Pastor Mark Hopper
By Pastor Mark Hopper
My family and I came to our church here in Diamond Bar over 25 years ago. Our church had only one building at that time and a limited number of parking spaces. On a big Sunday, we actually had to ask some people to park on the lawn. Today, our worship center sits on the site where the lawn used to be. As our church grew over the years, we have been able to add some new buildings and increase the number of parking spaces on our property.
On Easter Sunday parking is always at a premium. I’m sure this is true for most of the churches in our area. You never have enough parking on Easter. Some churches provide shuttles from other parking lots nearby. We don’t have a shuttle, but we have thought about asking our Junior High ministry to provide free Valet Parking (just kidding).
We have parking agreements with some of the businesses near our church. They can use our parking lots during the week and we can use their lots on Sunday. We also ask people to “park and walk” by using these satellite parking lots and walking across the street to our campus. The result has been that on Easter Sunday our on-site parking lots look empty, because so many people “park and walk.” If you visit our church on Easter Sunday, I can guarantee that you will find plenty of parking spots.
My question is, why can’t we get more people to do this on the other 51 weeks of the year?
I hope you are planning to attend a church near you this Easter, April 20th. Don’t try to make excuses for not going because there may not be enough parking. If you don’t have a church home, please accept this invitation to celebrate with us on Easter Sunday. I’m sure that there will be plenty of parking for you and your family!
Pastor Mark Hopper
Evangelical Free Church of Diamond Bar
3255 South Diamond Bar Blvd
(909) 594-7604
Good Friday Service: 7 p.m., April 18
Easter Sunday Services: 8, 9:30 and 11 a.m.
Website: www.efreedb.org
