Members of Southlands enjoy coffee in the foyer of the church. | Katie Juranek/THE CHIMES
As the third and final part of the local church series, one last church will be brought into focus: Southlands Church.
Reaching out to the Brea community
Located a little less than 20 minutes away in Brea, Southlands Church has two different weekly Sunday services, one at 9 a.m and the other at 11 a.m. The services, called gatherings, take place in a commercial building off Imperial Highway.
“Southlands Church is a diverse community of friends who gather in Brea, California because of the gospel. Our community is committed to serving individuals, businesses, and organizations within the Brea community with our time, resources, and prayers. Southlands Church trains and equips leaders to plant new churches around the world,” according to Southlands.net.
Southlands Church has planted 12 churches in the last 14 years. This fulfills one of their main missions: to serve the community through local churches. Southlands also partners with Genesis Collective, a leadership initiative program that focuses on raising up gospel-centered leaders. They partner with Exploration as well, which offers the chance for pastors and church planters in Los Angeles to get together and meet.
The inside of the church has a small counter with coffee and baked goods and information booth leading up to the main room where the services take place. Soft, colored lighting adds to the atmosphere as the chairs surround the stage which is decorated to resemble a living room of sorts, with a couch in the middle, mirrors against the back wall and miniature white chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. This is not the permanent stage setup as the decorations change with every series.
Drawing in Biola students
Biola freshman Lindsey Burke has been trying out various churches since the beginning of the school year.
“Southlands has really been the only one that has drawn me to return. I absolutely love the pastor, he is not showy at all, and you can tell he is just very genuine and authentic. I love that it is a family church — people of all ages go there and I like how there are college students but they’re not the majority,” Burke said.
In an effort to foster community among the church members, Southlands has life groups in which people can meet weekly to further discuss the Sunday sermons and to help each other grow in Christ.
Sophomore intercultural studies major Emily Hebling has been attending Southlands Church since the second semester of her freshman year.
“I really enjoy the worship style at Southlands. Not only is the music really good, but the leadership makes room for the Spirit to move during worship. You’ll see as many people sitting quietly in their seat as you will standing in the back dancing before the Lord,” Hebling said.
Utilizing the web
Along with their regular Sunday services, Southlands Church has audio and video sermons from past weeks available on the church’s website. The lead pastor, Alan Frow, has a blog you can subscribe to titled, “Roots and Wings,” where he talks about life in general as well as different Scriptures and ways he notices God moving through the church and community.
As this local churches series comes to a close, students have seen glimpses of potential church homes and can now continue the search for the one that best suits them.
