On Virginia Avenue in Paramount, California, Emmanuel Reformed Church holds four Sunday services in three languages, runs a Christian preschool, hosts a weeknight arts academy, and partners with the city's food pantry and after-school program. The congregation is crossing its 100-year mark with a Church Planting Tour that celebrates daughter congregations planted across the United States, Mexico, and Nepal - the same three-country footprint that shapes its worship calendar every Sunday morning.
Four Sunday Services in English, Spanish, and Nepalese
Four in-person services gather in the Sanctuary each Sunday: 9:00 AM, 10:30 AM, noon, and 6:00 PM. Two Spanish-language services follow the 10:30 AM and noon English services, and a Nepalese service meets at 10:30 AM. Each hour begins with a live worship team and continues with a scripture-based message pointing toward Jesus.
Two children's rooms operate during every service. A cry room is open off the main auditorium for parents with young children, and free nursery and Sunday School care is offered from six-week-old infants through fifth grade. Online, services livestream on YouTube (ERCVideoLA), Facebook (ERCParamount), the Emmanuel app, and ERCLA.TV. Previous services stay available on the same channels, and a Sunday Sermon Blog walks readers through the morning's teaching.
A Hundred Years on Virginia Avenue
A limited-edition "100th Anniversary Church Planting Tour" T-shirt lists the churches planted by Emmanuel over the last century, and the "100-Year Legacy" tee outlines the journey of the congregation itself: "immigrants from the Netherlands, roots in the United States, and church plants in Mexico and Nepal." Merchandise built around the milestone - oversized sweatshirts, dad hats, mugs that read "The Church with a Healing Heart," "Grace Stacked on Grace," and "From Yesterday Into Tomorrow" - sells through the church's online shop to fund continuing ministry.
The Dutch origins run deeper than memorabilia. The congregation belongs to the Reformed tradition reaching back to the 1500s Reformation, and the church's official name is Emmanuel Reformed Church, even though members often simply call it Emmanuel Church. The anniversary series itself signals that the community has been at its work for a full century, passing a Dutch-Reformed heritage into a present-day, multiethnic congregation.
Covenant, Catechism, and the Sacraments
Covenant theology sits at the heart of the church's identity. The congregation describes itself as "a covenant keeping church," teaching that God enters into a binding agreement with those he calls to be his sons and daughters, and that covenant people have a corresponding responsibility to one another regardless of race, age, gender, or marital status (Galatians 3:28-29). The staff intentionally integrate children into the worship hour, explaining that "worship isn't about you - it's about God. He doesn't get distracted by children's worship - He rejoices!"
The statement of belief walks through the Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, coequal and one God), Jesus Christ and his crucifixion and resurrection, eternal security maintained by God's grace and keeping power, and the image of God in humanity. Salvation is presented as a gift received by faith rather than earned by self-improvement. Two sacraments are practiced: Holy Baptism, a sign and seal of God's covenant of grace for believers and their children, and the Sacrament of Holy Communion, in which the broken bread and cup symbolize the broken body and poured-out blood of Christ. Discipleship is framed as living out the Great Commandment and the Great Commission.
Emmanuel is part of Kingdom Network, a community of Reformed churches gathered around the mission of multiplying disciples, leaders, and churches. The congregation adheres to the Heidelberg Catechism, the Apostles' Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Athanasian Creed. A nine-point Network statement affirms the inerrancy of Scripture, the priority of gospel proclamation, church planting, a biblical view of sexuality, and a multiethnic vision of heaven drawn from Revelation. The congregation is pastored by Ken Korver (Senior Pastor), Klarc Korver (Teaching Pastor), Richard Caballero (Spanish Pastor), Mike Kim (Pastor of Care, Outreach, & Young Adults), Richard Rideout (Pastor), and Jonhy Tamayo (Youth Pastor).
From Nursery Through High School Graduation
Children's ministry at Emmanuel begins in the nursery, where trained volunteers keep a 1:3 caregiver-to-child ratio for infants and toddlers up to age three. Sunday School gathers children from age four through fifth grade for Bible stories, crafts, and interactive learning. Every adult working with children passes a background check, and a written wellness policy keeps sick children home.
