April 24 Today in OPC History

On April 24, 1977, Bonita Presbyterian Church in Bonita, California broke ground on their new building. Started in 1971 as a weeknight prayer group out of members from the Point Loma OPC, Bonita Church held its first worship service on September 17, 1972 at the Ella B. Allen School with forty-four in attendance. In April 1973, the group called Mr. John Garrisi as its first pastor and was received as a particular congregation into the Presbytery of Southern California on September 12, 1973.

In 1977, a lot was secured on Central Avenue. Every Saturday morning for nine months, volunteers would arrive to work on the property, doing such things as digging ditches, laying pipe and building the foundation form. A regular part of the work days was a devotional at 8:00 A.M. The first worship service in the new building took place on December 25, 1977.

Bonita Presbyterian Church continues to this day under the pastoral ministry of the Rev. Joseph Puglia.

Picture: Left to Right, Ed Kellogg, Gordon Peterson, John Garrisi, and Larry Conard at the ground breaking on April 24, 1977.