Dudley Pathfinder Book Club

Urban Missions The Story of the Dream Center

From Wikipedia and dreamcenter.org

2016 2 5 EXTERNAL LINKS

that the accusations were groundless. ""There is no basis to the complaints we've heard,” Hayes said,"The horror Dream Center stories reported to us do not exist."" [3] 4 References

[1] http://www.dreamcenter.org/about-us/ retrieved Decem- The Dream Center is a Pentecostal Christian Church faith-based organizations.” ber 14, 2013 mission located at 2301 Bellevue Avenue in the Echo In 2001, Pastor Matthew Barnett and the International Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, two [2] Wells, Matthew (September 18, 2005). “Katrina chal- Church of the Foursquare Gospel united the Dream Cen- lenge for LA mission”. BBC News. Retrieved 20 Septem- blocks west of Alvarado Street on the north side of the ter with the famous Angelus Temple. Through a pro- 101 Freeway. It is two miles from Downtown Los Ange- ber 2012. cess of two Christian denominations working together, les and a little over two miles from Hollywood. the unification was possible, and as of November 1, 2001, [3] Sahagun, Louis (September 17, 2005). “No Nightmare Based out of the former Queen of Angels Hospital at Pastor Barnett became the senior pastor over Angelus Seen at the Dream Center”. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved Bellevue and Waterloo Street, the facility consists of al- Temple as well as the Dream Center. 14 December 2013. most 400,000 ft² (37,000 m²) in buildings on 8.8 acres Associated Dream Centers have been established in other (36,000 m²) of prime commercial real estate. cities. Over 100 Dream Centers have been launched 5 External links The church ministers to gang members, drug addicts, un- around the world.[1] wed mothers and children without parents, motorcycle • groups, taggers, AIDS victims, and various subculture, Official website ethnic and nationality groups. It feeds the homeless and 2 Outreach others in need and runs a halfway house for released pris- Coordinates: 34°4′27.9″N 118°16′8.83″W / oners. Close to 500 people are housed at the center and 34.074417°N 118.2691194°W receive rehabilitation. Many other services are offered The Dream Center has a number of resources for both each week to meet the spiritual and physical needs of the community and people living in different states or the community. The center has been said to epitomize countries. For the Homeless they have a Transitional a quote by Tommy Barnett, pastor of the Phoenix First Family Housing Program, Skid Row Outreach and a Assembly of God Church, “Find a need and fill it, find a Food Chapel. For Human Trafficking victims they have hurt and heal it.” the Human Trafficking Program, the emergency shel- ter and the emergency hotline. For community out- The Dream Center is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization. reach they have The Dream Center Academy, The Lord’s Pastor Matthew Barnett manages the Dream Center and Gym, Adopt-a-Block, the Youth Center, and the Wor- pastors the Angelus Temple, which is a Foursquare Pen- ship Project. For hunger in general they provide a Food tecostal church. Truck and a Food Bank to the public. For poverty issues they have the Emancipating Youth Home program, Fos- ter Care Intervention, Clothing Outreach, Mobile Medi- 1 History cal Clinic, Adult Education Program, and the Job Place- ment and Transition Program. For recovery they have the The church was founded in 1993 as the “L.A. Interna- Men’s and Women’s Discipleship live in program. tional Church” by Matthew Barnett, with the help of his father, Tommy Barnett, as a home missions project of the Southern California District of the Assemblies of God. 3 Controversy When the church began in September 1994, there were 39 members. The congregation grew from an average at- According to BBC News, some Hurricane Katrina evac- tendance of 48 on Sunday morning to reaching more than uees who stayed at the Dream Center felt like prisoners.[2] 35,000 people each week in the Center’s 40 services and “Ricky Valentine said he was desperate to leave the 273 ministries and outreaches. Dream Center: “We can't get none of the cash benefits In the first four years of the Dream Center’s establish- because we're staying here. We need them so we can try ment, prostitution and gang violence dropped 73%, the to move on and get back into society.” “We're not used homicide rate dropped 28% and rape dropped 53%. This to feeling like we've got to be in prison. We're evacuees, may have also been due, in part, to rampant gentrification not prisoners,” he added angrily.” in the area during the time period, but the Mayor of Los In response to the complaints, several social activists, led Angeles and the City Council publicly acknowledged the by Ted Hayes, a homelessness advocate, called a news dramatic impact of the Dream Center and praised its ef- conference demanding an investigation of the Dream forts. In 2000, George W. Bush, then Governor of Texas, Center. After visiting the Dream Center, however, and visited the Dream Center and deemed it “a model for being given a tour of the facility, the activists concluded

