Church Launches Fund-Raising Drive to Keep It on the Move

In the early 1950s, when the First Baptist Church of Van Nuys was moving to the corner of Sherman Way and Kester Avenue, worship services were held under a large white tent while the new church was being built to the side.

On Sunday, a huge white tent once again stood on church property at the corner. And though there was more fanfare this time--a searchlight outside and a catered buffet inside--the tent once again signaled change.

More than 1,500 members of the church gathered for a dinner to mark plans to move the church for the fourth time in its 73-year existence, this time to Chatsworth. From hosts and hostesses in yellow hard hats to the backhoe and scaffolds near the buffet line, the theme of the evening was inescapable. “Moving on to the High Country,” a banner over a doorway proclaimed.

“This church is kind of famous for moving,” said the Rev. Jess C. Moody, senior pastor of the 10,000-member church. “It is a hard thing to do, but this move will provide the church with the opportunity to grow.”

Moody said that next month the church will close a deal to purchase land along the Simi Valley Freeway between Winnetka and Corbin avenues. A tent for services won’t be needed this time, though. The church will stay put until 1989, when the new church and other facilities will be completed.

Moody said buying the land in Chatsworth and developing the new church is expected to cost between $12 million and $17 million. Church officials said in September that they will sell the church’s Van Nuys property to developers for about $10 million. A membership pledge program, launched Sunday, is expected to finance the balance, he said.

“We will not be building a massive cathedral,” Moody said. “We will be frugal. We want it to be functional, just as this tent we are using tonight is functional.”

Moody said the move is in keeping with the church’s history. It was founded in 1914 in Van Nuys in an off-the-tracks train coach called the Chapel Car Emmanuel. It became the First Baptist Church when it moved to a small building at Tyrone Avenue and Gilmore Street. Two moves later--35 years ago--it was at its current address.

The planned move to Chatsworth comes out of physical and spiritual needs, Moody said. The new church will accommodate more programs and an increased membership.

“There is an evangelical reason for the move,” Moody said. “The population west of the San Diego Freeway is 700,000, and you have a tremendous need in that part of the Valley for a large church.”

Moody said a majority of the congregation favors the move, although he concedes it is hard for many longtime members to accept. He said the attendance at Sunday’s dinner showed the support and pointed out that about a third of those under the tent were members from Van Nuys, the people who will find the move the most difficult.

“It is going to be hard to move,” said Rob Kaiser, a member from Van Nuys. “But the opportunities it will bring for the church I find uplifting. I support the move all the way.”

“I have a lot of attachments to this place,” said Orlo Balcon, a 30-year member of the church. “I’m a little unhappy, but I’m totally excited about the move.”