Beyond Sunday morning, Kids Klub welcomes kindergarten through fifth graders on Tuesday evenings from 6:00 to 8:00 PM in the Fellowship Hall - typically drawing about 100 kids who sing, play, and learn scripture together from September through May, with a Kids Klub Camp added to the calendar each year. Emmanuel Preschool is a separate, full-day program for ages 2.5 through 6, operating from 7:00 AM to 6:00 PM with both full-time and part-time (M-F, MWF, or T-Th) schedules; the school serves both church families and the wider community and is licensed through state Title 22 standards, with all staff dedicated Christians knowledgeable in Child Development and Early Childhood Education.
The After School Program and Summer Day Camp extend that reach into the neighborhood: a structured, drop-in learning environment that focuses on academic proficiency and a high moral code, plus a week-long summer day camp for kids entering first through sixth grades. One week each summer the sanctuary is transformed into a Vacation Bible School adventure, and on the first and third Saturdays of every month, Date Night Childcare welcomes children from six weeks to twelve years of age from 4:00 to 8:00 PM so that parents can go out. Children's ministry across all of these programs is led by Jessica Higgins (Director of Children's Ministries), with Karrie Garcia directing the preschool and Mayte Hernandez directing the After School Program and Summer Day Camp.
Edge and Rock: Junior High and High School
Middle schoolers, sixth through eighth grade, meet as Edge on Tuesday evenings from 6:00 to 8:00 PM in the Activity Center. The program emphasizes games, laughter, and a safe place to "find belonging, hear the gospel truth, be discipled, and fall in love with the Lord."
High school students gather as Rock on Wednesday evenings from 6:00 to 8:00 PM in the same Activity Center, whether they have grown up in the church or are hearing the name of Jesus for the first time. Sunday mornings add four more options for students in grades 6 through 12: a Catechism Class working through the Heidelberg Catechism at 9:00 AM in the Choir Room; a High School Boys apologetics group at 10:30 AM in The Study; a High School Girls group at 10:30 AM in FH7; and a Junior High Boys group at 10:30 AM in the Robe Room. Jonhy Tamayo serves as Youth Pastor, with Bailey Talsma as Director of Student Ministries and Communication.
Midweek Prayer and the Healing Room
Wednesday nights at Emmanuel revolve around prayer. The Prayer & Worship service runs from 6:00 to 7:00 PM in the Sanctuary. Healing Prayer Class meets over ten weeks to train members in a model of prayer that includes laying on of hands, anointing with oil, and team ministry. The church's Prayer Ministry statement of belief is itself a teaching document: it affirms that anointing with oil is a "biblically based compliment" to healing prayer (James 5:14-16), that forgiveness often goes hand in hand with healing, that "each person who asks the Lord for healing will receive some measure of healing," and that prayer is a mystery that should be approached with humility.
Beyond the sanctuary, prayer ministers are available during every service and by phone through the ERCLA.TV platform. Prayer Teams serve during Sunday services while Care Teams respond to prayer requests with notes, cards, and visits. The prayer ministry is led by Jody Gras (Director of Adult Discipleship & Development) and Mike Kim, who coordinate teams and the Healing Prayer Class.
Emmanuel Arts: A Free Creative Academy
Emmanuel Arts, the church's performing and visual arts academy, offers classes free of charge to the community from elementary through adult. Each fall and summer semester introduces new instructors and a new calendar that culminates in a public Showcase in December. During a typical fall lineup children can study Beginning Folklórico Dance, Beginning Ballet, Jazz Dance, Theater, Beginning Keyboard, Beginning Guitar, Drums & Percussion, Concert Band, Violin Ensemble, EA Choir, EA Worship Ensemble, Flags, Banners, or Scripture in Motion. Visual arts classes for ages 4 through adult meet in the Art Room (Room 205).
