Breath of Life Church Dedicates New Home

By Betty Cooney

Photo by Clarence Brown

At the conclusion of the dedication service, church officers held a red ribbon encompassing the front of the sanctuary and tied by pastors McPhaull (at right at the podium) and Brooks.

After 27 years of worshiping in rented facilities, the Breath of Life church ended its “homelessness” by celebrating with a Bless This House dedication service on March 27. Uniquely planned as a ribbon-tying ceremony, the service symbolized the launch of the church’s planned renovation efforts.

C. D. Brooks, veteran evangelist and speaker emeritus for the Breath of Life telecast, was the speaker, capping a weeklong week of prayer and preaching. Weeknight speakers included former BOL pastors Leslie N. Pollard, James L. Kyle II, and Adolphus Garnett.

The church’s history, written by communication director Clarence Brown and delivered by Gwen Bosworth, recounted how the congregation’s initial flourishing following an effort by Brooks dwindled to an attendance of five in the 1990s. Determined to continue, members sought pastoral help. Pastor Rockne Dahl stepped forward on an interim basis, conducting early BOL worship services, then hurrying on to speak in Santa Monica.

The dedication service for the new building of the now-thriving congregation overflowed with expressions of gratitude to God. The Breath of Life Quartet’s “My Lord, What a Time” reflected members’ joy. Former pastors Kyle, Garnett and Brooks joined with current pastor Don McPhaull and his associate Roger Frazier in praising God for His goodness in leading the church to that celebration.

“The dedication was a joy for me,” said McPhaull. “I believe one of the missions the Lord sent me to accomplish was to help secure a building, so the church could move forward with its mission of sharing the everlasting gospel and the judgment-hour messages with the community.

“We have already begun,” McPhaull added. “Every Sabbath, teams go door to door in the community to invite people to worship with us; making them aware of programs we are having in our church. We opened a food bank — the first day, about 100 persons came and that number has increased slightly since then.”

McPhaull hosts “The Joy of Faith,” a weekly program airing on KKLA-FM 99.5 at 12:30 p.m. on Sundays. The church is located at 425 South La Brea Ave., Inglewood (www.breathla.org).