August 5, 2004

Almaden Neighborhood Church observes golden anniversary
New pastor considers name change, seeks growth

By Sheila Sanchez
Staff Writer

The Almaden Neighborhood Church will be celebrating its 50th anniversary this fall with its small and quaint worship style, which has come to differentiate it from what its pastor calls the mega churches in the valley.

Pastor John W. Lane is preparing a small religious observance the morning of Sunday Oct. 17 at the church, to commemorate its humble beginnings in the now-closed Los Alamitos dance hall, now an abandoned building at the corner of McKean and Harry roads.

Church members met at the dance hall for a few years until the Fernandez family donated the three acres of land at the intersection of McKean and Old Almaden roads that now bloom with multi-colored petunias, lobelias and lilies and where the church campus is located.

What began as a small group of about 10 worshippers has grown today to about 70 members from different ethnic backgrounds who are mostly in their late 30s to early 40s. When Pastor Lane was called to lead the Almaden Neighborhood Church in February of 2003, only 16 members attended Sunday services regularly.

“It sounds like small numbers, but percentage-wise it’s off the charts,” said the 56-year-old pastor, of his growth. “It seems like every Sunday we have someone new walk through the doors. We feel we’ve been discovered here.”

The small white church will also be celebrating the progress and healing that has occurred since the arrival of Pastor Lane, who works about 60 hours a week to care for his congregation’s spiritual needs. He succeeded Pastor Ted Swinbourne, who left the congregation in 2001 to take another assignment in Washington state. Under his leadership, the church had about 150 members. When the congregation lost Pastor Swinbourne, membership declined significantly.

“I don’t know what happened. The church was kind of floundering and sort of directionless and it had been without a senior pastor for quite a while. I’m not a person who looks into the past. I look to the future,” Pastor Lane said.

With giant churches around the Almaden Neighborhood Church, with high attendance rates, Pastor Lane caters to those who feel lost in the crowds.

During an interview this week from his office in the church’s 3,500-square-foot worship center, he said: “The people coming to our church are looking for a closer personal relationship to other people and a closer personal relationship with Jesus Christ.”

An expository Bible teacher, Pastor Lane said his worshippers appreciate the church’s focus on individual worship instead of the huge corporate worship found elsewhere.

“They fit in here. They’re background is right out of Silicon Valley. We have doctors, engineers, directors and city leaders. We have an interesting group of people,” he said.

Pastor Lane said while he appreciates and enjoys leading a small group of Christians, he welcomes membership growth, adding that the church building can accommodate between 200 and 300 people by offering multiple Sunday worship services.

“It’s a little itty-bitty country church right now,” he stressed. “People come here and they’re wowed by its openness and beauty… but we’re looking for a few good people who would like to come join us in the pursuit of God.”

The congregation belongs to the Colorado-based Christian and Missionary Alliance (C&MA) denomination, an evangelical church emphasizing world evangelization. It maintains a “big tent” stance in reference to many doctrinal matters, encouraging believers of diverse backgrounds and theological traditions to unite in an alliance “to know and exalt Jesus Christ and to complete His Great Commission.”

Dr. Peter N. Nanfelt has been serving as president of the 100-year-old Christian and Missionary Alliance since May of 1998 after a special election to find someone to succeed the late Dr. Paul F. Bubna, the former church president. In May 1999 Dr. Nanfelt was reelected to a full three-year term, followed by another three-year term beginning in 2002, extending his leadership until 2005. The church has a world membership of about 3.5 million with 19,000 churches.

About the church’s denomination, Pastor Lane explained the C&MA exists to know Jesus Christ, exalt Him as Savior, Sanctifier, Healer, and Coming King; and complete His Great Commission.

“We’re strictly a Christian church following the teachings of Jesus Christ,” said Pastor Lane.

The church has a 2,500-square-foot education center in the back with a kitchen. The congregation uses the facility for youth gatherings, Sunday School classes and children’s programs.

It also has a potluck dinner on the first Sunday of the month. “It’s really cool,” said Lane. “We all sit around and hang and fellowship. We truly break bread together.

“The people who are coming here become intimate in their pursuit of Christ. People ask the question, ‘What in the world am I doing here?’ In a small church setting, they start to find they’re purpose in life and why they’re here and what God’s calling is.”

With the catchphrase, “You can call on me!” emblazoned in large gold letters on Pastor Lane’s business cards, he prides himself in giving his worshippers one-on-one attention that’s often missing in larger churches.

As an example, he said he sometimes spends up to two hours with married couples to assess how they’re doing.

“When was the last time a pastor walked into your home and sat for two hours to speak to you?” he asked. “That’s what we’re offering as a small church.”

Pastor Lane became “licensed” or ordained by the C&MA as a pastor for his home church in Paradise, Calif., in January of 2001, where he served for three years as a pastor of family ministries.

The most difficult part about pasturing in the valley is the materialism that plagues society today, he said. “We’re challenged by so many things the world offers. When you’re a Christian you understand that what the world offers versus what God offers, is idolatry, anything that comes before God.

“It can be career, home, possessions, drugs, alcohol. Almaden Valley offers a lot and the people that live here are consumer oriented. One of the challenges that I’ve had is to say, ‘Hey, there’s a good God who loves you and wants to have a relationship with you.

“To pull these people from that side of what dominates their life and ask them to give God a chance is difficult. Many say they don’t need God in their lives,” he said.

Pastor Lane teaches his congregation that the purpose of being here on the Earth is to have a relationship with their Maker. “Once they understand that the Bible is their owner’s manual, they run perfectly with Him,” he said, using as an example that a new car comes with an owner’s manual in the glove box telling its driver how to run the car perfectly. “If you follow the manual, you’ll have no problem with your car. If not, you’re sure to experience difficulties. It’s the same with the Bible. It’s our owners’ manual from God that tells us how to run our lives without difficulties.”

Pastor Lane has been married for 30 years to his wife Cathy, and they have two children. He’s a Vietnam War veteran who owned his own import and export business for 25 years in Northern California. “One day the Lord said, ‘Hey, I want to use you somewhere else.’ So I retired. Going into ministry was the furthest thing from my mind.”

Pastor Lane went back to school. He’s pursuing a master’s of divinity degree from the Master’s Divinity School in Evansville, Ind.

Almaden Neighborhood Church, 19550 McKean Rd., San Jose, Calif., 95120, offers a women’s Bible study group at 7 p.m. on Tuesdays and Sunday services at 10:45 a.m. with coffee fellowship immediately following. The church will resume its Sunday adult education and its men’s ministry classes this fall. For more information contact Pastor John W. Lane at 268.5200 or visit www.almadenchurchcma.org.