We believe the Church was created by God to know and love Him and to know and love its neighbors. GreenLeaf exists to equip, encourage, and engage the citizens of Whittier in that love. We serve as a vital link between the needs that our city’s Head Pastors have identified and to those God has invited to join with Him in His redemptive work. But, GreenLeaf is not simply service oriented. We believe first and foremost that God longs for us to primarily be deeply rooted in His love. We are centered on God’s vision for wholeness and thriving for all our city’s residents -- including those engaged in service.
As the vital connection between the body of Christ and the brokenness and opportunity in our city, GreenLeaf unifies its efforts for greatest impact. We are building a unified prayer movement throughout our city. We mobilize volunteers through various projects while building cross-sector partnerships with churches, businesses, the city, schools and non-profits. We organize and facilitate Christ followers to work together in unity and collaboration. We do not work apart from the local church but through it, and submitted to it, joining believers together in unity. We believe we can accomplish more together than we can apart, while communicating to those around us God’s heart of love and desire for human flourishing.
If you would like to become a part of the solution to our city’s greatest challenges, get connected to a broader network of believers, or learn more about our mission, we welcome you to get involved. For as many individuals as we have the opportunity to engage with, we need different sets of giftedness and availability to reach them. While brokenness and sin can take on many different forms, all have this in common: separation from God. At the heart of our mission is reconciliation, which we believe is primarily achieved through relationship with God and one another.
History
For years, the Head Pastors of various Whittier Churches have been meeting together for prayer and fellowship. This group -- called the Whittier Area Evangelical Ministerial Alliance (WAEMA) -- is comprised of the Lead Shepherds of our city who share a burden for Whittier’s residents. They represent approximately 30 churches in the Whittier area who actively seek unity amongst the Body of Christ in Whittier and who desire to reach our city with the love and gospel message of Jesus Christ. In 2015, these pastors felt the need to update the structure, mission, and strategy of WAEMA to more effectively serve the Whittier community. GreenLeaf is the culmination of their bold vision.
GreenLeaf seeks to infuse vision, organization, and opportunity into the already existing unity and fellowship started by WAEMA. Our goal at GreenLeaf is to involve the residents of Whittier in the work God is calling us to. Through their times together over the years, these Pastors have identified and lamented many areas of need, brokenness, and opportunity. They realized early on, however, that the need is too great to be met by these Head Pastors alone. They seek God’s movements in the city; GreenLeaf translates those movements into impact. Whether through ministering to those affected by homelessness or seeking solutions together for racial reconciliation, GreenLeaf seeks to equip, encourage, and engage the citizens of Whittier to influence this great city for Christ.