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6 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses A Dream of Changing Lives 6.1 Text • Dream Center Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dream_Center?oldid=706440429 Contributors: FredR, Neilc, One Salient Over- Founded in 1994, The Dream Center is a volunteer-driven sight, GlenDavis, Guanabot, SwissCelt, James Russiello, Thane, Theda, Whobot, Bluebot, Scoty6776, RIH-V, Djkeddie, Jllm06, The Anomebot2, Technopat, Lazywolf2, Dandigiacomo, Pastordc, Ltwin, Grayfell, Glane23, AnomieBOT, Killiondude, Thehelpfulbot, Wait- ingForConnection, Anir1uph, Mycultlife, AlanBOT, Fnxdream, OnTheMountainTop, Leslym and Anonymous: 23 organization that finds and fills the needs of over 80,000 6.2 Images

6.3 Content license individuals and families each month.

• Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0

We do this through mobile hunger relief and medical programs,

residential rehabilitation programs adults, a shelter for victims of

human trafficking, transitional housing for homeless families, foster

care intervention programs, job skills training, life skills, counseling,

basic education, Bible studies and more. We work to meet people

where they are at, to bring them hope and a way off the streets.

We’re also equipping others to serve. The Dream Center’s record

of success has attracted urban missionaries and Christian leaders

from across the U.S. and the world. As they volunteer with us, they

gain insight and skills that they can take back to their own

communities.

In this way, more than 100 independent Dream Centers have been

launched nationally, as well as internationally. Many more churches and ministries have become more effective as we teach those who We are building a community of resilient people whose lives have give their time and talent to do what we do. Many who once needed been redeemed by God’s love. The lives we change are not merely our services also go on to help others. examples of God’s power to restore broken lives. The men, women

and families we help also go on to share that love with others, to Vision, Mission

pass on the hope they have been given, and to make transformation

possible for others.

History

Why We Exist: Our Mission

The Dream Center’s purpose is to reconnect isolated people to God and a community of support by providing human services that

address immediate and long-term needs in the areas of How the Dream Began homelessness, hunger, poverty, addiction, education, and human A Turning Point for Two Pastors and a Church trafficking. Pastor Tommy Barnett has a large and growing church in Phoenix, What We Do: Our Vision AZ. Many years ago, as he was growing his church he felt a calling to

reach out to the hurting in Los Angeles. In his effort to be faithful, Pastor Tommy worked hard to interest Park. He saw his father’s dream could become reality in that historic other pastors in joining him to care for Los Angeles. Each time, he building – a place to offer God’s love to the homeless and addicted, would take his prospective partners to the area, only to have them to victims of sex trafficking and domestic violence, to emancipated change their mind. The mission fields of Watts, South Central, foster youth and to those who hunger for food and hope.

Compton, Imperial Courts, Nickerson Gardens and Downtown Los The Dream Center Was Born Angeles were clearly too dangerous and a new church would be Today, thousands of individuals, businesses and churches in Los unlikely to succeed. Angeles and around the world have caught the vision of The Dream

Years Later, God showed Pastor Tommy that his youngest Center, volunteering and giving as God leads. More than 100 son, Pastor Matthew is the one to send to Los Angeles. Despite independent Dream Centers so far have taken root throughout the

Pastor Tommy’s concerns for his safety, Pastor Matthew assumed States! the position of Pastor at a small church, Bethel Temple, in 1994. He Roots of The Dream Center was just 20 years old. With little activity in the church and the How a Shuttered Hospital Became a Dream congregation attendance going down due to his age, Pastor Matthew The Franciscan Sisters of the Sacred Heart founded Queen of began setting up his office outside on the sidewalk, asking people Angels Hospital in 1926. Father Wilhelm Berger, founder of the who passed by how he could help them. Franciscan Sisters, defined their ministries as ‘works of neighborly

As his outreach grew and the church came back to life, Pastor love.’ With the establishment of the hospital, the sisters accepted

Matthew noticed the old, vacant Queen of Angels Hospital in Echo the challenge to serve the poor, the sick and the aging of Los popular location for commercial, film, music video and television

Angeles for more than a half-century. productions.

The growth of Los Angeles’ population throughout the mid-1920’s The owner of the facility rejected lucrative offers from major and into the 1940’s was directly reflected in the steady rise in entertainment companies in favor of Pastors Tommy and Matthew admissions, births and patient day care at the hospital. This Barnett’s vision to convert the facility into a ‘spiritual healing warranted major expansion projects to the facility in 1938 and 1945. center.’ Yet even the discounted $10 million dollar asking price was

The expanded 360,000 square foot campus now housed nine still out of range. Prayer and negotiations brought the asking price buildings and covered over eight acres. The distinction as the down to $3.9 million dollars, and ‘The Church That Never Sleeps’ largest teaching hospital west of the Mississippi soon followed. established its new home in 1996, touching 50,000 lives every month.

Despite enduring The Great Depression and World War II, the Founders healing center fell victim to financial troubles in the early 1980′s, forcing a merger with neighboring Hollywood Clara Barton Memorial

Hospital. The newer medical facility, located just three miles away, was renamed Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center in 1989, at which time Queen of Angels Hospital closed its doors.

