Mosaic (church)
Mosaic is a multi-site megachurch based in Los Angeles, California and is currently led by Erwin McManus.
History
Thirty-five charter members of Bethel Baptist Church began meeting on January 3, 1943 in a rented store front in Los Angeles, California. Members brought their own chairs to the first service. By 1958, two more "missions" or services were established in Baldwin Park and Monterey Park.In 1969, at age 24, Thomas A. Wolf "Brother Tom" became senior pastor of the then-named First Southern Baptist Church of East Los Angeles. Demographic shifted in the '60s in East Los Angeles, and the small number of people still attending were predominantly Caucasian/Anglo and elderly in an area that was becoming more diverse with Hispanic, Armenian and Asian families moving in as Caucasian/Anglo families moved to the suburbs. The churches' new make-up was approximately 50 percent Hispanic, 40 percent Caucasian or Anglo and 10 percent Asian.
Wolf created a leadership team that reflected this new cultural make-up with Hispanics filling over 50 percent of elder and leadership roles and Asian serving approximately 20 percent of these roles.
Located on Brady Ave, church members began to refer to the congregation as The Church on Brady. Although never officially changed this was how it became recognized.
Brother Tom, as he was called, developed and led the church in a common mission to "become a spiritual reference point east of downtown Los Angeles and a sending base to the ends of the earth."
Wolf pioneered "Oikos Evangelism": reaching out to one's circle of influence; home church groups or "Share Groups". He fostered a new church, an American apostolic church, rather a church based solely on tradition.
In the early 1990s The Church on Brady was responsible for more missionaries than any other church in the International Mission Board, regardless of size. Lyle E. Schaller states, "The Church on Brady tenaciously and persistently pursued the perennial apostolic paradigm of church... multiplication rather than church maintenance." The Church on Brady started many new churches both locally in or near Los Angeles and internationally.
By 1983 the original building on Brady was far outgrown and in need of repair. Wolf led the church through a building phase that was completed in 1987. Even though many were sent out, Brady faced a constant issue of overcrowding due to perennial growth.
In October 1991, Erwin McManus was first introduced to The Church on Brady as the keynote speaker at Brady's Spare Not Conference on World Evangelism. He was then invited to move to The Church on Brady and Los Angeles to transition into the role of Senior Pastor.
Early in 1994, McManus officially became Senior Pastor. Wolf then moved into the role of "Teaching Pastor" and simultaneously accepted a teaching position at Golden Gate Seminary in San Francisco.
Born in El Salvador, McManus had moved at an early age to the United States with his family. He brought 15 years experience as an evangelist and speaker.
McManus built on the foundation set at Brady. Multi-media was the new tool in churches at the time. McManus encouraged use of these new tools making greater use of art and dance as weekly components of worship. Regular night-time services began being offered.
A new name was sought with "MOSAIC" being the accepted choice. It was at this time that the Sunday night service was moved to the Club Soho, a nightclub in downtown Los Angeles. MOSAIC has since become a single church with multiple sites.
In 2006, Mosaic had approximately 60 nationalities with 2,000 in weekly attendance. Since then, Mosaic has expanded to 7 campuses along the Pacific Coast and has a weekly attendance of over 5,000.
Beliefs
Mosaic's mission is to live by faith, to be known by love, and to be a voice of hope. The church exists to declare the name of Jesus to the world and to create a place called home for those who don't have one.Mosaic has established five core values:
- Mission is why the church exists: The Church is a movement, not an institution. Every follower of Jesus is commissioned by God. Commission. Wind
- Love is the context for all mission: The Church is relational, not programmatic. Every follower of Jesus is part of a larger community. Community. Water.
- Structure must submit to spirit: The Church is empowering, not controlling. Every follower of Jesus is called and connected uniquely to serve. Connection. Wood
- Relevance to culture is not optional. The Church is an incarnation, not esoteric. Every follower of Jesus celebrates communion with God. Communion. Fire.
- Creativity is the natural result of spirituality. The Church is transforming, not conforming. Every follower of Jesus grows in Christ Like character. Character. Earth.
Campuses
Mosaic Hollywood launched in 2011 at the former Fifth Church of Christ, Scientist building at 7107 Hollywood Boulevard. The 1959 structure located at the intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and La Brea Avenue has been designated a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument.
Mosaic South Pasadena launched in 2017. It currently meets at 1023 Fair Oaks Ave in the historic Rialto Theatre. On December 20, 2019, building owner Izek Shomof told the South Pasadena News that Mosaic will get a new 20-year lease for its weekend religious services to continue operating in the Rialto.
Since moving into the abandoned theatre, Mosaic has hosted several movie nights, showing classic and modern films alike inside the theatre, such as ‘It's A Wonderful Life", "Ghostbusters", and "La La Land."
Mosaic Venice was launched in 2017.
Mosaic Orange County was launched in 2018.
Mosaic Seattle was launched in 2019.
Mosaic Mexico City was launched in 2018. Mosaic Mexico is led by Emerson and Christina Nowotny.
Mosaic Ecuador was launched in 2020.
Cultural topics
Mosaic has a podcast called "Battle Ready," hosted by Erwin and Aaron McManus. The podcast covers a variety of topics, ranging from leadership, to personal struggles that humans experience.In one of the most viewed episodes on Youtube of the Podcast, Erwin and Aaron discuss mental health and the struggles of being human. They talk about their personal experience with battling stress and anxiety, and how they overcome those struggles every day.
Since the episode's release on April 9, 2018, Mosaic and Erwin have continued to help others overcome their battles with mental health. In an interview with Fox News, released on February 26, 2019 about his book, The Way of The Warrior: An Ancient Path to Inner Peace, Erwin commented:
"’This is just a part of being human. This doesn’t mean you’re broken. This doesn’t mean that you can’t find wholeness, but what it actually means is that you’re a human being and you’re dealing with real issues in life. But the pain inside of us has to be addressed.’"
Mosaic has advocated for refugees, both domestically in the United States and globally around the world.
World Vision International, a Christian organization that works to overcome poverty and injustice, listed Mosaic's Lead Pastor, Erwin McManus, as one of the top 25 mission minded church leaders. The list includes pastors and leaders who are, "missions focused, Kingdom-minded and passionate about caring for the poor and oppressed".
On April 29, 2019, CCM Magazine released an article, mentioning Mosaic's involvement abroad.
On May 28, 2019, the online magazine Hypebeast published an article, "Church and Streetwear: A Match Made in Heaven", in which Emily Jensen wrote and quoted McManus as having a large gay attendance and being "for everybody." On June 25, 2019, the article was updated after several former members disputed McManus's comment. McManus responded with a statement describing the church's community as diverse.
On July 13, 2019, Refinery29 published an article on Mega Churches which described Mega-Churches as image-obsession and claiming to have "open doors" while also being unwelcoming and unsupporting to LGBTQ+ members and the LGBTQ+ community. One former attendee said that openly gay people were denied leadership positions at Mosaic because they were gay.
Pastor Erwin McManus and Aaron McManus have a TV Show called McManus on Trinity Broadcasting Network's Hillsong Channel. The McManus TV show covers the hottest, hardest topics and current events, bringing unique insight, scriptural wisdom, and clarity.