Our History

To bring a Christian witness to the community, three tents were set up at the corner of Perlita Avenue and Tyburn streets on March 4, 1923.  This is where the very first worship services were held by the Atwater Park Baptist Church.

The church was blessed with a building which was dedicated on October 14, 1923.  The church continued to embody God’s love in proclaiming the Gospel, meeting the multicultural and multigenerational needs of the congregation and the community and providing an atmosphere of worship, study, fellowship and prayer.  In 1924, Atwater Park Baptist Church joined the American Baptist Churches of Los Angeles, Southwest and Hawaii (then known as the Los Angeles Baptist City Mission), one of the regions of the American Baptist Churches, USA. Atwater Park Baptist Church added rooms and a building to house its present sanctuary which were dedicated on March 12, 1950.

In September 1968, the Atwater Park Center for the Developmentally Disabled was established on the church premises.  In the summer of 1981, Headstart began to use the church’ classrooms for their program designed to serve children in the community.  In July, 1984 came the Senior Nutrition Program aimed at providing balanced midday meals to seniors in the community. These community service programs utilize the church building and are non-profit organizations funded by private and public sources. 

Atwater Park Baptist Church is grateful to God for the long history of faithfulness of members and leaders of the past who have dedicated their lives to the preservation and expansion of Christian witness.  Its present members and leaders are seeking to follow God’s leadership toward relevant ministry.