How it all started...
In 1959 Simi Valley, California was a sleepy town of about 16,000 on the outskirts of Los Angeles with a lot of potential for growth. Dr. David Paynter, Superintendent of Simi Valley Unified School District, along with other men felt a call from the Lord to begin prayer meetings in homes with the vision of starting a church. In the spring of 1960, meetings in these homes were attended on a regular basis, and eventually this band of believers formed 1st Baptist Church of Simi Valley associating with Conference Baptists of Southern California and with the Baptist General Conference of America. A church home was purchased in a new tract housing development on Sinaloa Road. As the congregation grew, evening Bible Studies were held in this home, but Sunday morning gatherings took place at the Seventh Day Adventist Church, which was conveniently right across the street!
Several interim pastors filled in during this time. Soon it became evident that this growing congregation needed a full-time pastor, and in July 1961 God brought Cully Olson from Mt. Vernon Washington, along with his wife Ruth, an accomplished pianist! Charter members created the church structure and organization, and maintained a great deal of faith to believe God and trust in Him for great things to come. By the end of Pastor Olson’s first year there were 83 church members, with an average of 140 people in the church service, and 150 people attending Sunday school! More than half of the morning attenders also attended an evening service.
In October of 1961 the church was given a loan of $50,000 by the conference to begin a master plan! A beautiful 5.2 acre site was secured at $5,000 an acre with a down payment of $7,574.95 made on May 3, 1962. A master plan was drawn up by a well-known architect which called for five separate units, and the plan was enthusiastically accepted by the congregation. The Construction Superintendent was a member of the church and took a leave of absence from other jobs to oversee the building of the first two units. Many volunteers from the church and from the neighboring churches dedicated hours and hours to the construction of the first two units, and on October 20, 1963 the first service was held in the education-sanctuary unit.
As the building grew, the body of believers grew as well. By Easter Sunday 1964 attendance swelled to over 500 people! Two services, and two sets of Sunday School sessions were held each week. In the summer of 1968, the first Youth Pastor was called to 1st Baptist Church. Harry Norman built the youth program which included VBS, Summer Camp, Wednesday evening programs and outreach events. The third unit, the combined chapel and multi-purpose auditorium, was finished in 1968.
After 9 years as pastor, Cully Olson accepted a call as Executive Secretary of the Northern California Baptist Conference. It was a difficult good-bye as he was very beloved. A strong lay leadership kept the church moving forward for 10 years until Bruce Herrstrom and his wife Shirley were called in November 1971. The numbers were still in the 500’s at this time.
In the summer of 1975, Wade Mikels came from Washington State as the new Associate Pastor. A year later when Pastor Herrstrom resigned, it became evident to the Search Team that Wade Mikels was an excellent choice for their next pastor. Wade and his wife Cheryl accepted the call in June of 1977. Under his leadership the administration unit was completed which allowed for offices and more classrooms upstairs.
Pastor Wade eventually took a position in a church in Minnesota, and Ron Butler became the interim pastor until John Ortberg was called to 1st Baptist Church of Simi Valley in 1985. Pastor John was an energetic, gifted, seeker-sensitive preacher. The congregation soon grew to 700-800 people in attendance, and three services were held to accommodate the large numbers. During this time, the name of the church was changed to Simi Valley Community Church, still connected with the Southwest Baptist General Conference. In 1990 Pastor John was called to Horizons Community Church in Claremont California.
God called Myles Gentzkow in 1991 to become the next pastor even though he had never pastored a church before. He had been serving as Executive Director of Youth for Christ/Campus Life in San Diego and was an enthusiastic motivational speaker. The congregation continued to be around 800 on Sunday mornings. Unfortunately, in 1994 Pastor Myles was asked to leave by the Elder Board due to professional misconduct; Francis Chan, who had been serving as an associate pastor at the time, stepped in for a period as interim preaching pastor and then ended up leaving Simi Valley Community Church and started Cornerstone Community Church in Simi Valley, and a church split followed with about half of the congregation leaving the church. Three services now dropped to one service.
Two and a half years went by of wilderness time with several interim pastors. In 1996, the attendance was down in the 400s when Paul Weir was called to be the next pastor. He and his wife Jenny served for 23 years at Simi Valley Community Church! Under his decades of leadership some programs ended, and others began. In 2004, all the debt for Simi Community Church’s building program was finally paid off, and the campus became completely debt-free! In January of 2016 Simi Valley Community Church became Simi Community Church.
Over this period of 23 years under Pastor Paul’s leadership there were quite a few staff turn overs, and attendance had dropped to about 150 people in early 2020. Key staff members had resigned, and so in February, the Elder Board made the very difficult decision to ask Pastor Paul to step down as pastor. In March of 2020, Covid-19 shut down churches across the country and quickly SCC started putting services online. Kevin Oates began serving as interim pastor, and in July outdoor in-person services began with about 100 in attendance, some of the congregation continuing to watch from home.
