On September 16th, 1976, fifty-three people gathered in the cafeteria of the Carnelian School for the first public meeting of the newly formed Brethren In Christ Church of Alta Loma. Pastor Ralph Wenger ministered that day to a joyful congregation which was the result of careful church planning and planting. Before this date there had been months of meetings in home Bible Studies, and even before that, the work had actually begun as a vision of the Pacific Conference of Brethren In Christ churches and Bishop Don Shafer.

In 1975 Bishop Shafer had been enrolled in a D.Min course at Fuller Seminary taught by church growth specialist, Peter Wagner. Also sitting in on this class were church developer Aaron Stern and church planter John Wimber. Bishop Shafer began to sense that the Lord wanted the Pacific Conference to plant ten churches in ten years in the Southern California area, and he began to meet on a monthly basis with the Sterns, Wimber, and Glen and Joyce Ginder. They would spend entire days together in prayer and planning, receiving demographics lessons from Wimber. They decided that the first of these churches would begin in Alta Loma.

One of Stern’s responsibilities was to inspire members of existing churches to do what was necessary to start new congregations in Southern California. The Church Growth Committee asked two couples to help them start a new work. They were Gordon and Eunice Engle and Charles and Katherine Engle. Once the work began, other families from Upland and other BIC churches answered the call to assist. These pioneers began blanketing Alta Loma with phone calls, asking them vital survey questions and informing them that a new church was beginning in the area. Stern, who had been inspired to become a church developer through the lectures of Peter Wagner and Donald McGavern, went door to door in housing developments and apartment complexes in search of people interested in becoming a part of the new church and its weekly Bible Studies.

Gordon Engle, who was nearing retirement from his teaching career, became the teacher of these home Bible classes. In the early weeks, the location of the Bible Study would vary from week to week. Aaron Stern would make a contact with somebody willing to host the group and then inform Gordon. The study attracted new participants every week, including many who had not yet become Christians. After a while the group settled into the home of Bruce and Linda Merritt as a regular meeting place for the Bible studies. The group grew in number and in spirit until they were ready to begin to meet as an official church. Other families joined the Bible studies. Among these early charter members were Will and Pat Klier , Ed and Fran Young, and Dick and Shirley Dahl.

The conference called Ralph and Joan Wenger to be the first pastoral couple. Pastor Wenger had already demonstrated great ability in church building in his two former pastorates. He had actually begun the church he left in Hagerstown, Maryland. While he was pastor there it had grown to more than 250 average attendance.

While the church was meeting in the Carnelian School several key families were added, including Doug and Marilyn Martin, Jim and Sue Keith, Roy and Karen Clark, Dr. Virginia Kauffman, and George and Betty Van Tubergen.

In December of that first year the brave little congregation bought a five acre parcel of land on 19th street and began to make plans for their own church building. The church was very active in trying to reach out to the community and attract new members to join their fellowship. Door to door visitations continued and flyers describing the ministry of the church were handed out. The initial phone surveys had produced over 150 names of people who were interested in finding out more about the church, and each of these people were visited by a member of the church.

Their lease with Carnelian School only assured them access to the facility on Sunday mornings, but they paid extra to rent the facility certain Saturday and Sunday nights in order to show Billy Graham films and have musical groups perform. Despite the fact that the cafeteria would sometimes smell of the spaghetti from the school soccer team or some other organization that had used the facility before them, these outreaches were very successful. The church attendance continued to grow until they had an average of about 90 each Sunday morning. They were crowded at the school, and had to be very creative. They even used Gordon and Eunice Engle’s RV for a nursery, and conducted baptisms in members’ back yards! They sang with the help of guitarists. Doug Martin was their Music Minister.

God really blessed the young church. Right from the first Sunday, Pastor Wenger had told the congregation that it was important for them to give sacrificially to the ministry of their church and the congregation trusted the Lord to meet their needs. God was faithful in hearing the prayers of the young congregation, and through His provision, they were able to break away from financial reliance on the Pacific Conference and pay their own bills by February of 1977, only six months after the church had begun.

Ministry to children was considered important from the beginning, and in the summer of 1978 the church hosted its first Vacation Bible School on the new property. Later that year they sold the property, bought the seven acres adjacent to it, and had a net profit from the transactions of $92,000! At a special dinner function at Oliver’s Restaurant in Fontana, the small congregation pledged enough to build their first building. At this point they hired an architect and began the process that led to ground breaking on the multi-purpose building in April 1979. The plans combined the dreams of many different members of the congregation. They included a fireplace to help keep the close "homey" feeling they enjoyed together. There was an amphitheater (where the new sanctuary is now), and they even included plans to minister to a "drive-in" segment of the congregation. The south wall is all windows, and an elevated platform was placed in the corner. A.V. Howell came from Kansas to donate his services as a general contractor. Lester Martin also devoted much time and expertise to the project.

A pre-school was envisioned by the people to be both a ministry and a financial help. Individual members of the congregation did much of the work on the building. Pastor Wenger fell from the roof while helping. He suffered a broken arm, but just kept on preaching. The building was finally ready by March of 1980. The church moved in and the preschool immediately began operation as "Little People and Company," under the direction of Kathy Steele. The school started with a group of 38 children and has since grown to a group of about 250. During the next three years the church grew to an average attendance of over 200. Martha Martin, school bookkeeper made sure everything stayed within the budget. Wayne Bignell became a part of the pastoral staff during this time.

