By Mark Hopper

Recently I received an invitation to attend the opening service of a new church starting in Redlands, California. It is called Portrait Church and will be meeting at an event venue in the downtown area.

What makes this church special is the fact it will be a grandchild of the Evangelical Free Church in Diamond Bar where I served for 30 years. Many years ago, a small Bible study began in the home of Greg and Carol Crawford in a new community called Eastvale. This group began meeting in January 2003. We sensed this was a unique opportunity to launch a new church. Two members of the Diamond Bar staff stepped up to lead this effort. Additional people from Diamond Bar joined with the Eastvale Bible study to launch a new church in 2007. They called the church Vantage Point.

The first weekly services began in February 2008, with 200 people attending. Over the next decade Vantage Point met in the local Middle School and High School. The church grew along with the community. Eventually they were able to purchase 10 acres of land and construct a building on Archibald Road near the Santa Ana River in Eastvale.

The church now has over 2,000 people attending Sunday services. They are supporting missionaries around the world and serving their local community too. They have helped start several more churches.

Now in 2023, people from the Vantage Point Church in Eastvale are launching the new Portrait Church in Redlands. In other words, the Evangelical Free Church of Diamond Bar is having a grandchild. The small beginning twenty years ago has resulted in many lives being impacted and many people becoming followers of Jesus. And now Redlands will have a new church too.

I will never forget the day one of my daughters called to tell us she was going to have a baby. My wife and I were going to be grandparents. It was amazing. I was in awe when I heard the good news. I felt that same sense of awe when I heard our church was going to have a grandbaby too. The Book of Acts records the history of the early church. Many new churches were started by the Apostles across the Roman Empire. These new churches started more churches. It was a chain reaction which continues around the world today. Let me encourage you to help plant a new church in a community near you.

You can read more encouraging stories by Mark Hopper in his books “Let Me Encourage You More” and Let Me Encourage You Again” or by visiting his website: Letmarkenccourageyou.com