Worship & Prayer Art gathers children and adults together at the art table every Wednesday from 6:00 to 7:00 PM during the prayer service. Exercise classes for women - Pop Pilates, a mix of mat Pilates, yoga, and dance - run on Monday evenings, and an Adult Art Class convenes on the first Friday of each month until December. Andrew Hernandez serves as Worship & Youth Leader and Emmanuel Arts Director, with Jessica Higgins coordinating and a roster of instructors teaching dance (Lali Garcia, Zoe Van Gessel), visual art (Nora Saggese), music (Nyajaha Livingston, Michelle Pacheco, Sam, Danny, Pat, Scott Johnson), and flag and banner ministry (Claudia Williams).
Men, Women, Young Adults, Couples, and Keenagers
Men's Ministry gathers around one stated purpose: to help men in the community walk with Christ and live in a way that draws their families, colleagues, and younger generations toward him. Women's Ministries runs several weekly Bible studies under the "Women of the Word" banner: Tuesdays from 6:15 to 8:00 PM in the Choir Room, Wednesdays from 9:45 to 11:30 AM in the Fellowship Hall, and a video-based Thursday group from 7:00 to 8:30 PM in the Chapel. A separate Tuesday morning Bible Study meets in the Brick Building at 9:00 AM, and a Saturday women's discipleship group gathers at 9:00 AM. The annual Women's Retreat, called "Restored," is held offsite at Embassy Suites Santa Ana Orange County Airport, with a $40 non-refundable deposit and an $80 cost that does not include the overnight hotel stay.
Young Adults, for those who have graduated high school through their late thirties, meet on Wednesdays from 7:00 to 8:30 PM in the Sanctuary for community, encouragement, and biblical teaching on real-life questions. Couples Ministry walks seriously dating, engaged, and married couples through The Marriage Course in both a Tuesday and a Sunday cohort, supported by daily devotional resources like the Daily Seven A's and a Date Night Bucket List. Keenagers, the "senior saints" ministry for ages 55 and older, meets every Tuesday from 10:00 AM to noon in the chapel for refreshments, singing, games, guest speakers, video teaching, and craft. Christie Palmer coordinates both the Couples ministry and the Keenagers, with Jody Gras overseeing the broader adult discipleship umbrella.
Beyond the Walls: Compton Initiative, the Food Bank, and Project Hope
City transformation is one of the church's six core values, and the partnerships reflect that. The Compton Initiative draws members into community cleanup days in neighboring Compton. A long-running partnership with the Paramount Care Foundation connects the church to the local food bank, an After School Program, and the Summer Day Camp. Embrace Grace is a ministry for single and pregnant women that runs in twelve-week cohorts each fall, with materials, dinner, and childcare provided; the next cohort is scheduled to begin on a Thursday evening in early September.
Project Hope, another internal ministry, complements the broader resource network Emmanuel maintains: Christian counseling referrals, pregnancy resources (Avenues LHC in Paramount, Horizon Pregnancy Clinic in Long Beach and Huntington Beach, Grace Elliott Center in Compton, Bethany Christian Services in La Mirada, and His Nesting Place in Long Beach), parenting and family ministry (Family Nights on Zoom), mental health referrals including a Crisis Text Line link, housing and homelessness resources for the city of Paramount, and Christian sexuality resources including a parent education track. Pregnancy support at Emmanuel is described as one expression of the church's "wide embrace," welcoming members and neighbors at every stage of life.
First-Time Visitors
Two parking lots serve the Virginia Avenue campus - one on Virginia Avenue and another on Georgia Avenue - with additional street parking available along Virginia. There is no dress code; jeans and t-shirts, business casual, and suits are all common. Children are welcome in the main service or in the cry room, and nursery care is available for ages three and under during any of the four services. After-service coffee and a Friendship Folder offer a natural next step for newcomers looking to connect. Bibles and a 2026 Bible Reading Plan - organized around an Emmanuel "Read It, Write It, Pray It, Share It" framework - are available in print, on the app, and as a guided journal sold through Amazon. Drop-in English-language Sunday services meet at 9:00 AM, 10:30 AM, noon, and 6:00 PM; Spanish services at 10:30 AM and noon; and a Nepalese service at 10:30 AM, all at 15941 Virginia Avenue, Paramount.