Calvary Bible Church

1101 S Main St, Burbank, CA 91506
(Main and Spazier)
(818) 556-4840
www.calvarybiblechurch.org

This is the church! I first attended this church in February and went to this church with my family for the best part of 5 months before I had to leave California, and boy, was it unlike any other church I'd been to before. The preaching was fearsome, but so good and so true. The main teaching pastor, Jack Hughes, has been teaching through the book of Luke, and he's been doing it for 5 years or so already and he's only up to chapter 14 or something. This is really really juicy expositional preaching that you can really get your teeth into (see the website for sermon downloads). The church is also very active and the people are all very friendly and wholesome. This is what a Christian church should be like! They even practice Christian church discipline, as you read it in the Bible. Simply amazing.

On a slightly negative note, it did take a little while to get to know people. I happened to talk and pray with the man sitting next to me one Sunday, and he introduced me to his family and then a couple of the pastors, and that was my real integration into the church. If I hadn't made that move then perhaps no-one would have spoken to us. I also started going to the Men's Breakfast, which is an excellent ministry with some really relevant and personal teaching and encouragement.

I highly recommend this church. It won't be to everyone's tastes. The worship isn't that rocking or up-to-date, and there aren't fancy lights or Powerpoint displays. The preaching is hard-hitting. But I have to say again, this is what a Christian church should be like.

Emmanuel Evangelical Church

438 E Harvard Rd, Burbank, CA 91501
(Harvard and Fifth)
(818) 843-0900
www.emmanuelburbank.org

Valley Baptist Church

2201 W Alameda Ave, Burbank, CA 91502
(Alameda and Lincoln)
(818) 845-7871
www.vbcburbank.org

First Presbyterian Church of Burbank

521 E Olive St, Burbank, CA 91501
(Olive and Fifth)
(818) 842-5103
www.firstpresburbank.org

Faith Church of the Nazarene

505 S Sixth St, Burbank, CA 91501
(Sixth and Santa Anita)
(818) 848-5000
www.burbankfaith.com

Village Church Burbank

3216 W Victory Blvd, Burbank, CA 91505
(Victory and California)
(818) 843-4883
www.villagechurchburbank.org

First Christian Church of Burbank

221 S Sixth St, Burbank, CA 91501
(Sixth and Angeleno)
(818) 845-7459
www.burbankchristian.org

The 11 am service at First Christian Church of Burbank is "a more informal worship experience" according to their website, and indeed, it was positively amateur! It seemed as though the leaders of the service were "playing church". There was little sense of holiness about the proceedings - the announcements seemed to be ad-libbed, the sermon was read verbatim from sheets of paper, and communion was rushed through with little propriety.

Having said that, everyone was very nice. The congregation was mostly young: teens, 20s and 30s. There were perhaps 30-40 people there. The church itself was a good size, and had a comfortable feeling about it. We were welcomed by the leavers of the previous (9.30 am) service, who fed and watered us, and talked to us at length.

The regular Pastor was ill on the day we visited, and the sermon was given by a seminary student, Brian, who is also the Youth Minister. It was a very short sermon, with little depth or examination of the text for the service. It was interspersed with poetry. It came across as though it might have been his first sermon, which if it is the case, is not a bad start... otherwise it needed some work.

All-in-all, a friendly church, but when we visited it, very wishy-washy in content of the service. I don't think we'll be going back!

Chevy Chase Baptist Church revisited

See the entry BELOW.

We revisited this church because another church we'd chosen to visit had cancelled its service.

There were more people here than at the last visit, although a lot of familiar faces. Both Lane and Kerry were both present. Kerry preached, and sang very nicely, whilst Lane lead the service. Both these guys remembered our names which was very impressive!

Of the 40-50 people there this time, there were more young people. A few teenagers sat at the back, and there were a couple of young families. Everyone was again very friendly, and the service was good, if informal. This church always seems to be helping the community in some way, even though there are very few attendees... a very few must be doing a lot of work in this church.

United Community Church

333 E Colorado St, Glendale, CA 91205
(Colorado and Louise)
(818) 240-4380
** no website **

This church is located on the corner of Colorado and Louise. Parking is available in front of the church building, and there seems to be plenty of space. We arrived for the service at 10.45 am (they also have a Bible study at 2.30 pm) and there were perhaps a dozen cars in the parking lot.

This church's building is very impressive. From the outside it's an almost Mediterranean-looking affair - a circular building with a terrace around it. Inside you come out into a mini stadium, with four entrances and stadium seating. It's very impressive - worth the visit in itself.

We were warmly greeted by a couple of people who realised that we must be visiting, and then increasing numbers of people came up to us to wish us a good morning. Pastor Jack came up, too, and also welcomed us by name over the microphone during the service.

The service itself was carried out from the pit in the centre of the auditorium. The music was mostly hymns, and the worship "band" seemed stuck in the 70's, with their tambourines and leather-jacketed leader. It fit in well with the decor inside. The pastor made very clear his views on church government (the sermon was about the service of deacons), and also that he was not a Minister: he was a pastor, and we all were ministers in our own right. It was a decent sermon. It had a very conservative feel - Pastor Jack almost got himself into a mess on the subject of female deacons (deaconesses) but managed to leave everyone in enough confusion as to escape any condemnation for narrow-minded views.

There were around 50+ people at the service, mostly older people. There were a couple of high-school aged girls, and a few younger children who left mid-way through the service. Everyone was very friendly throughout, and when we left we were urged to come back.

Eagle Rock Baptist Church

1499 Colorado Blvd, Eagle Rock, CA 90041
(Colorado and Loleta)
(323) 255-4611
www.eaglerockbaptist.com

Eagle Rock Baptist is a little way outside Glendale - about a 10 minute drive from the Galleria - obviously, in Eagle Rock. It occupies the corner of Colorado and Loleta, and there's a big old turquoise sign on the building, and a large mural past that, if you miss it. The parking lot(s) are on Loleta, and there's parking on the street too.

This church seems to be a modern church, with lots of young people (and hence the style of dress is very casual). This was the biggest church we'd been to so far. The sanctuary could have held about 300 at a squeeze, and it was around two-thirds full when we attended. We weren't greeted when we entered, and no-one came up to us at all to ask us if we were new to the church. I guess this is a curse of a larger church - not everyone knows one another, and so visitors may get overlooked.

The service at 11 am was relaxed, but structured. Worship time was kept to three or four songs, there were minimal announcements, and the sermon wasn't overly long. It felt like very little time had passed at all when we left! The sermon itself was interesting and well delivered by Pastor Rick. The topic was a secular story (a real life event), but it had Christian implications, and Bible verses were interwoven throughout. The majority of the congregation were young families - lots of high-schoolers. There were a few grey heads here and there.

When we arrived there were light refreshments provided - donuts and drinks, and afterwards a coffee bar was opened up with a selection of free Starbucks-like drinks: iced coffee, flavoured coffee, lattes, etc... A great idea, but there was no-one in the coffee bar to chat with or (again) to ask if we were new to the church.

This church has a more formal service than the one we attended at 8.15 am on a Sunday, and a Saturday evening service which is similarly contemporary.