Kelyn Struiksma  |  Contributing Writer

With residents driving the streets, riding the bus, stepping on the Metro and maneuvering through the different communities, Los Angeles County is a kaleidoscope of stories, cultures and possibilities.

LA County has the largest population of any county in the nation, with 10.4 million residents over its 4,084 square miles. As population continues to increase, so are the efforts of transforming the 88 cities making up the Greater LA area.

TogetherLA was a three-day conference event exploring the true heart of LA – the people. It provided an environment to hear what churches, church planters and other ministries are doing in various communities, encouraging attendees to join the movement of transforming the metropolitan area.

The conference took place at the West Angeles Church of God in Christ from Feb. 26-28 and was sponsored by Biola University, Fuller Seminary and more than 40 other partners.

According to the official TogetherLA website, the purpose of the movement is “to connect pastors, churches, ministry leaders and people of faith to something larger” as well as answer the question, “What does it mean to really love our city?”

From Thursday through Saturday, ministry leaders presented workshops and hosted breakout sessions revealing the realities of LA. The breakout sessions were led by over 50 different speakers covering topics such as systematic injustice, immigration, church plants, homelessness, ethnic and class conflict, church health and effectiveness.

Dr. Timothy Keller, author and senior pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church located in New York City, was the featured speaker at the conference and addressed the urban, social and cultural implications of living and being actively involved in an inner city.

“I believe that God has brought people here that have a heart to do something, to have a movement started in their local area,” Rafer Owens said, deputy sheriff and senior pastor at Faith Inspirational Church in Compton. “I came here specifically to encourage people and motivate people to get busy in their own cities and in their own communities.”

Owens and Faith Inspirational Church both partner with the Compton Initiative, a 40-year-long project bringing restoration and hope to that community by painting schools and homes on Saturdays during the year.

“I try to stay focused in my little area and stay focused on my mission to make sure what I am doing is right, and if people in LA and everywhere hear about it, that’s great and if they need me, I am here and available,” Owens said. “I just got to stay focused on what God has called me to do in my little small corner.”

Owens explained how he sometimes doesn’t always make the right decisions in
balancing his roles as deputy and pastor and describes these challenging moments as when his “flesh wins out.” However, more often than not, the two positions work together to fulfill the vision he has for the city of Compton.

“They both probably are the highest level of servitude,” Owens said. “When you are serving people, you give up yourself. The sheriff department allows me to work with the community. There are some things the sheriff department can’t do, but my church can; I can. I can go in and pray; I can go in and understand; I can go in and bring comfort.”

Owens emphasized one of Jesus’ last commandments, “Go ye.” This was originally intended for apostles to go into Jerusalem, their city. However, Owens make this connection to not only himself, but encourages others to invest in the city, as it needs its people to take action and responsibility.

“The city has spent billions of dollars trying to fund programs and things that go on in cities, and we still see the cities just as messed up as ever,” Owens said. “However, when the church gets involved there is a heart, there is a compassion, there is a love and there is a commitment. When the church invests, we can truly see a difference in the cities we work in, live in, and then it will also lift the city in a great way.”

TogetherLA addresses in its mission statement that the vision does not come without hurdles, but presses to transform the communities in LA by encouraging and inspiring ministry leaders, church leaders and the Christian body to make an impact.

“The division or the failure of everyone not coming together is a big setback for me because I would love to see everyone come together under one umbrella and we all push this banner up, lifting up the city of Compton, whether you are Jew, Gentile or Muslim,” Owens said. “We can all come together, lift up a city and make it better.”

For those wanting to stand up and begin to make a difference in their communities, Owens encouraged to not let self-image get in the way.

“We all have sinned and come short of his glory, but God uses imperfect people to accomplish his mission, and nobody is perfect,” Owens said. “Don’t be hard on yourself. Ask for forgiveness, get back up and get back in the fight to keep the mission going. God wants us to win souls and we work on ourselves as we do that. …Keep moving and God will show up.”

Twenty-nine-year-old Sarah Seligman from Memphis, Tennessee, felt unsettled in her life and recently decided to move to LA. Seligman hated Memphis growing up, but in the past few years she has been challenged to learn and love the city, no matter where she is living.

“As soon as I moved back [to California], I hit the ground running and I wanted to make the city my own,” Seligman said. “Getting involved at a deeper level is my next step and that is why I came here [to TogetherLA].”

Seligman is positive during this process of discernment about what God has in store as she begins to settle down in Brentwood, California.

“It is encouraging to hear stories of things that have actually happened and that they
had a 40-year plan,” Seligman said. “It doesn’t need to be immediate. It can happen over a long period of time.”

Megan and Nigel Burmester are photographers on the outskirts of LA County and are also involved in the organization called Youth With a Mission. The two have recently felt challenged to better love their neighborhood through their photography and interactions with residents.

During their time at TogetherLA, both Megan and Nigel Burmester have been inspired by the simplicity of ministries such as the Compton Initiative and The Giving Keys.

“[Impacting people is] what I am praying for, and I think the Lord is actually just wanting … me to pay attention and keep my eyes open for something that is a simple thing that can somehow impact my community or the city of LA,” Megan Burmester said. “I feel very, very challenged and inspired. It is real simple, it doesn’t have to be complicated, but it is also strategic.”

On the other hand, Nigel Burmester is focusing his efforts on teaching people in LA to value themselves. He agrees with Greg Boyle, the founder of Homeboy Industries, who believes that most people think they are the victims of their own story, when they are actually their own heroes.

“So to try and give people that value back that they would see themselves in a different light, that’s my heart,” Burmester said.

The TogetherLA conference sought to explore the idea of “a city unbroken” with the pursuit of uniting “one city, one church, one God,” according to the website.

“The idea behind this whole project is super-awesome because in a lot of huge cities, separation happens a lot between the different denominations, races and backgrounds,” Paul Revert said, a volunteer and Texas resident. “The vision of it in such a city that is known for being almost anti-Christian in a lot of areas is super-awesome and to see everyone coming together is really great.”

The volunteer base included people throughout the country who believe in the efforts being made in LA.

“I have been inspired a lot by the people I have been talking with, because if you walk around the corner you run into someone that is doing some fantastic ministry with the homeless, endangered youths or fostered children,” said Revert.

TogetherLA has been developing over the past two years as connections and partnerships were being made between the city churches and organizations. Revert explained how efforts are being made toward organizing a TogetherChicago in the near future.

“This is definitely the first one, and I doubt it’s going to be the last one, at least in LA,” Revert said.