Mission Programs

Matthew 25

At our November 2021 Presbytery meeting the Presbytery of San Gabriel voted to become a Matthew 25 Presbytery. We join with other PC(U.S.A.) groups, churches, and mid councils to focus on three areas of work: building congregational vitality, dismantling structural racism, and eradicating systemic poverty.

  • What is a Matthew 25 church?
    Matthew 25:31–46 calls all of us to actively engage in the world around us, so our faith comes  alive and we wake up to new possibilities. Convicted by this passage, both the 222nd and 223rd General Assemblies (2016 and 2018) exhorted the PC(USA) to act boldly and compassionately to serve people who are hungry, oppressed, imprisoned or poor.
  • How the vision unites all Presbyterians
    By accepting the Matthew 25 invitation, you can help our denomination become a more relevant presence in the world. We recognize Christ’s urgent call to be a church of action, where God’s love, justice and mercy shine forth and are contagious. And we rejoice how our re-energized faith can unite all Presbyterians for a common and holy purpose: our common identity to do mission.
  • A Introduction to Matthew 25
    Watch the video
    Sign up to become a Matthew 25 church
    Sign up to become a Matthew 25 group
    Share your stories

 

1001 New Worshiping Communities

Igniting a movement of new worshiping communities. Website

  • A movement in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to begin 1001 New Worshiping Communities.
  • Using new and varied forms of church for our diverse and changing culture.
  • Forming new disciples of Jesus, transforming our denomination, and impacting our world.

About 1001


1001 new worshiping communities is a movement happening in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Across the PC(USA), God is raising up leaders in churches and presbyteries who are creating new worshiping communities. They are taking on new and varied forms of church for our changing culture. Primarily they are seeking to make and form new disciples of Jesus Christ, to change and transform the world.

In June 2012, the 220th General Assembly declared a commitment to a churchwide movement that results in the creation of 1,001 worshiping communities over the next 10 years. At a grassroots level, hundreds of diverse new worshiping communities have already formed across the nation. The Presbyterian Mission Agency is coming alongside to fan the flames of this movement, to inspire and equip the wider church to participate in the creation of 1,001 new worshiping communities in the next 10 years.

House of Rest

The House of Rest in Pasadena is for housing missionaries of the foreign and national boards of the Presbyterian Church (USA). The House of Rest is a two- story building with seven apartments.

Visit Website

Immigration

Immigration is not an issue only in cities and towns near the United States’ northern and southern borders. The Presbytery is often contacted by churches for advice and referrals to resources to help address immigration problems at the local level. Our office assists Presbyterians in discerning how to respond to the challenges of an unjust immigration policy at the local level.

This concern with immigration lays at the heart of who Presbyterians are as a people of faith. We believe in a God who migrated to the human condition in the person Jesus and we adhere to the Judeo-Christian tradition of providing hospitality and doing justice.

Further, the Constitution of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has several provisions that address specific needs of immigrant fellowships/congregations.

To view a short summary of these provisions of the Book of Order and provisions that relate to how we join God in God’s mission in the world in community, please click here.

In addition, the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has adopted statements and positions on issues related to immigration law and policy. This policy can be viewed at the links below.

220th General Assembly Policy on Immigration.

La Casa de San Gabriel Community Center

 

La Casa enhances the well-being of the families it serves by providing educational and social services that promote self-sufficiency and motivation for lifelong learning.

La Casa de San Gabriel Community Center was founded in 1946 by the Reverend César Lizárraga and his wife Angelita. It was during their call as pastors of the Presbyterian Church on East Mission Road in 1943, that the Lizárraga’s realized the community lacked programs to address the educational and social needs of its low income residents.

Today La Casa continues to serve as a family resource center as our founders had envisioned. They continue to help economically disadvantaged children and families in their efforts to overcome the barriers of limited education, underemployment, language, inadequate housing and lack of medical care. Their history is deep, their core is strong, their mission is simple and with the continued support of their community they will continue to make a difference each day, each year, each generation.

 

Living Waters for the World (Peru)

San Gabriel Presbytery partners with LWW to provide water purification systems and health education to partners in Peru. Living Waters for the World (LWW) is a global ministry that provides clean water using simple, sustainable water purification systems and fosters long-term, mutually beneficial relationships between volunteers and communities in need. They train, equip, and support volunteers in forming clean-water mission partnerships. These mission partnerships empower international communities to change their lives through clean water.

Learn more about LWW by visiting their website.

Mission Agency

The Presbyterian Mission Agency is the mission and ministry agency of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

For over 200 years, Presbyterians have been responding to the call of Jesus Christ, taking the gospel into all the world and bearing witness to Christ’s saving love to the ends of the earth. Today the Holy Spirit is still on the move, calling us to share in what God is doing in the world.

As your partner in Christ’s service, the Presbyterian Mission Agency is faithfully working to inspire, equip and connect the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) in its many expressions to serve Christ in the world through new and existing communities of faith, hope, love and witness.

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Pomona Hope

“Bringing Hope and Transformation to Pomona”

Pomona Hope is a community-driven, faith-based non-profit whose local partnerships and holistic programs cultivate meaningful relationships and empower people of all backgrounds, particularly at-risk youth and their families, to work together toward personal and community transformation.

Pomona Hope began as a conversation. One evening a group of Pomona residents gathered to discuss the many deep problems and staggering challenges facing the city. People shared about the broad issues facing Pomona such as the widespread poverty, the decades of gang violence and drug abuse, and the palpable sense of despair that seems to loom over the city. Others shared more personally about friends and neighbors whose lives they have seen scarred by drug abuse, teen pregnancy, and gang involvement. Eventually, the conversation turned to the question that all such conversations should ultimately turn to: “What are we going to do about it?”

Pomona Hope is our answer to that question. Our current programs are only the beginning. We believe that by bringing people together, we are beginning a process through which even more ambitious projects may grow. Our desire is that Pomona Hope will be a place where the people of Pomona can dream of a brighter future together.