Neighborhood News
Pastors Brent Eldridge and Jeff Zabel accept new ministry positions at their home church
Both Brent and Jeff grew up at the First Baptist Church of Lakewood in Long Beach, CA. They both went through the children’s and youth ministry. They both “cut their teeth” in ministry as interns at Lakewood 15 years ago. Brent’s father was the Pastor of Worship for almost 20 years through the 1970’s and 1980’s. Jeff’s father currently serves as the Pastor of Community Life at Lakewood. Both of them have many friends and ministry partners that are still involved in that area, ministering to the greater Long Beach area and beyond.First Baptist Lakewood just celebrated (in November of 2007) their 60th anniversary of ministry. The physical site of Lakewood is very similar to that of Neighborhood – big buildings that boast of amazing ministry through the years. After a church split in 1990, Lakewood went from being a “powerhouse” ministry in Long Beach (about 3000 attending) to a ministry that has struggled to find its pace again. Currently, there are about 400-500 people that attend Lakewood.
The church had Brent and Jeff come back for their anniversary Sunday in November, having Jeff lead worship and Brent preach the Word. It was there that God galvanized a desire that has been on both of their hearts for many years to consider returning and being a part of leading in the next season of Lakewood’s ministry. After much prayer and careful consideration of the amazing potential and opportunity to help lead their home church, Brent and Jeff have accepted the positions of Lead Pastor and Worship and Arts Pastor (respectively) and will begin their new ministry posts July 1, 2008.
Main Sanctuary, First Baptist Church of Lakewood.
[Brent] “Lakewood has meant so much to my family through the years. Growing up there, I have so many amazing memories at that place. Accepting Jesus into my life, being baptized, starting off in ministry under my mentors/youth pastors, Dave Friese and Alan Hamilton, my wife and I were married there, and on and on it goes. It was always a church with a lot of impact. When I was younger, my dad led worship every week while overseeing 18 choirs and orchestras that ministered at Lakewood. In fact, I almost took a position at Lakewood in 2001 instead of coming here to Neighborhood. I’ve been so thankful to the Lord that He turned my heart towards the Bay Area back then, as He’s given both Jeff and I a picture of health that we have longed to see at our own home church.”
[Jeff] “I agree with that. It’s so clear to me that God has not only allowed me the privilege to have led an amazing music and arts team at Neighborhood for the past four years but has actually prepared me to now breathe into and build up the music and arts ministry at Lakewood. It’s a nostalgic trip remembering as a kid being led in worship by Brent’s dad, Bruce, and the strength of the music program back then. And now, by God’s grace, I hope to see the music and arts program and more importantly this wonderful church turn around and I’m excited to see what God will accomplish. I’m also genuinely excited to see what God has in store for Neighborhood. Change can be difficult but it can also be a catalyst for new growth.”
[Brent] “Jeff and I have spoken a number of times about what it would look like to take full tanks of ministry back to Lakewood. As Jeff said, we often find ourselves enjoying the impact of the ministries in which we serve, yet longing for that same impact to be felt in and among our hometown crowd at Lakewood. After searching out God’s wills for both of our families lives, Jeff and I decided to enter into a formal candidating process with Lakewood. The results were a 98% ‘yes’ vote at a recent congregational meeting.
It’s been hard for both of us to think about leaving Neighborhood as so many important and valuable relationships have been forged here. Also, the ministry that God has allowed us to serve in has been overwhelmingly amazing. With all that in mind, it has been anything but an ‘easy’ call. But, in the end, we are both very excited about what the future holds for our families and the families of Lakewood, as well as those yet to give their hearts to Christ and start attending Lakewood.”
[Jeff] “There seems to be a groundswell of excitement that is surging to have two ‘sons of Lakewood’ come home to serve in key leadership positions. Our families, friends, and a committed faithful remnant are poised and ready to charge into a new season of ministry and we are humbled to see God’s hand in all of this.”
Both Jeff and Brent are excited to take on their new posts of ministry. They have been very grateful to have shared the last several years of ministry with their teams and everyone who calls Neighborhood Church “home”. It is with a sense of exhilaration and humility that they follow the Lord’s leading back down to Southern California and look forward to many great years of ministry together (along with the other staff and attenders at Lakewood). Please continue to pray for Jeff and Brent, and their families, as they endeavor into this next amazing season of ministry that is now before them!
Welcome to the new 3crosses.org
In addition to the great new look, the new site is packed full of great info that'll help you keep plugging in with Neighborhood.- Keep an eye on our new calendar for events
- Check out our new blogs for quality reading material
- Look at the gorgeous photo galleries from our Music & Arts productions
- And lots more, too!
