New church in Tehachapi

A new church has started in Tehachapi – A City on a Hill Church – under the leadership of Pastor Michael Clark. It meets Sundays at 9:30 a.m. at The Slice of Life Building, 48771 W. Valley Blvd., here in Tehachapi. The Slice of Life Building is the site of the old dance studio and before that, the roller rink. But since those good old days, some marvelous things have happened to that building, and one of them is the new Church.

"We're now in our eighth week," Pastor Clark told us, "and it's wonderful to see what God is doing here. And, believe me, this is a total work of the Lord. We're waiting on Him at every step." Pastor Clark went on. "We started as an evening home Bible Study back in June last year, the home graciously provided by dear friends. We then moved it to the Tehachapi Christian Store as a Sunday afternoon study. Around December last year we began to pray about moving the study into a full church setting. We looked at several places but only one made sense to us, the one we're in now. But in December it looked like it wouldn't be available - which was just as well. For a number of reasons we just weren't ready. But by February this year we were, and as God has a way of doing, He opened up this beautifully renovated facility to us. And since then we've been privileged to see new people every Sunday."

Pastor Mike isn't new to Tehachapi. In fact, this is the second church he founded here. The first was Calvary Chapel Tehachapi which he pastored for about twelve years, a ministry that grew to a congregation of nearly 300, a radio ministry that aired on 100 stations worldwide, and a hands-on ministry that reached to Uganda, Africa. Two years ago, though, he stepped away from that ministry due to some personal issues, and since then has been waiting on the Lord to give him direction – direction he seems to have gotten.

"But this ministry isn't about me. It's never been about me. Unless the Lord is the builder, the laborers labor in vain. About 35 of us came together on February 18 as a family of believers committed to the whole of God's inerrant Word, to loving, supporting, and encouraging one another, and to being a blessing to ourselves and our community. We know God is at work here. The fact that we're here attests to that. But we've already seen Him at work in other ways. He's blessed our worship ministry so that we're able to include both contemporary and traditional music, both from exceptional Christian artists. He's also blessed our children's ministry with exceptional teachers. Of course, we're just a fledgling church, but perhaps that's a good thing. People who come here aren't just numbers, they are God's Children and we hope they'll find us a nurturing, supportive, accepting church family. We'd love people, particularly those without a church home, to check us out."

The natural question to ask next is: how do we check A City on a Hill Church out? The obvious way, of course, is to attend one of their services. But there are other ways, as well. Pastor Mike's bible study messages, as well as his sermons, thirty-seven so far, can be heard at cityonahillpodcast.podbean.com. Also, they have recently inaugurated a YouTube Channel (Tehachapi A City on a Hill Church) that has both short topical messages, six to ten minutes long, as well as full sermons. You can also email questions or concerns to [email protected] and they will reply as soon as possible.

"We want people to come as they are, just like Jesus met people two-thousand-years ago, and know they are loved. We want them to meet Jesus here and hear His whole word. Here we go through scripture book by book, verse by verse, and allow the Spirit to touch us through His word. As a missionary church plant from Calvary Chapel Visalia, we are affiliated with the Calvary Chapel movement and our statement of faith is in concert with that. To state it simply, we are His people; committed to Him; waiting on Him; working for Him."