The History of
Littlerock Community Church
Formation and Pastors
The command of our Lord is “Go—teach—baptize—Lo, I am with you always.” A few dedicated Christian laymen obeying this command began a Sunday School in Littlerock around 1923 who met in a one-room school house. Some worship services were held by Rev. J.C. Wilson, pastor of the Palmdale Presbyterian Church.
When Rev. Harvey A. Hood became pastor of the Palmdale church, worship services were held more regularly. It was evident by October 1929 that there was sufficient strength to organize a church. At a special worship service on February 2, 1930, the Presbytery of Los Angeles officially organized and received the church through its representative, the Reverend Guy W. Wadsworth D.D. