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EL CAJON, Calif. — After decades of spreading the gospel by sending missionaries overseas, Shadow Mountain Community Church is looking a little closer to home—about four miles from home.
That’s where you will find the International Ministry Center, a converted movie theater with facilities to reach out to Filipinos, Brazilians, Hispanics, Arabs and other people groups, including the Karens, (pronounced kuh-RENS), mostly farmers in southern Myanmar.
For a large established church that is intentional in its programming and outreaches, this one fell like manna from the sky.
“It’s a phenomenal opportunity,” said Dr. Gary Coombs, the missions pastor at Shadow Mountain. “It’s in a prime location. God dropped it in our lap. We may have been a little slow in getting the picture.”
The center is located in the former Krikorian movie theater on Magnolia Avenue two blocks north of the city’s revitalizing downtown. It’s the same site that prompted a lawsuit when city officials tried to keep Foothills Christian Fellowship from relocating there. Although Foothills won the case, they opted to stay at their current location and another Christian church took over the facility, calling it the Ministry Arts Center. Shadow Mountain acquired the property late last year after it was donated to the church by the owners of Hobby Lobby, a Midwest crafts and home décor chain.
Although not known to most West Coasters, the Hobby Lobby name and its owner, David Green, are household names in the South where they close their stores on Sundays and use biblical principles to operate the company. Even with being shuttered on Sundays, the company has grown to 395 stores in 32 states with projected sales of $1.8 billion dollars this year.
In addition to his firm stand on Sunday closings, Green has donated millions of dollars to Christian ministries. Coombs said the property, which includes eight theaters and 15 classrooms, amounted to an unsolicited $11.5 million gift.
“(Green) has a heart for the Lord and the spreading of God’s Word and it fits the things he likes to do,” Coombs said.
Clear path
While awed by the surprise gift, it didn’t take Shadow Mountain officials long to figure out what the Lord had in store for the property.
“A lot of refugees are coming in who are largely being ignored,” Coombs said.
The Karens, he said, are a perfect example with some 21,000 refugees being relocated into the United States with many settling in City Heights. About 100 have moved into El Cajon. When they first arrive in the United States, many are looking for basic housing supplies and seeking friends.
“The vision became clear that we need to use [(the facility)] to focus on international ministries,” Coombs said.
To help them resettle the church has provided clothing, blankets and midweek English classes. Despite the language barrier 30 to 40 are attending Sunday morning worship services.
Half of the theaters are already leased to other churches and the remaining four are being used by a variety of people, including a Filipino congregation of 30, which moved from First Baptist Church of Lemon Grove. It has since grown to 80 people and they have had 12 baptisms.
Since opening, the center has established a Brazilian congregation that serves up to 50 people. An Arabic group, which was launched 18 months ago at Shadow Mountain, has also moved into the center and also draws up to 50 people. Although not an official congregation, an Iranian Bible study is also using the facility.
“My goal is to see those theaters used more than one time on Sundays,” he said.
On Friday nights, the center is used for youth outreach, targeting the adjacent neighborhoods served by El Cajon Valley High School. “We need to have a support (system) for the different groups of youth located around the center,” he said.
Once a month the Spanish congregation based at Shadow Mountain is using the facility for Spanish-language films.
“It really is affecting us in a very positive way. Just three Sundays ago we had a baptismal service where we baptized nine Filipinos, three Hispanics, two Brazilians, one Arab as well as seven middle-schoolers,” he said. “It was a very exciting time. We are just touching the surface on this. There is so much in front of us. They are right on our doorstep. It’s a prime time to reach them.”
Volunteer opportunities
The community is not the only beneficiary to the new center, said Coombs, the president of Southern California Seminary. The proximity of the center to Shadow Mountain gives members an opportunity to do missions work on their own turf. Last year, Coombs said, a group of students from San Diego Christian College traveled to Thailand to do work along the border of Myanmar. Many of those they ministered to were Karens.
“They were thousands of miles away working with the Karens, not knowing that the Lord was going to drop 100 of them in El Cajon inAugust and September,” he said.
Coombs, already with a full plate, said he is grateful for the added workload.
“My passion here is for all the churches,” he said. “We need to focus on groups among us that are largely unreached. They don’t normally wander into our doors, but they are there.
“There is an opportunity there that you may never get again. By and large, evangelicals are missing them. We’d better open the door.”
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