That season was definitely a challenge for the church, but God showed His faithfulness by bringing Pastor Tony Silvestri to us in June of 2021. We are now writing the next chapter in Acts 29: Our place in HIStory!
Several interim pastors filled in during this time. Soon it became evident that this growing congregation needed a full-time pastor, and in July 1961 God brought Cully Olson from Mt. Vernon Washington, along with his wife Ruth, an accomplished pianist! Charter members created the church structure and organization, and maintained a great deal of faith to believe God and trust in Him for great things to come. By the end of Pastor Olson’s first year there were 83 church members, with an average of 140 people in the church service, and 150 people attending Sunday school! More than half of the morning attenders also attended an evening service.
In October of 1961 the church was given a loan of $50,000 by the conference to begin a master plan! A beautiful 5.2 acre site was secured at $5,000 an acre with a down payment of $7,574.95 made on May 3, 1962. A master plan was drawn up by a well-known architect which called for five separate units, and the plan was enthusiastically accepted by the congregation. The Construction Superintendent was a member of the church and took a leave of absence from other jobs to oversee the building of the first two units. Many volunteers from the church and from the neighboring churches dedicated hours and hours to the construction of the first two units, and on October 20, 1963 the first service was held in the education-sanctuary unit.
As the building grew, the body of believers grew as well. By Easter Sunday 1964 attendance swelled to over 500 people! Two services, and two sets of Sunday School sessions were held each week. In the summer of 1968, the first Youth Pastor was called to 1st Baptist Church. Harry Norman built the youth program which included VBS, Summer Camp, Wednesday evening programs and outreach events. The third unit, the combined chapel and multi-purpose auditorium, was finished in 1968.
After 9 years as pastor, Cully Olson accepted a call as Executive Secretary of the Northern California Baptist Conference. It was a difficult good-bye as he was very beloved. A strong lay leadership kept the church moving forward for 10 years until Bruce Herrstrom and his wife Shirley were called in November 1971. The numbers were still in the 500’s at this time.
In the summer of 1975, Wade Mikels came from Washington State as the new Associate Pastor. A year later when Pastor Herrstrom resigned, it became evident to the Search Team that Wade Mikels was an excellent choice for their next pastor. Wade and his wife Cheryl accepted the call in June of 1977. Under his leadership the administration unit was completed which allowed for offices and more classrooms upstairs.
Pastor Wade eventually took a position in a church in Minnesota, and Ron Butler became the interim pastor until John Ortberg was called to 1st Baptist Church of Simi Valley in 1985. Pastor John was an energetic, gifted, seeker-sensitive preacher. The congregation soon grew to 700-800 people in attendance, and three services were held to accommodate the large numbers. During this time, the name of the church was changed to Simi Valley Community Church, still connected with the Southwest Baptist General Conference. In 1990 Pastor John was called to Horizons Community Church in Claremont California.
God called Myles Gentzkow in 1991 to become the next pastor even though he had never pastored a church before. He had been serving as Executive Director of Youth for Christ/Campus Life in San Diego and was an enthusiastic motivational speaker. The congregation continued to be around 800 on Sunday mornings. Unfortunately, in 1994 Pastor Myles was asked to leave by the Elder Board due to professional misconduct; Francis Chan, who had been serving as an associate pastor at the time, stepped in for a period as interim preaching pastor and then ended up leaving Simi Valley Community Church and started Cornerstone Community Church in Simi Valley, and a church split followed with about half of the congregation leaving the church. Three services now dropped to one service.
Two and a half years went by of wilderness time with several interim pastors. In 1996, the attendance was down in the 400s when Paul Weir was called to be the next pastor. He and his wife Jenny served for 23 years at Simi Valley Community Church! Under his decades of leadership some programs ended, and others began. In 2004, all the debt for Simi Community Church’s building program was finally paid off, and the campus became completely debt-free! In January of 2016 Simi Valley Community Church became Simi Community Church.
Over this period of 23 years under Pastor Paul’s leadership there were quite a few staff turn overs, and attendance had dropped to about 150 people in early 2020. Key staff members had resigned, and so in February, the Elder Board made the very difficult decision to ask Pastor Paul to step down as pastor. In March of 2020, Covid-19 shut down churches across the country and quickly SCC started putting services online. Kevin Oates began serving as interim pastor, and in July outdoor in-person services began with about 100 in attendance, some of the congregation continuing to watch from home.
That season was definitely a challenge for the church, but God showed His faithfulness by bringing Pastor Tony Silvestri to us in June of 2021. We are now writing the next chapter in Acts 29: Our place in HIStory!
