Interview with Pastor Brian Warth
What has been the reaction of the church you lead?
Fear of the unknown has really taken hold. One of our worship leaders was driving away from church and he was stopped on the way home. People from our Spanish congregation who work in food sales and catering decided not to come to church for now. The congregation next to us is a Spanish church and they cancelled their service last Sunday. Just three weeks ago we were hosting the Deaf State Rally and we had over 300 people from across the nation at our church. It was jam-packed. People were getting saved, baptized, and a week and a half later, everything was on lockdown. Police everywhere. We had to shut down a church service. Many of our sister churches in Los Angeles, Spanish congregations, are cancelling their services as well. So fear is really affecting the church. And we have to battle this spirit of fear.
What has ministry looked like this past week?
Our priority is the people in our community – their safety, their health, their spiritual health, emotional health, regardless of status and regardless of situation. We say that we're not part of the argument, we’re part of the solution. And part of the solution is being present with the people. I was there on Saturday because the conflict happened right next to our church and I got to encourage a young lady who got shot with a rubber bullet and, believe it or not, it put a smile on her face. We're not against the law. We're not against police officers. We love everybody. We're for the people. We’re for the broken. That's our priority. Where are the broken people? The hurting people? At this point in time, it’s the immigrant and the undocumented so that’s where we are. We're just trying to love people and be a support to whoever's hurting.
“We’re not part of the argument. We’re part of the solution and that means being present with the people; the people who are hurting.”
What are you praying for that others could pray along with you?
(1) Pray for our Spanish congregation, that faith will continue to rise and fear will continue to be dispelled, and for their safety.
(2) Pray for our church leadership to have wisdom on how to navigate these complex times.
(3) Pray for me as I’m having opportunities to speak to some major news agencies (BBC, LA Times) that I’d express complex thoughts and words of care with wisdom.