Pastor Wenger was asked to become Bishop of the Pacific Conference. Soon afterward he suffered a heart attack and underwent open heart surgery. The Lord gave him a rapid recovery so he could assume his new position. Gordon Engle filled in as interim pastor of the church. Negotiations were under way for a new pastor, and Bob and Barbara Hempy were then chosen to be the new pastoral couple, beginning their ministry in Alta Loma in 1984. They had served with distinction at the Upland Brethren In Christ Church for the previous nine years. Under his excellent ministry the church continued to grow, at one point being recognized as the fastest growing church in the denomination. Gordon and Eunice Engle assumed the role of Associate Pastoral couple. Pastor Gordon specialized in the administrative tasks for the church and school.

Attendance continued to climb, breaking a monthly average of 400 in March of 1989. Adjusting the additional needs and demands on the pastoral staff, a second Associate Pastor was added. Dave and Barbara Holmquist came from a Wesleyan church in El Cajon. Youth Minister Dan Clang also began his work with the Jr. High and High School youth during this period of expansion. Sean Smith was later called to continue the youth ministry.

Funds were raised to complete the entire education building without accumulating any additional debt. This building provides six functional classrooms for the use of the church and school. The school continued to grow, adding lower elementary grades. The school director at this time was Kathy Rogers. She was followed by Joan Stone, and more recently, by Kay Radenz, (now Kay Monteith). The AWANA program, which is now such a vital part of our church family’s life, was begun in the spring of 1987.

Faith Chapel, a small church pastored by Jim Thomas merged with the congregation about this time. Some of these same people eventually formed a church plant nearby which is still meeting in a small historical church building. It is known as the Etiwanda Brethren In Christ Church. Pastor Thomas and his wife Cathy are still the pastoral couple there. Among the members of this group which stayed to build Alta Loma Brethren In Christ, are the Dave Queen family and the Ron Thomas family.

Attention was turned to the much-needed sanctuary. Under the dedicated direction of John Kershaw, Les Taylor, and the other members of the building committee, a beautiful, functional sanctuary building was planned and finally built. The contractor for the project was Matlock & Associates. It seats more than 500 worshippers and provides office space, nursery, toddlers room, mother’s room, and several multi-use classrooms. The building was dedicated in October, 1990. The facility was lovingly equipped by the sacrificial gifts, large and small, of the congregation. It was dedicated in October, 1990, and it stands today as a testimony to the goodness and faithfulness of the Lord, and to the faith of His congregation here.

Rick Givens became Minister of Music in October of 1990. He and his wife Joan provided the church with musical leadership and direction for the next two and one half years.

In May of 1991 Pastor Hempy felt called to the Manor Church in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Dave Holmquist served as interim pastor and the church did an admirable job of maintaining its testimony while they went through the process of choosing a new Pastor.

In September, 1991 Ron and Barbara Graff were installed as the new pastoral couple. Mark Hallen and his wife Marla were called to minister to our youth in March of 1992. The school continued to be blessed by the Lord. It was decided to add grades 4 through 6 to complete the elementary curriculum. The Elementary portion of the school was named Alta Loma Christian School.

Gordon and Eunice Engle retired on December 31, 1992. The church spent approximately one year searching for a new Associate Pastor. Mike and Becky Duncan were installed in early 1993 and helped to build the young families of the church for about a year and a half. The church offered many evangelistic events, including concerts by contemporary artists. Two of the church’s favorites from the concert series were Jon Gibson and Crystal Lewis. Support was given to area-wide evangelistic events such as the annual Harvest Crusade in Anaheim and two "Somebody Loves You" crusades in the newly built Quakes Stadium.

Clark Howell started a Worship Team in March of 1993, and Arlene Fortney began the choir that we all appreciate so much today. A balanced music program and an emphasis on worship has contributed much to the growth of the church in recent years. A bank building was donated by Pomona First Federal to the growing school. It was moved from 19th and Carnelian to its present location just north of the educational building, and was dedicated in September, 1993.

Larry Mitchell led our youth for a few months in 1994. Dave Morgan became Youth Pastor during the summer of 1994 and served in that capacity for two years.

Strong spiritual currents began to affect our congregation in 1994. There was a renewed interest in prayer, both in public events, such as the National Day of Prayer, and in the gradual growth of faithful weekly prayer groups. Growth Groups, which had long been an important facet of our church’s corporate life was emphasized more. Ron Thomas, who had become part of the church’s pastoral staff, helped with the formation of a number of new groups. Annual meetings of Promise Keepers became an important part of our men’s ministries.

A large modular building was installed in September of 1994. The church had its first Family camp at the end of that month. This has become an annual event. A monthly gathering of "Newcomers" and a number of "Old-timers" was instituted at the Graff’s home. Pastor Ron wrote the booklet "Hearth and Home" as a Christmas gift to each family at the end of 1994. In it, the church is portrayed as a growing spiritual family, providing for the needs of its people, and reaching out to help its neighbors.

In May, 1995 the church took another step of faith by developing a plan for spiritual growth and financial responsibility. The concept was called "Growing Families/ Growing Faith." During a special banquet at Harvey Mudd College, Ed Rickman, from the General Conference of Brethren In Christ Churches challenged the congregation to keep moving forward in faith. Recently Ray Bailey, who had been pastoral intern during his last two years of seminary training, has provided leadership for the teens and an adult team of youth leaders. Frank Nolton was also asked to become part of the pastoral team, serving in the area of evangelism. The Lord has continued to send a steady flow of interested visitors and many qualified teachers and musicians to serve Him here. Attendance has continued to grow. Approximately 150 people are currently serving the Lord in various ways through the ministries of the church at this time. Many are giving their hearts to the Lord and entering the Family of God. To God be the Glory!