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The history of the church in Cypress began in the summer of 1976, after the construction of the church in Anaheim’s meeting hall. Many believers had moved to the Anaheim area during that time to be under the ministry of Brother Witness Lee. The Lord’s desire to preach the gospel on the college campuses was picked up by many of the believers in Southern California, and many students and families moved to university communities such as Fullerton, Irvine, Cypress, and Long Beach. Some of these believers began meeting in Cypress initially in their homes, but by October 1976, they were also meeting on the campus of Cypress Junior College. At that time, they still held their weekly Lord’s table meetings (1Corinthians 10:21) together with the church in Anaheim.
In May of 1977, the believers began to meet as the church in Cypress. For the first few years, the church meetings were held in public buildings such as the Mercury Savings Bank and the Chamber of Commerce building. In late 1981, the church purchased a 1/2-acre parcel of land adjacent to the property the church now occupies with the hope of building a meeting hall. However, this property had an irregular shape, and after further fellowship it was decided not to develop it. It was sold in 1986, and the proceeds were used to buy an office building in Buena Park in 1987. This facility was remodeled to meet the needs of the church in Cypress as well as the predominantly Chinese-speaking church in Buena Park.
By 1995, that property no longer met the needs of the two churches. By the Lord’s sovereignty, a building which the church had been praying for the Lord to release became available in Cypress. That property belonged to the Brethren Assembly and had been used for their meetings for a number of years. At the same time, the church in Garden Grove, which consisted mostly of Korean-speaking believers, was also looking for a new meeting hall. After much fellowship and prayer, it was decided that these two localities would jointly purchase the property and began to meet as the church in Cypress. Hallelujah for His arrangement!
In November of 1999, the Lord added a number of Chinese-speaking believers to the church. At the present time, there are about fifty adult English-speakers, 150 Korean-speakers, and 30 Chinese-speakers. The church continues to grow, with the Lord adding new members mainly from the college campus. We are looking to the Lord to expand our meeting area in the near future, very likely building an additional, larger meeting hall to accommodate the various needs of the church - including blending conferences, district meetings, and adequate facilities for our children and young people. Praise Him for His recovery and His present day move. We stand in one accord with all the churches on the earth.
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