OurHistory
90 Years of Sharing God’s Love and Joy with the World
On February 1, 1925, the mission of First Lutheran Church of Inglewood began with its first worship service. The congregation was founded under the leadership of Rev. William Lange, and they began meeting in the Inglewood Theater on LaBrea and Queen St. with 30 people in attendance.
In 1961, it was time to expand. The congregation built a new sanctuary stretching to the corner of Oak and Queen Street, a new office area, and installed stained glass windows. The stained glass windows are a story in and of themselves. They come from the original First Lutheran church building. Each one is special and was installed as a memorial to a few of our members. The windows include references to Palm Sunday Holy Communion, The Holy Spirit, the cross, prayer, salvation, and more.
What began as a mission congregation in 1925 has remained a congregation in mission!
Whether it is ministry with youth and children’s Bible school, affordable music classes for people of all ages, or serving food to the community, our congregation has always sought to share God’s love and joy with the world.
To this day, we pride ourselves with the diversity of our congregation and the enthusiastic expansion of our outreach programs. Our services are a unique mix of contemporary music and traditional organ services that cater to the worship styles of all of our members. Since the fall of 2013, the congregation has been led by Reverend Dr. George Villa who has extensive experience working within the Southern California Synod as Mission Director and Assistant to the bishop as well as within urban and multilingual congregations. Together with the congregation, we all work to spread the word of God through our service to the community. His work, our hands.
About Our Pastor
Rev. Dr. George Villa has been an ordained minister since 1978. He graduated seminary at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary in Berkeley California which is where he also received his Masters of Divinity. Pastor George has also received his Masters of education from Arizona State University in 1981 and a PhD in education from University of California, Santa Barbara in 1987.
Pastor George is a proud U.S. Navy Veteran of the Vietnam war where he served as a Navy medic during two combat tours. He was Honorably Discharged in 1972 after four years of service.
Pastor George is happily married and his three daughters, his son in law, and his grandson all serve faithfully at First Lutheran Church of Inglewood.
Pastor George is a proud U.S. Navy Veteran of the Vietnam war where he served as a Navy medic during two combat tours. He was Honorably Discharged in 1972 after four years of service.
Pastor George is happily married and his three daughters, his son in law, and his grandson all serve faithfully at First Lutheran Church of Inglewood.