The site was mostly vacant but for a handful of loyal Franciscan

Sisters that undertook caretaking duties. The property was also a “Find a need and fill it, find a hurt and heal it.” of God, in Phoenix, Arizona. The church is known as The Church with

– Pastor Tommy Barnett a Heart, because of its 260 outreach ministries.

“Never grow weary in the fight to rescue the most forgotten.” In September 1994, Tommy Barnett, with his son Matthew Barnett,

– Pastor Matthew Barnett launched the Los Angeles Dream Center as a home missions project.

Beginning with a church averaging 48 people on a Sunday morning, “It’s our job to be wisdom to this world . . . It is our job to the ministry is now reaching over 50,000 per month. Located in the change this world. Pastor Caroline Barnett heart of the inner city of Los Angeles at the former Queen of

Angeles Hospital. The Dream Center is rescuing and rehabilitating

Tommy Barnett people from addictions, homelessness, and abuse, including victims of

human trafficking. Reaching out to gang members, unwed mothers,

and emancipated youth, as well as feeding the hungry and needy, the

“Dream Center”, gives people hope and an opportunity to “Dream

Again”. The Dream Center epitomizes Pastor Barnett’s quote, “Find a

need and fill it, find a hurt and heal it.” Pastor Tommy Barnett

co-pastors with his son Matthew Barnett in providing the vision, Tommy Barnett is the Senior Pastor of one

leadership skills, training, and financial management for the ministry. of the fastest growing churches in America, Phoenix First Assembly

Matthew Barnett Tommy Barnett, best-selling author, church growth pioneer, and

founder of what Time Magazine noted as “One of the three largest

churches in America,” Pastor Matthew has learned powerful

principles of ministry, which have gifted him in founding The Dream

Center in Los Angeles.

The Dream Center began as a typical local church. With the fresh

vision and desire to impact the entire city that God birthed in

Matthew’s heart, the church grew from 39 members at its As a boy, the preacher’s son had a dream: a church that remained

conception in September of 1994, to reaching more than 50,000 open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. This church would serve the

people each week in the Center’s multiple services and over 200 inner cities’ physical and spiritual needs, bringing a message of hope

ministries and outreaches today. The Dream Center houses over to the seemingly hopeless. The Dream Center is the fulfillment of

600 people who are being rehabilitated for the glory of God. Every that dream. Pastor Matthew Barnett founded The Dream Center in

week people receive food and many other services are offered to 1994, starting an international movement reaching from South

meet the spiritual and physical needs of the community. America to Sweden.

In November 2001, Matthew took over the leadership of Angelus Matthew Barnett, New York Times Best Selling Author, and pastor

Temple. Opened in 1923 by Aimee Semple McPherson, Matthew of one of America’s fastest growing churches, is one of the most

continues the churches legacy of reaching the lost, hurting, and dynamic voices God is using in Christianity today. Son of Pastor oppressed. The church now reaches thousands weekly and, together Caroline Barnett with The Dream Center, is showing how churches and outreach centers can work together to make a huge impact for God’s kingdom.

Pastor Matthew has spoken in some of the largest and most prestigious conventions, conferences, meetings, and churches throughout America and the world. He has consulted leading businessmen, celebrities, and athletes. Former President George W. In 1996, Caroline came to The Dream Center

Bush has endorsed him with the highest regards to his after hearing her family discuss the work being done there. After achievements, and his church has been recognized several times in her visit, Caroline felt God calling her to volunteer at the Center. At the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times for its contribution 18, Caroline and her best friend started the Food Truck Ministry to the community. delivering food to impoverished families and individuals each day.

Today, more than 50,000 people are fed each month through this Matthew and his wife, Caroline, have two children, Mia Aimee and

outreach ministry. Caden West.

In 1999, Caroline wed Dream Center Senior Pastor Matthew Barnett,

and they have two children, daughter Mia Aimee, and son Caden

West. Together, they have ignited a spark in the inner-city of Los

Angeles. The Dream Center is currently reaching thousands of people every week for the Lord Jesus Christ, providing food, God-given cause to change this world with just a little bit of effort clothing, shelter, medical care and other necessities. and a lot of faith; simply their willingness.

In 2001, Matthew and Caroline also became the senior pastors of

Angelus Temple, the birthplace of the Foursquare denomination, giving The Dream Center ministry a much needed sanctuary. References Together, the historic Angelus Temple and The Dream Center are

nd reaching thousands of people in Los Angeles and are truly effecting www.dreamcenter.org [accessed May 2 2016] change in an impoverished area of a hurting city where many believed a large church could never exist at all.

Caroline has played a pivotal role in program development at The

Dream Center. Programs such as the Family Floor, a transitional program for homeless families, and Project Prevention, a foster care intervention program designed to keep families together, and many more have all been created out of her desire to help families succeed. Caroline also leads Angelus Temple’s women’s ministry. She is passionate about inspiring the women of the church to find their