A Church Coming Back from the Ashes
Altadena Baptist Church has stood on the northeast corner of Calaveras and El Molino since a group of Methodists built the first structure there in 1906. Baptists have worshipped on that corner since 1934, and for nearly a century the red brick sanctuary with its bell tower has been a familiar landmark in the neighborhood north of Pasadena. On January 7, 2025, the Eaton Fire swept through the community and reduced nearly everything on the property to ash, taking the sanctuary, the children's center next door, and the homes of many ABC families along with it. Only one small building on the lot survived - the former infant and toddler wing of the Altadena Children's Center, which has been cleaned up to serve as a temporary office and meeting space.
What has not burned is the congregation itself. The bell tower, photographed standing alone in the smoke, has become a kind of emblem for the church's next chapter. Altadena Baptist has continued to gather for worship, to feed its neighbors, to baptize, to study, to grieve, and to plan. A Rebuild Team of church members has been meeting with architects, a project manager, and city partners to turn the congregation's vision into a new campus designed to speak to people three generations in the future.
Meeting Now at a Temporary Home in Altadena
For nearly eight months after the fire, the congregation worshipped at Highlands Church in La Crescenta, which opened its youth room and fellowship hall to its displaced neighbors. In September 2025, ABC moved back into Altadena and now gathers for worship on Sundays at 1:00 PM, downstairs at Christian Science Altadena, 942 E Altadena Drive. Worshipers enter from the back parking lot. The service is also live-streamed on the church's YouTube channel for those who cannot attend in person.
The mailing address for the church remains P.O. Box 91055, Pasadena, CA 91109, and the church office phone (626-797-8970) rolls to Pastor George's phone so that members and friends can always reach someone. The office email is office@altadenabaptist.org, and gifts may be sent through Zelle to altabap@aol.com.
Roots in Two Congregations, Now One
Altadena Baptist was formed in 1966 from the merger of two earlier churches. The first, First Baptist Church of Altadena, was founded in 1934 when a small group of believers bought the property from the Methodists during the Depression. The second, First Swedish Baptist Church of Pasadena, had been established in 1920 by Swedish-speaking immigrants. By the mid-1960s, that congregation had become comfortable in English and culturally American, and the two groups joined to form a new, broader congregation affiliated with what was then the Baptist General Conference, now known as Converge International.
Since the merger the church has been led by four pastors. The current pastoral team is Lead Pastor Connie Larson DeVaughn and Associate Pastor George Van Alstine, the latter having served the congregation for more than five decades.
An Intergenerational, Interracial, Egalitarian Family of Faith
ABC's own self-description is unusual and emphatic. The congregation calls itself "a nurturing faith family of spiritual seekers from all racial backgrounds" that "affirms the equality of women, men and people of diverse gender identifications in its membership, leadership and ministry." Four watershed decisions have shaped that identity:
- Racial integration. In the early 1970s, recognizing that its neighborhood was changing, the congregation made a sustained effort to become thoroughly racially integrated, a commitment that has been part of its distinctive character ever since.
- Women in leadership. In the late 1970s the congregation affirmed the equal gifting of women and men. Women first became Deacons in 1980 and were ordained as ministers beginning in 1982.
- The Altadena Children's Center. In 1982, after surveying homes in the surrounding community, the church launched ACC, a separate nonprofit that has provided quality, affordable childcare on the property for more than forty years.
- LGBTQ+ affirmation. After several years of study and conversation, ABC formally opened its fellowship and leadership to the LGBTQ+ community, a step rarely taken in evangelical Baptist settings.
The church's stated motivating values - an inclusive worshiping body, an affirming family fellowship, an authentic Christ-centered ministry, and an expansive gospel commission - flow from those decisions. Worship is centered on God through the lens of Jesus Christ, music draws from all the cultural traditions in the room, and participation is meant to involve young and old, women and men, people of every ethnicity and gender expression.
Worship on Sunday Afternoon
Sunday worship at 1:00 PM is built around solid Biblical preaching, prayers of confession, petition and aspiration, and congregational singing led by the Praise Team. Volunteer musicians, lay leaders, ushers, and sound and audio-visual technicians all help shape the service. The atmosphere is intentionally intergenerational: children and youth regularly serve as worship leaders, and the message is aimed at younger generations while still honoring the spiritual journey of older members.
