History

HISTORY

Kevin Haah practiced law with a firm whose offices were located in the U.S. Bank Tower in Downtown LA. He was a downtown resident before it became a popular place to live.

Eventually, Kevin left law to pursue pastoral ministry and became an Associate Pastor at Young Nak Celebration Church. In this role, Kevin led a ministry called Love LA, an outdoor worship service in Skid Row held in the parking lot of the Union Rescue Mission that attracted about 200-300 people every Sunday.

One day, he received a telephone call from a stranger who asked him,

“What is your church doing to reach out to the new residents of downtown?”

For some reason, this question struck a chord within Kevin.

A few months later, he became burdened by the fact that Love LA had created a successful worship service in Skid Row, but one without a community where the congregants could grow more deeply with one another and fellowship.

Combining these two thoughts, God sparked a vision in Kevin’s heart of planting a multi-ethnic, multi-socioeconomic church in downtown LA, reaching out to both Skid Row residents and new “loft-dwellers” (as they were beginning to be called).

Kevin came to passionately believe that, because of the gospel’s call, the church should not be a segregated community, but an integrated one. The unity that comes from the gospel of Jesus Christ is a powerful testimony of God’s redemptive power in our society. There is a beauty in a community which reflects the vision of the coming new city in the book of Revelation, where people of all ethnicities and from all walks of life come together to worship the ‘lamb who was slain’ (Rev. 5:12).

Kevin, along with his wife, Grace, continued to pray for three years about this vision to plant a new church in downtown. The more they prayed, the more God confirmed in them the passion for planting such a church.

In late 2007, Young Nak Celebration Church (now known as New Story Church) affirmed and encouraged the Haahs’ call, and commissioned them to begin planting “New City Church of Los Angeles.”

Kevin and Grace were accepted as church planters with Stadia, a church planting organization.

Starting in November 2007, a small, multi-ethnic, multi-socioeconomic group of people started gathering to pray together on Sunday evenings for this new church plant, and God’s work in downtown LA. God grew this group to about 20 adults and 10 children in a short time.


OUR CORE TEAM ON FEBRUARY 3, 2008

In pursuit of the vision, on February 10, 2008, New City Church of Los Angeles started to hold Sunday gatherings. New City Church held a ‘soft launch’ of its Sunday worship services on Easter Sunday, March 23, 2008, at e3rd Restaurant in the Arts District.

SOFT LAUNCH AT E3RD ON MARCH 23, 2008

New City Church grew rapidly and soon moved to the Globe Theater (known then as Club 740) on August 17, 2008, a bigger, more spacious facility in the Historic Core of downtown LA.
New City’s Grand Opening/Hard Launch was on September 14, 2008, where nearly 200 people gathered to see what was going on in this new, diverse, and inclusive church community.
GRAND OPENING/HARD LAUNCH AT CLUB 740 ON SEPTEMBER 14, 2008
On December 7, 2008, not long after the official launch, New City moved to its current location: the Los Angeles Theatre Center, a multiplex live-stage theater in the heart of downtown LA.

Over the years, people from all different walks of life have either committed or recommitted their lives to Jesus Christ. Many have come to experience significant personal transformation and spiritual growth through God’s love and grace in the gospel. We are confident that God has been present and active in New City Church.

For a full version of the Story of the Planting of New City Church of LA (a chapter written for a book on church planting), click HERE.