Fantastic photos, now online!
Have you seen our awesome photo galleries yet? There are already over 200 photos posted, and we're adding more every day. From our music & arts productions to student events, they're all pretty exciting.
Lots and lots of these great photos were taken by the incomparable Cathy Breslow - awesome job, Cathy!
Check out the photo galleries now!
Listen up: podcasts at Neighborhood
Did you know we're podcasting at Neighborhood? That's right - now you can fill up your iPod with encouraging audio like:- Teaching from both the sunday morning and 6:13 services
- Day by Day, the radio-format podcast
- Discussion and teaching from Omega, our high school ministry
Isn't that cool? Yeah, we think so too. So warm up your download fingers and check out Neighborhood Podcasts!
Neighborhood blogs - all in one convenient place
Sure, you know the Neighborhood News - but do you know about the other blogs at Neighborhood?Starting now all our bloggers are in one place, gathered together on our blogs page at http://www.3crosses.org/blogs. How cool is that? Start by reading a post by Pastor Brent Eldridge from Grounded magazine, and find yourself catching up on our global mission trips with in the Missions Flashbacks.
Bookstore Reopens!
The dust has settled and the Neighborhood Church Bookstore has re-opened after an extreme makeover.Located in the west lobby on the lower level, the bookstore was renovated with new floors, paint, bookcases, and lighting, along with a fresh and fun color palette and accessories.
The bookstore is open Sundays from 8 AM to 1:15 PM (before, in between, and after Sunday morning services) and features a hand-picked selection of Bibles, books, and small gifts, as well as children’s books and DVD’s. The bookstore also accepts special orders, if you provide the title and author.
Don’t miss a new feature: "Pastors' Pix," a special selection of books handpicked by Neighborhood Church pastors. You can also pick up boxed greeting cards, gift books, and browse the sale table for bargains. Take a look at the Neighborhood Church cookbook; you’ll enjoy looking for familiar names and faces and browsing through vintage recipes.
The bookstore was started by Mr. Meltzer when Neighborhood Church was located in East Oakland. Over the years, the bookstore staff has included Mr. Peterson, Clair Thone, Mrs. Cash, Jeannette Collard, Diane Sutton, and Vivian Bartholomaei. Currently, Norma Beams, Nancy Vanerwegon, and Lucille Bauman work the store, with Brenda Monk assisting behind the scenes.
When the bookstore first opened, decades ago, it sold only Bibles, and the staff’s passion for putting Bibles into people’s hands remains. “We’re always so excited when we sell a Bible,” said Lucille Bauman. “When we sell a Bible on Sunday, we’ve had a good day!”
Note: The bookstore staff would love suggestions. What items would you like to see in the bookstore? If you have ideas, e-mail them to susyflory@3crosses.org and I’ll pass them along.
Theatre Organ Goes to a New Home
The Theatre Pipe Organ, an important and beloved part of Neighborhood Church history, is moving to a new home.The instrument, a Robert Morton Theatre Organ, was built in 1928 by the Robert Morton company in Van Nuys, California. The original owner, the California Theatre in Pittsburgh, sold it to Neighborhood Church in 1949 when the church was located at 84th and MacArthur in Oakland. In 1968, the organ was moved into the current church building on John Drive in Castro Valley.
The organ was usually played by Pastor David Von Rotz for Sunday services, as well as for special events such as afternoon Hymn Sings. Playing the organ took considerable expertise, requiring both hands and both feet to operate properly. Below are some recordings of Pastor Van Rotz playing the organ:
- Oh What It Seemed To Be (Mp3)
- Softly As A Summer Sunrise (Mp3)
- Some Enchanted Evening (Mp3)
- Someday (Mp3)
The Robert-Morton Theatre organs were well suited both sonically and visually for the spacious movie palaces, and were designed to take the place of the orchestra when installed in a movie theatre during the heyday of silent films. Many of these organs were built to provide the greatest possible variety of timbres with the fewest possible pipes, and often had pianos and other percussion instruments built in, as well as a variety of sound effects such as sirens, whistles, and bells.
Our Theatre Organ has been purchased by a world-renowned collector, who plans to rebuild and restore it to its original condition. This process will take about two years. Eventually, he plans to move it into a historical recreation of a silent movie theatre, where many others will enjoy its majestic sound. We'll keep you updated as plans develop.
Note: If you have a personal story about the theatre organ that you'd like to share, please contact susyflory@3crosses.org , or call the church office at 510-537-4690. If you'd like to read more about theatre organs, a good source is Wikipedia.org.
Neighborhood News
The latest news from Neighborhood Church of Castro Valley.