor Pedro Aguino, the founding pastor; gospel-rap artist Albert Ignacio; and recording artist Joey Casora on the saxophone.
Agape Community Church is a Southern Baptist church that was started in 1976 by two Filipino-American families at First Baptist Church in Mira Mesa. In 1980, the church incorporated.
Pastor Garay became the congregation’s pastor in 1995, and the growing church began holding its Sunday morning worship services in Rancho Penasquitos. The group met at New Hope Church for a time, and they also met at Los Penasquitos Elementary School. In 2003, the congregation of about 130 members moved into facilities at 12639 Poway Road.
According to Pastor Garay, the church has not only grown in membership and size of facility, but has also grown in the scope of its vision. Garay said, “God has opened our eyes to His call to go beyond our Filipino-American focus and fulfill the great commission across cultural, ethnic and racial boundaries.”
As the congregation begins the next quarter century, their new theme is “Jesus Christ for every person from every nation in every generation.”
In light of their expanded vision, the congregation invites the community to join them in the music and fun of this special anniversary celebration. To learn more about the church, call (858) 518-7101 or send an e-mail to Ralphgaray@aol.com.
New Hope Church in Rancho Penasquitos will host the next Regional Praise Gathering from 6 to 8 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 30 at 10330 Carmel Mountain Road. More than 700 Christian believers and at least a dozen pastors from all over the community attended the last Regional Praise Gathering in October at Rancho Bernardo Community Presbyterian Church. The North City Inland Pastors Prayer Group sponsors these gatherings. They are open to believers and pastors at all local Christian churches.
At the October gathering, the group included everyone from young children to senior citizens, and after two hours of singing praises to God, many were so reluctant to leave that the pastors invited them to stay longer if they liked. It was nearly 30 minutes later when the worship team brought the evening to a close, and the members from different churches left the sanctuary hugging each other and saying “see you next time.”
Newcomers are always welcome. For details on the praise gatherings and the pastors prayer group, go to www.NorthCityPrayer.org.
Dr. Robert Bakke, president of the Global Day of Prayer, will hold a strategic meeting with San Diego pastors and prayer leaders at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 29 at Carlsbad Christian Assembly, 825 Carlsbad Village Blvd. Bakke invites San Diego pastors to come and learn more about the details of this historical global prayer event that will be held on Pentecost Sunday, May 15. The Global Day of Prayer is expected to bring more than 200 million Christians in 240 countries together in prayer via satellite and Internet broadcasts. Bakke is also the founder of the Nationally Broadcast Concert of Prayer, a satellite broadcast that links Christians together in prayer each year on the National Day of Prayer, the first Thursday in May. For details on these events, go to www.globaldayofprayer.com and www.concertofprayer.org.
Hope United Methodist Church is offering a grief support group at 11 a.m. on Tuesdays starting Feb. 1 at 16550 Bernardo Heights Parkway. This gathering is designed to be a place where people can express their feelings, receive support and work through the process of grieving. The program will last six to eight weeks. For details, call Pastor Donna at (858) 485-5840.
Prime Time, a group of senior adults at Rancho Bernardo Community Presbyterian Church, invites other seniors in the community to its next meeting from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 3 at the church, 17010 Pomerado Road. The program begins with coffee and fellowship, followed by entertainment at 11 a.m. and a luncheon at noon. The RB Swingtet, a light jazz combo, will play a variety of music including Benny Goodman’s big band swing, show tunes by Irving Berlin and pop tunes by Bert Bacharach. Tickets for the chicken fettuccini luncheon are $6.50 per person. For reservations, call (858) 487-0811.
In celebration of Jewish Music Month in February, The J.R. Singers, an ensemble of talented students and associates of Jean Renslow, will perform at the next Bat Harim Hadassah meeting at 7 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 7 in Poway. Four singers and one musician will present a program of show tunes and ethnic selections. This program is open to members and guests. For details about the meeting or membership, contact dvorahadassah@aol.com. For more information on Hadassah, go to www.hadassah.org.
If you’ve been grieving the loss of a spouse, child, family member or friend, and need help in coping with feelings and putting your life back together, The Church at Rancho Bernardo invites you to attend its 14-session Griefshare program from 7 to 8:30 p.m. on Tuesdays starting Feb. 8 at the church, 11740 Bernardo Plaza Court. To register, send an e-mail to lroads@san.rr.com or call (858) 538-6139 or (858) 592-2434.
Poway Women’s Aglow presents “What Happens When Women Pray” at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 12 at the Creekside Plaza Community Meeting Room, 13495 Poway Road. This workshop on prayer will offer participants basic scriptural instruction in the principles and power of effective prayer. Tickets are $3 at the door and include a light breakfast.
The Lutheran Church of the Incarnation women’s ministry has donated $500 to Lutheran World Relief’s “Project Comfort” to carry out its programs in devastated areas of the world. An engraved brick commemorating this gift will be placed in the Good Samaritan Quilt Plaza at Lutheran World Relief’s headquarters in Baltimore. The money was donated in memory of women who had been longtime members of the church or active members of the Piecemaker’s quilting ministry.
E-mail items of interest to eminton@nethere.com or fax to (858) 748-7695.