BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) – Bakersfield Apostolic Assembly Church, located on the east side of Bakersfield, feels blessed to have reached 100 years of faith and community.
“I think that says a lot about God’s faithfulness,” Pastor Abel Duarte said. “The church is his and he established it, and it’s been a hundred years.”
The church has not always been in its current location on Mt. Vernon Avenue in Bakersfield. The original church building was damaged in an earthquake in 1952. Afterwards they spent years in a location at King and Butte streets.
The current church building was completed in 1968 and was remodeled in the 1970s to accommodate its growing congregation. While the church began as a Spanish-only church, it has since expanded to include more members of the community.
“We thank the Lord for faithful people, but we thank the Lord for God’s faithfulness in always providing people, resources, gifts and callings to support the work,” Duarte said.
In the years since the founding of the church, it has become much more than just a place of worship. According to Duarte, the church offers a number of different fellowship groups for men, women and children of all ages. Duarte says the church hopes these groups will serve to encourage the community.
“He is a light in dark times. We live in a time where there is a lot of oppression, there is a lot of loneliness,” Duarte said. “The church offers a message of hope in salvation through Jesus Christ, and it is a shining light. It is a very bright light, and we pray that this light will go from here into people’s hearts and all over the world.
Bakersfield Apostolic Assembly Church will hold special services beginning Friday, October 7, and will close its 100-year celebration with a banquet on Sunday evening.
