Shared Service Was ‘Pentecost Moment’ for Four California Congregations

Four congregations sharing a building joined for a carol service in three languages Dec. 22 at San Jose (Calif.) Christian Reformed Church. “I would say it is a Pentecost moment,” said Mike Mat, an elder at Iglesia Cristiana Comunidad Latinoamericana, noting the service crossed many barriers. “We have all three of those crosses: generational, cultural, and language.”

The children’s choir from Mat’s church sang at the service. River Tree Fellowship, a Korean-American church that worships in English, put on a skit. Gil Suh, pastor of San Jose CRC, gave the sermon, and Yu-Ling Tan from the Mandarin-speaking Friendship Agape Church, read the Scripture. The welcome and blessing were spoken in Mandarin, Spanish, and English, and throughout the service AI software was used for simultaneous translation.

Members from all four churches joined together as a worship band, singing songs in each of the languages. “It just reminds me of how I think it's going to be in heaven,” said Arlene DeVries, a longtime member of San Jose CRC. “People of all countries, all nationalities, all coming together to pray and praise.”

It’s a moment the small San Jose CRC has been working up to.

Five years ago, the church met to discuss whether they should close, recalled DeVries, who at 91 is the church’s second-oldest member. “We said, ‘Well, let's give it another two years,’” DeVries said. “And that's when things started happening.” Suh accepted a call to San Jose CRC in 2021. In 2022 the congregation went through the six-month Crossroads discernment process from Thrive, asking, “What does it mean to renew?” Suh recognized something: while it was a small church—30 to 40 members—everyone had a history of immigration: “We are an immigrant church to begin with, like many other CRCs. So, let's continue our good legacy of welcoming,” Suh said.

First there was a trickle of newcomers—“almost like a gentle test,” remembers Pastor Suh. There was a recent divorcee, then a young Iranian man recently arrived in the States. And then came the connections with congregations.

Friendship Agape Church has a well-established relationship with San Jose CRC, worshipping in its sanctuary and meeting monthly for shared communion for 20 years. Like San Jose CRC, Friendship Agape—also Christian Reformed—is an elderly congregation.

A year ago Iglesia Cristiana Comunidad Latinoamericana, a Spanish-speaking church of young families, began to use the San Jose CRC facilities. The two congregations share a coffee hour every Sunday. River Tree Fellowship, a church of English-speaking young Koreans, came to San Jose CRC in the fall of 2024.

While all these churches pay rent, the relationship goes deeper than that. “We are truly partners,” said Suh. “It is fairly new and fresh, but I think everybody feels (that) this is God doing something here. Within each congregation, of course, but together too.”

“We're not just tenants when we pay rent. We like to feel like we're stakeholders in God's kingdom,” said Mat. He gives an example: ICCL is strong in evangelism while San Jose CRC is strong in discipleship. “That's where we can learn from each other.”

“It's not like everything is perfect,” Suh said. “But at this point, nobody's talking about closing down the church. It is very evident that God is working and we are like, ‘Whoa. It is amazing.’” It’s an unfolding story, Suh recognizes. “We are building a trusting relationship as a foundation, which is huge.”

The leaders of the four congregations will spend time in 2025 meeting to listen to the Holy Spirit together and make a plan for the year, Suh said. “We are continuing to discern what is God's plan or will for each congregation, and if there's some invitation for something to overlap.”