Ten years ago, Peter Tan-Gatue became pastor at Praise Community Church in Covina, California. Back then, the congregation looked mighty different than it does today as it had been a monoethnic church for more than four decades.
“We’re in Southern California, so the population is pretty diverse,” he says. “It’s not healthy to serve one particular group when the neighborhood is super diverse.”
The pandemic ultimately helped reshuffle the deck, so to speak, because people stopped attending churches while their doors were closed. When churches reopened, it was an open slate for welcoming newcomers.
“I thought it was quite a good thing God was doing,” says Tan-Gatue. “Not that I’d wish COVID-19 on anyone, but sometimes opportunities can come from not-so-great things.”
The new integrated ministry is a result of the church team feeling called to take it upon themselves to invite people—all the people—into a committed community.
“We figured we might as well go for it since most of our folks weren’t coming [after COVID-19] anyway,” says Tan-Gatue.
The church became healthier not because their numbers increased but because the mix of people who attended changed, which created beautiful diversity.
“Those who came were looking for fellowship, community, relationship or a spiritual experience,” says Tan-Gatue, who notes that they get a lot of walk-ins and homeless folks.
Change can be uncomfortable, and some previous members struggled at first.
“Some didn’t like the idea of inviting new people in,” says Tan-Gatue. “But a big part of the work is changing the mission from meeting whatever felt needs are for one group, and instead focusing on the gospel. The felt needs were so great that sometimes it can overshadow the actual spiritual human that everyone has, which is Christ.”
Change happened, he feels, because God used church leaders.
“It can be tricky because you have to straddle that line between taking care of your members and pushing for change, which may be beyond their comfort zone,” says Tan-Gatue, who notes that the church is really thriving and in a much healthier position now because “the point is the main point.”
That commitment is shown not only in the people Praise Community now serves but also in how they nurture the worship experience as well as how they plan events. This doesn’t mean that everyone agrees.
“They were comfortable the way things were, so this is discomfort for some, but to my surprise, even the people who are not comfortable are very friendly and welcoming,” says Tan-Gatue. “A common complaint about churches, in general, is that they are friendly to their own people but not to outsiders. That is not the case at Praise Community.”
On its website the church offers a list of community resources such as care and counseling services, food pantries and homeless shelters. Praise Community also has outreach ministries to the local community in the San Gabriel Valley and throughout Southern California, as well as to the global community, citing Acts 1:8: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Tan-Gatue believes he was called to Praise Community for a reason, and so he always stays focused on that reason. “You have to stick with the mission that God has laid before us, and that includes being open to whomever God is sending in our direction. I just concentrate on who we are as children of God and highlight our commonalities instead of our differences. The differences in cultures come out anyway, which is great. We celebrate that, too.”
Recently, a woman visited Praise Community Church and commented how wonderful it was that the Scriptures were presented in four languages (Thai, Chinese, Spanish and English).
“She said it was the most amazing thing and that she’d never seen a church do that,” says Tan-Gatue. “I told her that it’s a signal that all are welcome.”