Reverend Harold Korver, Emmanuel Church
Reverend Korver was introduced by Bill Pellegrino who informed us that Harold came to Paramount in 1971 with his wife, Shirley, and five sons. Harold and Shirley have been married for 57 years and later adopted a sixth son. Of their six sons, three are ministers and three are teachers. The Korver name is familiar to NBA fans. Grandson Kyle, plays for the Utah Jazz who recently faced the L.A. Lakers in the first round of the playoffs.
Reverend Korver choose Hinge Points as the topic for his talk. These are life changing events. He believes that his first one occurred before his conception when his parents prayed that a son be born unto them that would become a minister. Harold has always felt the sense of call and destiny to a life in Christ. He believes that we are all here for a purpose.
Another hinge point was regarding his move to Paramount. Paramount was the last place he wanted to be, because he was tired of dealing with Dutchmen. They wanted him to come to a church that was decaying from a membership of 500 that was down to 200. He didn't understand what part of NO they didn't understand. But when Dr. Ray Biel, Paramount Rotary Past President and currently Paramount Rotary Honorary Member, called to tell him that they where holding a 24 hour prayer vigil for him to come to Paramount and he hoped he was praying as well. This caused Harold to go to the chapel and pray. Harold says that 38 years in a dying Dutch church has been a great time.
Another hinge point was reading the Bible where Jeremiah told the Israelites after their 700 mile walk to Babylon that they should "seek the welfare of the city and the welfare of the city will become your welfare". Just as Jesus had done good works that caused the faithful to come to the church so it would be today. Reverend Korver reported that two weeks ago 1400 people used $11,000 worth of paint in a build a better Compton effort that has been going on for three years. Watts is next on their list.
The story of Emmanuel Church follows. Get more information by going to their website at http://www.erc.la
During the 1920's, immigrant farm and dairy workers from the Netherlands arrived in the area. In 1925, 17 families banded together to form Hynes Reformed Church in what is now known as Paramount. We rented a tavern on the corner of Alondra and Paramount 
boulevards and worshiped there - all in Dutch.
In the 1940s we changed our name to Emmanuel Reformed Church and made the hard transition to worshiping in English. As more Midwesterners of Dutch stock moved into the area the church began to grow. But by the 1960s and 70s the dairies were moving out of town and some wondered whether Emmanuel would survive.
In 1971 Harold Korver and his family were called to pastor Emmanuel. Harold did not want to leave Chicago, but as he prayed about this call he literally felt ill unless he was facing westward. So Harold, Shirley and the 5 boys crammed into their 1966 Pontiac station wagon and drove to Paramount where they have lived ever since. 
The 1980s saw the ethnic makeup of the Paramount area shift to become more diverse. Harold kept preaching that we were called to be a "Mission Outpost" and we've been seeking to live into that vision ever since. Amongst other things, in the 1980s and 90s Emmanuel partnered with the City of Paramount to clean up the city and help catalyze a movement that saw the city transition from one of the least desirable cities to in America to becoming an All-American City.
In the midst of the LA riots and the recession of the 1990s we started our first intentionally multicultural worship service focused on 
reaching and blessing our community. Then we launched our CenterPoint and Spanish services - and along the way we've been trying to learn what it means to be a good neighbor here in Paramount which has meant starting our basketball ministry, Afterschool program, food ministry, and health ministry.
The newest adventure God is calling us to is to partner with the churches and the people of Compton to see the rebirth of that city that will continue to spread. We've committed our next 40 years to the spiritual, social, and economic renewal of the city of Compton - a vision that is way beyond us, and yet is not beyond God at all. We're committed to planting 100 churches westward towards the heart of Los Angeles. We're committed to becoming a discipleship center that develops leaders for God's mission in this region. We're not fancy people, but we believe God is on the move and we're excited to be a part of what He's doing in our area.
Reverend Harold Korver with Bill Pellegrino.