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Cottonwood Church With Bayless Conley
02 July 2010
Los Angeles: home to baseball's Dodgers, Disneyland, Universal Studios and, of course, Hollywood. It's a city renowned around the world for so many things.
Thankfully, the region around LA is also home to some of America's finest churches. Among the very finest is Cottonwood Church in Los Alamitos, in southern California.
Founded and led by Pastors Bayless and Janet Conley, the church has grown over the past two decades from just a handful of people to several thousand, with what is now probably one of the finest church complexes in the US.
Pastor Bayless is well known to many viewers of CNBC and its affiliates in Europe and beyond for his Answers with Bayless Conley TV programmes, seen most Sunday mornings. He has a long-time passion for renewal in Europe and has worked tirelessly to promote the Christian message particularly in the German-speaking nations.
Mal Fletcher recently spoke at Cottonwood Church over a week of meetings. He was the keynote speaker at the Commencement Ceremony for graduates of the Cottonwood Leadership College. Some 200 students graduated from the two-year programme and Mal addressed them regarding six questions to ask continually if they're to succeed as leaders in an age of rapid change.
Mal also addressed a mid-week study event, speaking as a futurist on some of the big shifts occurring in globalised Western culture - and how the Christian church can engage those changes in a proactive way.
Mal also spoke at the four church services over Saturday evening and Sunday, plus a special multi-generational evening event called FUSE, where he addressed 'The Livingstone Lesson': staying with something for the long-term. This evening follows in a series, where fathers-in-the-faith share on the big lessons they're learned. A week before Mal's appearance, Pastor Jack Hayford shared.
Mal and Davina enjoyed the gracious hospitality of the Cottonwood team throughout their brief but intensive visit, and especially appreciated the time they had with old friends Bayless and Janet Conley.
After the visit to LA, Mal said: 'This is one of my favourite churches in the world. That's no exaggeration. I've been here before a few times, but it's been a few years since I was here last.'
'To see the growth in the size and influence of the church is wonderful. These people are serious about offering something positive and lasting to their city and to the nations of the world.'
'If you're ever visiting LA and looking for a church to visit, this should be your first port of call!'
For more on Cottonwood Church, please visit: www.cottonwood.org.
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