During the sermon time, children and youth who wish to do so may step out for Kids Church, a hands-on program that reinforces the day's teaching. The whole congregation - including the pastors - intentionally prays over each young person and child by name.
Children, Youth, and an All-Ages Table
ABC describes itself as "an intentional multigenerational community." Children are integrated into adult activities as much as possible, rather than separated off entirely. Youth Group for junior high and high school students meets every Friday from 6:30 to 8:00 PM, combining friendship-building with substantive Bible teaching. Vacation Bible School runs for a week each summer from 9:00 AM to 12:30 PM for children in kindergarten through eighth grade, with rotating stations for music, Bible story, recreation, missions, and crafts. The program is also a leadership pipeline for high schoolers and young adults who serve as mentors.
Bible Study, Prayer, and the TLC Groups
The church holds that God speaks directly to sincere seekers through Scripture, and it invests accordingly. In addition to Bible-based preaching, ABC hosts several TLC small groups that meet either weekly or twice a month. Each group studies the Bible, prays together, and supports its members through life's ups and downs; group members choose the study focus themselves, with the pastors providing backup resources. A Stephen Ministries program provides confidential one-to-one Christ-centered care for people in the congregation and the wider community who are going through difficult seasons.
Three times a year the women of the church gather on a Saturday morning for a Prayer Brunch built around what ABC calls the four E's: eating together, encouraging one another, enjoying God's Word together, and entering into God's presence. A weekly ABC Messenger newsletter carries a pastoral reflection and community updates, and an online Prayer Wall lets members share prayer requests and pray for one another.
Serving Altadena and the Wider World
Spiritual Outreach is the other half of the congregation's life, alongside Spiritual Growth. The list of partnerships is long and locally rooted.
Each week, ABC hosts a neighborhood food distribution through its partnership with Trader Joe's Neighborhood Shares, redistributing about-to-expired groceries to neighbors on fixed incomes. The church reports that the program has distributed more than $200,000 worth of food in a recent year. For decades, ABC has also helped staff and supply the Altadena Food Pantry, open every Saturday from 10:00 AM to noon at Altadena Community Church, 943 E Altadena Drive.
Since 1987, the church has provided volunteers and meals for the Pasadena Bad Weather Shelter, which opens from November through March on weather-activated nights. ABC is a founding member of ACTS (Altadena Congregations Together Serving), an interfaith coalition that runs summer salad suppers, a Thanksgiving service, and other joint efforts to care for unhoused neighbors. The congregation also walks in Altadena Pride, supports the Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance of Greater Pasadena (and its MLK Scholarship Fund), and celebrates Black History Month each February with a 5:00 PM worship service and a soul-food dinner.
Internationally, ABC supports missions and outreach workers who focus on Jesus as the Savior God has sent to the world, choosing initiatives that emphasize whole-person ministry, family and community improvement alongside evangelism, and that reject patterns of colonialism, racial superiority, and white privilege.
Leadership and Governance
ABC is a congregation-led church, not a top-down structure governed by pastors or elders alone. Each active member has a voice in decision-making. The current pastoral team is joined by Moderator Felita Kealing and Deacon Chair Cecelia Walker, along with deacons Steven Unruh, Rob Ottaviano, Paula DeVaughn, Leon Barinaga, Joyce Spencer, Debra Hunt, Paula Hegle, and Elton Blake. Deacon Board meetings happen on the fourth Thursday of each month at 7:00 PM, and quarterly business meetings bring the whole congregation together several times a year. Homecoming Sunday, on the first Sunday of November, is one of the highlights of the church year.
Giving and Staying Connected
Offerings are received during the service for those who prefer to give by cash or check. Online gifts can be made through the church's PayPal link or by Zelle to altabap@aol.com, either as one-time or recurring gifts. Donors can designate their gift to "where most needed," "people needs," or "rebuilding the church." Sermons are posted on YouTube and are also available through the Sermon List and Sermon Series pages. A weekly email newsletter, the ABC Messenger, keeps the wider community informed.
For more than ninety years, Altadena Baptist has tried to be both small enough to be a family and large enough to be a force in its neighborhood. With its sanctuary gone but its people and its calling intact, the congregation is now writing the next chapter of that story, planning to rebuild not in the shape of three generations ago, but in a form that will speak to the Altadena of three generations to come.