California Celebration 2021: Three Churches. Two Days. One Mission.
Q. Why would 200 people from 3 different California Sovereign Grace Churches pack their bags, load up their cars, and travel 2 hours into the mountains of the San Bernardino National Forest to spend the weekend together?
A. To attend our California Celebration! The purpose of this gathering was to worship and seek the Lord together, to build unity, and to be renewed in our vision, purpose, and calling as churches living in Southern California.
Three Churches.
Sovereign Grace Church of Orange (Eric Turbedsky), Cross of Grace Santa Ana (Kyle Houlton), and Sovereign Grace Church of Pasadena (Ron Boomsma) held a weekend church retreat in October at the Tahquitz Pines Conference Center in Idyllwild, CA. Our churches are located in three disparate cities in Southern California. We have many differences between us in terms of age, style, demographics, and church culture, but we have this in common: we each possess a commitment to God’s Word, to Sovereign Grace Churches’ shared values, a desire to see the gospel preached and more churches planted in California!
Two Days.
We spent two days together cheering teammates on as we competed for the California Churches trophy; talking as we strolled from our cabins to the sessions; lingering over meals with new friends; and taking lots of pictures of this soul-reviving and spirit-renewing experience of fellowship with like-minded brothers and sisters from other churches. And, most importantly, we were refreshed in worship and in God’s word together and because we know that we were meant to relate like this: in person, face to face, authentically, and biblically with others.
One Mission: Spreading the Joy of Jesus to every Californian.
Our California pastors (plus a guest speaker, Derek Overstreet from Tucson) taught from the book of Jonah to challenge, inspire and equip us in this mission.
Session Audios:
Great Mercy - Jonah 1 (Eric)
Deep Work - Jonah 2 (Ron)
The Church in the City - Jonah 3 (Kyle)
God’s Heart - Jonah 4 (Derek)
The teachings were rich, challenging, and convicting and we left the retreat with these highlights:
Understanding and marveling in God’s great mercy to us and to others
Remembering our purpose in living here - in Southern California
Recognizing our mission and calling while living in our own “Nineveh”
Being challenged and convicted in our attitudes toward the people in our neighborhoods, cities, and state. Are they enemies to hate and flee from or are they unbelievers to love and share God’s mercy with?
Is our heart toward people like Jonah’s or Jesus’?
“There’s always a boat in the dock at Tarshish for those who are looking to flee” (but it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s God’s will).
Re-orienting our hearts and minds to reflect biblical priorities and God’s heart
Praying to grow in our love for California and the mission God has given us to reach people in our cities with the gospel.
Returning to our cities and neighborhoods with renewed faith
So, was it worth it to set aside this weekend and spend it in Idyllwild with the 3 Californian churches? The answer is a resounding yes! This was time well spent in the beautiful San Jacinto mountains, in the middle of a pine forest retreat setting - away from our normal, pressure-packed lives- in order to hear what God is saying to us.
We didn’t just spend time together this weekend, we invested it as we built new friendships, reconnected with old friends, forged alliances between churches, grew in love and unity with one another, and created shared memories. We left the retreat renewed by God’s Spirit and the Word and infused with faith for our mission: to share the joy of Jesus with every Californian.