History
Ed and Hannah Flint and their three kids moved from London, UK to plant a new church in Los Angeles in 2016. Ed was ordained in the Church of England by the Bishop of London in 2008. Since then he worked as Associate Pastor at St Mary's London, where Hannah also worked and led stuff. St Mary's has a history of planting churches. The first was in Auckland, New Zealand in 2005. Plants in Exeter and London (UK), and in Charlotte, NC and Jacksonville, FL (USA) followed. These have all come about through long-standing relationships with people on the ground in those cities. The same is true of bread. A number of friends of St Mary's live in LA. Over a period of years they had asked for a plant in their city. St Mary's also has a well-established friendship with Darren and Alex Rouanzoin who lead Garden Church in Long Beach, CA. Darren and Alex have a vision to plant and partner with new churches across Southern California.
Specialties
Love. Jesus said the greatest commandments were to love God and to love our neighbor. This seems like a good place to start. But in order to give love, we must receive it too. Receiving God's perfect love helps us all become more of who we are. No-one is outside the realms of his grace. All of us need it. We want our church to abound in love for all. Truth. Jesus said his truth sets people free. We believe in the power of the gospel, and its intellectual credibility. Our teaching must stretch the mind. Truth also means justice, particularly for the poor and marginalized. And equally, it means authenticity. We're all flawed. Being honest about it allows Jesus to change us from the inside out. Power. Jesus displayed supernatural power. He told his disciples to receive that same power through the giving of his Holy Spirit. We believe in all the gifts of the Spirit for all God's people. We believe everyone can be filled again and again. The Spirit is given to heal, transform, and empower us to radically impact the world for good. Church should also be fun. This is really important. N.B. We won't always get these right, but they're what we're aiming for.