Members of the historic Pleasant Hill Baptist Church will observe more than 11 decades of Christian and community service during their 110th anniversary service.
According to Bishop Sylvester Washington, senior pastor, the joyous celebration will be held on Sunday, October 9, 2022, at 11:15 a.m., in the edifice located at 2009 West Martin Luther King Blvd., in Los Angeles.
“We praise God for blessing our congregation to serve Him and South Los Angeles for more than 100 years,” said Bishop Washington. “We plan a spirit-filled worship to show our gratefulness and we invite the greater L.A. community to join us for this occasion.”
Pleasant Hill was organized on Sunday, October 13, 1912 and the first service was held in a tent. From an initial membership of 10, the congregation continuously grew spiritually and numerically over the years. In the 1920s, the church purchased property at 261 N. Bonnie Brae Street and constructed a new home valued at $20,000 – a big sum in those days.
Worship and community activities were conducted at this site for the next 40 years until an earthquake heavily damaged the building in 1969. At the time, Washington had only been installed as pastor for two years and faced the tremendous task of keeping the congregation together while seeking a new house of worship. Eventually, a new edifice was built on the Bonnie Brae property and Pleasant Hill resumed holding services. In 1987, the building was sold and the congregation purchased the edifice where they still worship today.
Throughout its existence, Pleasant Hill is known around the city for working outside the church walls through activities such as food distributions, Thanksgiving meals and Christmas toy drives. Many people also take advantage of the church’s family counseling services and classes in evangelism and biblical studies.
To learn more about the anniversary celebration, call the church office at (323) 293-6448.
