Pastor Israel Solomon dreamed of planting a church with a simple goal—to be a space of Home, Healing and Hope through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He and a 28-person launch team were committed to seeing this dream become a reality. The Harbor Church’s grand opening was on January 5, 2020. That Sunday more than 250 people attended the first service at 54th Street Elementary School in Los Angeles, CA.
In 2006, a group of second-generation Ethiopian-American high school graduates faced language and age barriers in a first-generation Ethiopian Church. An English-speaking Youth & Young Adult Pastor was hired, which led to the creation of the Paradigm ministry. Over the years, Paradigm expanded, as the youth grew into young adults. The first-generation Ethiopian recognized Paradigm’s potential as a church and supported its development.
After 12 years of Paradigm being an incredible Youth and Young Adult ministry, its Pastor stepped down and raised up Pastor Israel to transition the group into a self-sufficient church representative of our South Central neighborhood. We are now called Harbor Church LA and are connected with the Evangelical Covenant Church, a multi-ethnic tribe of churches that has supported and assisted us our establishment.
