COMMUNITY CHURCH
About Us
Our
Story
In 1908, Mr. E.F. "Grandpa" Lancaster started a little Sunday School in his home near Sunland Park. The Sunday School struggled and along and the end of the first year their records showed the average weekly attendance to be 25 and average weekly collection was .56 cents. About this time the community built a new school house, and Mr. Lancaster gained permission to hold their meetings there. The attendance gradually increased and soon there was talk of forming a church. From that humble beginning the faith and labor of many Christians resulted in the First Baptist Church of Sunland, presently known as New Hope Community Church.
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The congregation that grew out of that small Sunday School struggled for many years to find their footing while slowly building their leadership team, employing different Pastors, and finding places to meet. In 1925 three lots on Eldora Street were given to the church. Two of these lots were given by Mr. E. F. Lancaster and one by Dr. G. M. Hammond. During this season, the new sanctuary became a reality.
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Years passed and as the congregation grew the original sanctuary of First Baptist Church of Sunland was becoming inadequate. We had multiple expansions, including purchasing property on Oro Vista Ave. The education building still stands and is now known as Lane Hall. It was also transformed by adding multiple rooms and converted into a meeting hall and classrooms that have been enjoyed by multiple Christian schools throughout the years. In 1950 we broke ground on our current sanctuary and God has been blessing this place continuously with dedicated followers of Jesus.
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Through Mr. Lancaster's vision and the good works and leadership of previous pastors, we celebrate them and acknowledge their contributions to the growth of our faith community and remember the milestones that made New Hope what it is today.
Our
Community
Through the years, First Baptist Church of Sunland embodied and eventually changed our name to New Hope Community Church. The presence of this church family in Sunland-Tujunga has been great and expansive, with participation in community parades, neighborhood breakfasts, food drives, blood drives, homeless outreach and more. We feel privileged to have the opportunity to share our worship space with a hispanic church, Centro Cristiano Renovacion and often welcome a local foursquare church, Firepoint. We are proud to be a part of the Verdugo Hills Ministerial Association, a local community of Christian churches that exists to serve and seek the welfare of the Foothills, promoting faith, hope, love and unity, and hosting an annual Easter Sunrise Service on top of Mount McGroarty at the Cross of San Ysidro.
We have a rich history with the youth of this community, with local teachers volunteering as our Sunday School teachers in years past, and currently being one of the only churches in the area with a flourishing youth group and Bible studies in our local schools.
A pinnacle season for New Hope Church's history with Sunland-Tujunga's children was when we hosted and partnered with Small World Christian Preschool serving families with young children for 40 years from 1982 to 2023.
Like true Angelinos, New Hope has also been a center for the arts in our community. We held a partnership with the local Foothill Performing Arts Council for several years, as well as with Verdugo Hills High and Mt Gleason Middle schools for a summer youth arts camp. More recently, our children's ministry produced a Good Friday play, "Risen," and our Tapestry Worship Band began "Peace Fest," an annual blues and praise musical performance. We've also enjoyed opening our doors to film crews to support Los Angeles county's largest industry, entertainment.
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Our community has seen many families start and grow, with countless baptisms, dedications, and weddings. With some of our members going from playing in the nursery to years later serving on our Shepherd board. We are currently welcoming an average of 60 people for our Sunday Service and host 10 small groups for ongoing study and fellowship. We partner with a local food pantry, a national grief support program, a women's recovery home, and multiple missions oriented organizations. We are blessed with a faithful team of Christ followers building up our congregation and God's Kingdom.
Our
Neighborhood
Location
Sunland-Tujunga is a Los Angeles city neighborhood within the Crescenta Valley, nestled in the Verdugo Mountains. With an entrance to the Angeles National Forest on the northside of town, we are blessed with the comforts of urban life amidst the natural glory of God's creation. Sunland-Tujunga was originally developed as an agricultural community and was once home to the Tongva Native Americans. Today, this neighborhood’s rustic atmosphere is still widely felt and celebrated. The word ‘Tujunga’, in fact, means “the old woman” in the native Tongva language, referring to the idea of a nurturing Mother Nature. This neighborhood has an eclectic history, known simultaneously for its clean air, utopian communities, and local artists and poet laureates.
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Sunland-Tujunga is home to both Mount Lukens, the highest elevation point in Los Angeles, and to the Tujunga Wash, the largest natural floodplain in Southern California. The Big Tujunga Canyon offers several beautiful hikes and views of nature. Sunland-Tujunga’s location near the Angeles National Forest also provides countless opportunities for outdoor recreation.
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Climate
Sunland-Tujunga has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate, with an average winter low temperature of 45°F and average summer high temperature of 87°F. The average annual precipitation is 13 inches, with no snowfall.
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Demographics
Sunland-Tujunga holds a wide range of socioeconomic and ethnic diversity.
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Business and Education
34% of adult residents have some college or associate's degree
19% have a Bachelor's degree
10% have a Master's degree or higher
1,579 residents are entrepreneurs
There are more than 600 small businesses in the Sunland neighborhood
White-collar workers make up 82.6% of the working population, while blue-collar employees account for 17.4%.
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Population
Total Population of Northeast LA/Sunland, Sun Valley, Shadow Hills & Tujunga area: 134,017
Median age: 39.9
In Sunland:
Total Households 7,383
Average people per household 3
Households with children 1,829
Median Household Income $103,823
65% Caucasian, 38% of which are Armenian
22% Hispanic
7% Asian
2% Black