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07255 April 30, 2007
Out of the depths
California church brings life and hope to a community on the edge
by Emily Enders Odom
Mission Initiative: Joining Hearts and Hands communications coordinator
PORT HUENEME, CA - When Ronnie Urzua answered the call to become organizing pastor for the Word of Life Presbyterian Church here, he knew well what the challenges would be.
The new church, which was chartered by the Presbytery of Santa Barbara in February 2006, first began holding services at First Presbyterian Church, Oxnard, CA, in November 2000. In 2005, the congregation relocated to Port Hueneme, where it shares space with Westminster Presbyterian Church.
Word of Life draws it membership from the cities of Oxnard and Port Hueneme, areas that are largely Hispanic in population and are characterized by extreme poverty and gang culture. In these embattled communities, situated in the midst of the overall affluence of Ventura County, Urzua effectively embodies the "Word of Life" to at-risk youth and their families.
"We exist to reach out to young, unchurched families," Urzua said. "Our passion is for young people who have given up on the church. The biggest paycheck we receive is seeing young people come to love Jesus Christ."
Urzua, a commissioned lay pastor in the Presbyterian Church (USA), has worked intentionality to offer a dynamic and interactive worship experience, to which young people have been especially responsive. Consequently, the membership of Word of Life is comprised primarily of new Christians between the ages of twenty-three and forty-five, who have never been formally involved in a church before.
One of those young people, Cesar Perfecto, emerged from the depths of the gang culture to make his profession of faith at Word of Life. Mentored by Urzua and newly ordained as an elder, Perfecto is planning to enroll part-time at Fuller Theological Seminary while helping to lead this young congregation.
"We see a lot of hurt and suffering and death in our community," Perfecto said. "People coming to our church want to see what Christ has for them. I experienced myself how people in the church were willing to step in and love me, which spoke volumes to me about the love of God."
Urzua believes that God gave Perfecto the vision to go to college and then to seminary. "I think everyone who comes to us at Word of Life is a work in progress," Urzua said. "God takes us in all of our brokenness, molds us, and continues to love us in spite of our imperfections. That's what Word of Life celebrates."
Word of Life is one of the designated projects of the Presbytery of Santa Barbara's Joining Hearts & Hands campaign, which is raising $3.5 million for new church development, redevelopment, and congregational transformation, as well as the addition of a new international mission co-worker abroad.
The presbytery's campaign was launched in partnership with the national Joining Hearts & Hands campaign, created by the 2002 General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to raise $40 million over five years for new overseas mission personnel and for church development in this country, particularly racial ethnic and immigrant congregations.
"Joining Hearts & Hands is a godsend," said Urzua. "I'm thankful for the presbytery's involvement."
The presbytery leadership is grateful, too, for the witness and for the broader vision that Word of Life has enabled.
"This new congregation is becoming a place of new life and hope for the entire community," said the Rev. Ken Working, executive presbyter of Santa Barbara Presbytery, and the Rev. John Chandler, the presbytery's church development consultant, in a joint statement.
"It has become a model for new church development for this presbytery."
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