The theme for the 15th anniversary celebration of the San Fernando Valley Filipino church this fall was “Hope in Uncertain Times.” The morning’s message was presented by SCC President John H. Cress, anchored in the gospel of John 14:1-6, 25-29. “Today is your anniversary but it’s more than an anniversary—today is a testimony of God’s faithfulness,” Cress said. “The church was not built just with money and plans, it was built with prayer, sacrifice, and faith.”
In 1996, Ely and Suzanne Marcelo, along with their children and some friends, met in their living room in Panorama City for the first “church service” of what would later become the San Fernando Valley Filipino church. By the following year, the group had outgrown the Marcelo home. After searching for a new church home, they began renting the Congregational Church of Chatsworth (CCC).
As they began renting CCC, they knew they would need a mother church to help and support them as they grew. It was at this time that the Glendale Filipino Church (GFC) became the mother church of the San Fernando Valley Filipino congregation. In addition to GFC pastor Eddie Frasco, the group was pastored by a few other ministers in its first years, including Abelardo Laureles and Geronimo Calangan. In 1998, Reuben Rafanan was invited to help lead the congregation.
Rafanan pastors the congregation to this day. “For me and my wife, the church has been an agency that saved our sanity,” he said. “Maybe I can say the church has been part of me, and I’ve been part of the church. I don’t know how long the Lord still wants me to be here, but as long as there is a need, we will stay.”
In the spring of 2011, the group was officially organized into a Company, and a few months later, the congregation moved into their current worship home on the campus of San Fernando Valley Academy.
“As we celebrate 15 years of God’s faithfulness,” Vinh Nguyen, SCC Asian/Pacific Region director, concluded, “let us move forward with a renewed commitment to reach the lost for Christ. May every member become a missionary and every ministry bring hope to the community. In San Fernando, we have much work to do, so I pray that your church will be a bright light to this community.”