In 1909, a small but growing group of congregational believers, after meeting for some time in various locations, including private homes and the Baldridge Opera House, (which in recent years was Por Favor Mexican Restaurant and is now Hacienda Cazadores on the corner of La Mesa Blvd. and Palm), broke ground for what would become La Mesa Central Congregational Church near the corner of Lemon and Third Street. The two-story building, comprising a large meeting room, kitchen, and storage room on the lower floor, and a small chapel and multipurpose room on the upper floor, opened its doors for regular Sunday services and other events in February of 1911. Rev. Charles Hill, who had been serving as a congregational missionary to the Hawaiian Islands, was called back to the mainland to be the first pastor of Central Congregational Church in their new building.
God blessed this original group of CCCers, and as they grew in number, plans were made for a new building; this time for a true sanctuary, not just a chapel, a large fellowship hall, space for children’s ministry and offices, and a lovely patio area connecting the original structure with the new buildings. Prayers were prayed, money was raised, and construction began. Finally, in the summer of 1925, the work was completed, and the building was dedicated to the continuing work of the Lord. A short time later, in 1926, stained-glass windows were added to honor several of the original 19 members of CCC, and the wonderful Pilcher pipe organ was installed.
At some point, Central Congregational Church purchased additional property and eventually owned most of the block between Third and Fourth Streets, with plans to greatly expand the campus footprint (we still have some blueprints). However, after several decades of growth and faithful Christian witness in the local area, and financial support of missionaries and ministries locally and globally, CCC, like thousands of congregations across the nation, began to feel the effects of a culture in transition. Attendance slowly declined, and finances waned as the country took a more secular turn in general and young people, in particular, began to reexamine or reject the religious traditions of their parents, asking challenging questions and seeking a variety of spiritual experiences in an effort to navigate the social and political shifts they were experiencing.
Around 1990, Rev. Tom Selgo took the helm of the good ship CCC and sailed with her as a faithful shepherd and minister of the gospel for the next 23 years or so. Tom was a good man who loved the people well. However, as an older man when he became pastor, Tom graciously oversaw what looked to be the slow death of Central Congregational Church, officiating at over 300 funerals and memorial services during his long tenure as pastor.
No human institution lasts forever, and that includes local churches. And sometimes, it is a pastor’s calling to provide hospice care for a congregation as God allows one expression of his body to die, as it were, to make way for something new. Was this the case for Central Congregational Church? From its humble beginnings in private homes to the beautiful current sanctuary, would it be that when the last parishioner passed away, the doors would be closed and the building sold, while people said she had a good run?
At nearly 80 years old, Rev. Selgo was still preaching every Sunday, visiting his parishioners as he was able (often with the help of current CCC member Don Dodson), and presiding over memorial and graveside services, while dealing with serious health issues of his own. Around this time, our brother Don, along with a very small group of other church leaders, decided that God was not finished with CCC and began praying and strategizing about how to move forward. The prayers and discussions of the Board and congregation led to the difficult decision to provide the most generous retirement/severance package they could for Pastor Selgo and to begin the search for a new minister.
Around this time, as Rhonda and I saw the writing on the wall at our current place of ministry where I was the Associate Pastor and Worship Leader, and due to a connection from a friend of mine who was a friend of CCC, I was invited to be a guest minister for a Sunday morning in January of 2013, as Pastor Selgo was undergoing a medical procedure. Things went well on that Sunday, and when the need arose for a guest preacher a few weeks later, I was invited back.
Shortly after this, as the CCC’s pastoral search became official, I was asked to preach again, this time as a pastoral candidate. Having no experience with the Congregational movement and not sure what God was up to in our lives, as the inevitable end of our current ministry position was confusing and painful, Rhonda and I decided to accept the candidacy opportunity and see if God was in this.
Things moved rapidly after that Sunday, as I was asked to return the next week as the pastoral candidate and face a barrage of graciously presented but pointed questions from the congregation, before a vote was held the following week. Before we knew it, I had been elected as the new pastor of La Mesa Central Congregational Church, and Rhonda and I began this surprising, joyful, sometimes arduous journey of walking together with our new friends into God’s new day for a congregation that he was apparently not finished with yet. And as we prepare for another 100-year celebration – this time of our current sanctuary, fellowship hall and organ – and as Rhonda and I look to our 13th anniversary here at CCC in May, we are in awe of what God has done and continues to do in preserving, reviving and guiding this expression of his global body that we call CCC.
To put this in practical terms, consider this: We currently average 75 people on Sunday mornings. Of those 75 people, fewer than ten were a part of CCC in 2013. While I’m sure that our current average attendance is well below that of the halcyon days of the past, God has blessed us with scores of new people, young and old alike, and, more importantly, there is a genuine sense of Christian fellowship, shared vision and partnership in ministry.
Additionally, we have raised tens of thousands of dollars to repair and upgrade our venerable buildings, while greatly increasing our financial support for local and international ministries. And beyond simply writing checks, we have and continue to be involved in various forms of outreach ourselves, whether it’s serving at the San Diego Rescue Mission or the Ronald McDonald House, partnering with the Salvation Army Kroc Center, participating in a summer camp for orphaned and foster Mexican children in Mexico, or helping our friends at Spring Valley Community Church build a cold room for their food pantry. And in addition to all of this, God has consistently blessed us with thoughtful and skilled lay leaders to serve on our various boards and committees and enabled us to support an excellent paid ministry staff. We’ve come a long way, and God definitely is not finished with us yet!
As I have briefly recounted the history of La Mesa Central Congregational Church, I am filled with gratitude for God’s faithfulness. This is his work. We are his people. Jesus is the one who is drawing us together and building us up to be his people doing his good work by the power of his Spirit. And while we remember and celebrate the past, the cloud of witnesses that have gone before us these hundred-plus years, we recognize that this is our day – our time - to carry the banner of the kingdom of God through this outpost we call CCC, and to continue to work and worship together in the name and way of Jesus for the Glory of God and the Good of our Neighbors near and far until Christ returns to make all things new.
—Pastor Scott