God’s Story
God created everything out of nothing, and He created us for a purpose: that we would
love and honor Him. He created us to enjoy Him and govern His creation, but this
didn’t last long. Our relationship with God was ruptured due to humanity’s
unfaithfulness. The result was being cursed by God and alienated from Him.
There’s nothing we can do to restore this broken relationship – the rift between God and
us is too vast. Our sin has alienated us, and we just can’t do enough good to bridge that
rift. The hole is too deep, and we’re prone to keep digging anyways. Fortunately,
reconciliation with God isn’t dependent upon us. Our sin is deserving of punishment and
banishment from God’s presence, but Jesus came and paid our debt by dying on the
cross in our place. Through His sacrifice we can be restored and have a relationship
with God. The image at the end of the Bible is that we will feast with Him!
What’s beautiful about this story is that it isn’t just about going to heaven someday,
though it is that. It’s also the fact that Jesus rose from the dead and lives today.
Because He lives we can have a relationship with Him, a friendship. When we do that,
He changes us so we look more and more like Him, which means we’ll be committed to
serving Him by blessing His creation and loving and serving others with our lives.
How we got here
We’re new… and old. We’re new to Los Alamitos and Rossmoor, but The Branch Church
is actually the first of a network of churches springing out of Cypress Church. Cypress Church started in 1978 when a
handful of people gathered in a living room to study the Bible and worship together. It
grew to be a wonderful church that really loves God and people in a tangible way, including
serving the community of Cypress. We thought it was time to share the love with neighboring
communities.
Several church members live, work, or play in the Los Alamitos and Rossmoor
communities. It was a natural fit for our first branch to be in Los Alamitos where we can
be present in the community just like Cypress Church has been in Cypress.
From the original team of two families of five, a launch team was built in the autumn
of 2013 to begin the formation of a community that would honor God, bless families, and
serve the community. We’ve continued to grow and now there are 60-70 worshiping
together on Sunday mornings and in Life Groups throughout the week. We’d love for
you to be part of our story!
Who we are
First and foremost, Jesus says He is the vine and we are the branches (John 15:5). We
get our life and sustenance from Him. God created us to have a fulfilling life, but this
only happens when we have a thriving relationship with Him. We are committed to
creating a community of people who are vitally connected to Jesus, thriving in Him –
connected like branches to a vine.
There’s also a very practical reason for the name. We are creating a networked church,
like a series of branches connected by Jesus. We are one church with multiple
campuses. Cypress Church is the first branch, and now God is creating a second
branch in the network – The Branch Church. We may have different names, but we’re
one church; different branches of the same vine.
It is our prayer that this branch is the place where you can find the thriving life in Jesus
that He desires for you as you connect to God’s Story.