Country United States Churchmanship Pentecostalism | Website DreamCenter.org | |
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Location 2301 Bellevue AvenueLos Angeles, California Former name(s) L.A. International Church Similar Angelus Temple, Phoenix First Assembly, New York Dream Center, Mosaic, First Presbyterian Church of | ||
La the dream center
The Dream Center is a Pentecostal Christian Church mission located at 2301 Bellevue Avenue in the Echo Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, two blocks west of Alvarado Street on the north side of the 101 Freeway. It is two miles from Downtown Los Angeles and a little over two miles from Hollywood.
Contents
Based out of the former Queen of Angels Hospital at Bellevue and Waterloo Street, the facility consists of almost 400,000 ft² (37,000 m²) in buildings on 8.8 acres (36,000 m²) of prime commercial real estate.
The church ministers to gang members, drug addicts, unwed mothers and children without parents, motorcycle groups, taggers, AIDS victims, and various subculture, ethnic and nationality groups. It feeds the homeless and others in need and runs a halfway house for released prisoners. Close to 500 people are housed at the center and receive rehabilitation. Many other services are offered each week to meet the spiritual and physical needs of the community.
The Dream Center is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization. Pastor Matthew Barnett manages the Dream Center and pastors the Angelus Temple, which is a Foursquare Pentecostal church.
History
The church was founded in 1993 as the "L.A. International 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.
When the church began in September 1994, there were 39 members. The congregation grew from an average attendance of 48 on Sunday morning to reaching more than 35,000 people each week in the Center's 40 services and 273 ministries and outreaches.
In the first four years of the Dream Center's establishment, prostitution and gang violence dropped 73%, the homicide rate dropped 28% and rape dropped 53%. This may have also been due, in part, to rampant gentrification in the area during the time period, but the Mayor of Los Angeles and the City Council publicly acknowledged the dramatic impact of the Dream Center and praised its efforts. In 2000, George W. Bush, then Governor of Texas, visited the Dream Center and deemed it "a model for faith-based organizations."
In 2001, Pastor Matthew Barnett and the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel united the Dream Center with the famous Angelus Temple. Through a process of two Christian denominations working together, the unification was possible, and as of November 1, 2001, Pastor Barnett became the senior pastor over Angelus Temple as well as the Dream Center.
Associated Dream Centers have been established in other cities. Over 100 Dream Centers have been launched around the world.
Outreach
The Dream Center has a number of resources for both the community and people living in different states or countries. For the Homeless they have a Transitional Family Housing Program, Skid Row Outreach and a Food Chapel. For Human Trafficking victims they have the Human Trafficking Program, the emergency shelter and the emergency hotline. For community outreach they have The Dream Center Academy, The Lord's Gym, Adopt-a-Block, the Youth Center, and the Worship Project. For hunger in general they provide a Food Truck and a Food Bank to the public. For poverty issues they have the Emancipating Youth Home program, Foster Care Intervention, Clothing Outreach, Mobile Medical Clinic, Adult Education Program, and the Job Placement and Transition Program. For recovery they have the Men's and Women's Discipleship live in program.
Controversy
According to BBC News, some Hurricane Katrina evacuees who stayed at the Dream Center felt like prisoners. "Ricky Valentine said he was desperate to leave the Dream Center: "We can't get none of the cash benefits because we're staying here. We need them so we can try to move on and get back into society." "We're not used to feeling like we've got to be in prison. We're evacuees, not prisoners," he added angrily."
In response to the complaints, several social activists, led by Ted Hayes, a homelessness advocate, called a news conference demanding an investigation of the Dream Center. After visiting the Dream Center, however, and being given a tour of the facility, the activists concluded that the accusations were groundless. ""There is no basis to the complaints we've heard," Hayes said,"The horror stories reported to us do not exist.""