Perched on a rise in the Antelope Valley community of Rosamond, Wayside Chapel Community Church is known around town as the Church on the Hill. The congregation gathers each Sunday in two languages, runs one of the most active food pantries in the region, and partners with The Christian and Missionary Alliance (C&MA) for its mission and doctrinal life.
Two distinct Sunday services anchor the week: an English worship gathering at 10:30 a.m. and a Spanish-language service at 12:30 p.m. Both follow a similar flow of prayer, congregational worship, and a sermon, but each draws its own community and serves a multilingual neighborhood where many families span both languages.
Sunday in English and Spanish
The English service begins at 10:30 a.m. and runs about an hour and fifteen minutes. Worshipers arrive early; first-time guests are encouraged to come by 10:15 so greeters can meet them and answer questions. Volunteers stand at every door to point visitors to a seat, the nursery, or the children's wing.
The order of service opens with prayer and a call to worship, moves into a time of congregational singing, and continues with a sermon drawn from God's Word. The gathering closes with a final song and benediction. Children stay with their families during the musical portion of the service and are released to their classes during the greeting time.
The Spanish service follows the same heartbeat at 12:30 p.m. and lasts roughly an hour and a half. Before it begins, at 10:45 a.m., adults can join a Bible study in Spanish that meets on the church campus. During the service, children from pre-school through age 17 have age-appropriate classes running at the same time.
Children's Church, Nursery, and Youth
Kids are a central part of Sunday at Wayside. The children's ministry is organized by age and runs alongside both services.
- Children's Church is offered at 10:30 a.m. for children in pre-school through fifth grade. The class focuses on interactive Bible study and worship.
- Nursery is available at 10:30 a.m. for children from birth through age three, with time to play and hear a Bible story.
- Spanish children's Bible class meets at 12:30 p.m. during the Spanish service.
- Youth Group gathers at 12:30 p.m. for students in sixth grade through age seventeen.
All of the children's and youth rooms are reached by going up the stairs to the church breezeway. Registration and check-in happen before service starts or during the greeting time. The Church Center app is the best way for parents to stay current on schedule changes and announcements for these ministries.
The Harvest Pantry and Feeding Friends
Outside the sanctuary, Wayside Chapel has become one of the most visible food-relief hubs in the area through its Harvest Pantry. Free food is handed out five days a week at multiple locations, with a model that shifts between walk-up and drive-thru service.
- Mondays at 11:30 a.m. in Mojave, at 15664 K Street, walk-up, free choice.
- Tuesdays at 10:30 a.m. at Wayside Chapel's back room in Rosamond (2584 Felsite Ave), walk-up, free choice.
- Wednesdays at 11:30 a.m. in Mojave, walk-up, free choice.
- Thursdays at 11:30 a.m. at Wayside Chapel in Rosamond, drive-thru food pick-up.
- Fridays at 11:30 a.m. in Mojave, walk-up, free choice.
All distributions continue until supplies run out. On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, numbers are handed out beginning around 8:30 a.m. so people can wait in line. Questions about the pantry go to waysidechapelharvestpantry@gmail.com.
On Tuesdays at 4:00 p.m., the same back room hosts Feeding Friends, a community meal where everyone is welcome to come in and share a hot dinner with neighbors.
Bible Studies and Prayer Through the Week
Beyond Sunday worship, the church keeps a steady weekly rhythm of study groups and prayer gatherings.
- Adult Sunday School meets at 9:00 a.m. in Room 304 before the English service, with all adults invited to study the Bible together.
- Women's Genesis Bible Study meets Wednesdays at 10:00 a.m. in Room 304. A second women's Bible study (on the book of Numbers) meets Fridays at 5:45 p.m.
- Adult Bible Study meets Thursdays at 5:30 p.m. in Room 304.
- Prayer Group meets Tuesdays at 6:00 p.m. in the church breezeway and is open to anyone who wants to pray, ask for prayer, or bring a request for the community.
For private prayer needs, the prayer team also accepts confidential requests through the Church Center app; every request is prayed over weekly by the pastors and prayer team.
Statement of Faith
Wayside Chapel is a member congregation of The Christian and Missionary Alliance, and its statement of faith reflects the C&MA's four-fold emphasis on Jesus as Savior, Sanctifier, Healer, and Coming King. The church teaches that there is one God, eternally existing as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; that the Old and New Testaments are the inerrant, divinely inspired rule of Christian faith and life; and that salvation is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, who died as a substitute for the unjust and rose again.
The statement affirms that believers are called to be filled with the Holy Spirit and progressively sanctified, that prayer and anointing with oil for the sick are present-day privileges of the Church, that Jesus will return personally and visibly before the millennium, and that the Church is sent into the world to make disciples of every people. Baptism and the Lord's Supper are observed as the two ordinances of the church. The full eleven-article statement is available.
Leadership
The pastoral team is led by Senior Pastor David Augustine, with Sergio Tejeda serving as Spanish Pastor. Ministry directors round out day-to-day operations across the church:
- Joaquin Buendia - Children's Ministry Director
- Brandon Dalton and Jeannette Dalton - Youth Ministry Directors
- Silvia Buendia - Deaconess Director
- Kimberly Ferrell - Worship Ministry Director and Women's Ministry Director
- Jonathan Ferrell - Men's Ministry Director
A board of elders provides spiritual oversight, including David Augustine, Joaquin Buendia, Rick Hoier, Jerry Ogden, Ray Winters, Sergio Tejeda, George Cabadas, Larry Matts, and Jeff Paul. Sermon recordings are posted on the church's YouTube channel for ongoing listening.
Planning a First Visit
First-time guests are welcomed warmly. Greeters are stationed at every door, and the dress code is informal - jeans and a t-shirt are as welcome as business casual. The church asks visitors to arrive about fifteen minutes early, 10:15 a.m., so they can be greeted before the service begins. Plenty of parking is available on site.
Children can be registered and checked in before the service or during the greeting time. The English service runs about an hour and fifteen minutes; the Spanish service runs about an hour and a half.
Office hours are Monday through Wednesday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Thursday from 9:00 a.m. to noon, and the phone line (661-256-9222) is answered during those windows. Visitors can also fill out a Plan My Visit form ahead of time so a host knows to look out for them.
The Church Center app serves as the church's central hub for event updates, sign-ups, group information, and giving. Online giving is also available for those who want to support the Harvest Pantry, the bilingual ministry, and the rest of the work in Rosamond.