A Sample Sermon

MP3 Bilingual Sermon: Fulfilled in Your Hearing

Mimosa Nguyen, Pastor An Thai's daughter, provided Vietnamese translation for Pastor Carl Nelson's sermon at Immanuel First's 50th Anniversary Celebration Service on November 14, 2004. The sermon highlights the church's faithfulness to Christ and His Gospel over the first 50 years and teaches about Christ's fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy concerning Himself.

Listen to the MP3 sermon

An Invitation to Worship

Fellowship Background

The Many Faces of West Covina

The demographics of West Covina and the San Gabriel Valley have changed dramatically since the 1980's, as a growing number of Asian-American and Asian immigrant families move eastward from the city of Los Angeles to this area to raise their families and grow their businesses. Today, Chinese residents are the majority ethnic group in the historically Caucasian and Hispanic communities of Hacienda Heights, Rowland Heights and Walnut, as well as in the cities of Diamond Bar, San Gabriel and Arcadia.

West Covina's 111,400 residents are among the most ethnically diverse of any comparably sized city, as evidenced in its neighborhoods, businesses and civic events.

• The city's south side is the epicenter of Southern California's Filipino community, complete with cultural events, the arts and the Little Manila shopping district at the corner of Azusa Avenue and Amar Road. West Covina was among the first American locations for Jollibee, the Phillipines' largest fast-food chain, and its sister company Red Ribbon Bakery.
• A growing Japanese-American business community serves the downtown area and South Hills Plaza on Azusa Avenue and Aroma Drive, anchored by the Marukai supermarket. The San Gabriel Valley Japanese American Cultural Center on Puente Avenue hosts an annual Cherry Blossom Festival at the West Covina Civic Center every spring.
• Hong Kong Plaza at Glendora and Vine Avenues is the hub of the city's Chinese business community.
• Local churches and houses of worship conduct services in several Asian languages: Chinese, Japanese, Indonesian, Korean, Tagalog, Thai, and Vietnamese.
• The city's African-American community co-hosts an annual Martin Luther King Jr. celebration every January at The Lakes Entertainment Center.
• All of the above join the Caucasian, Korean, Vietnamese and Latino communities in making West Covina a true snapshot of the nation's ethnic and cultural diversity.

The City as a Mission Field

As the area has changed and diversified, Immanuel First took a bold step in sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ by establishing a mission to the growing Vietnamese community of the San Gabriel Valley. Since its inception in the fall of 2000, Immanuel's Vietnamese Church has grown into a thriving congregation of fifty members, teaching English as a Second Language classes, holding special bilingual services with the main congregation, and becoming a recognized Christian organization in Southern California's Vietnamese community.

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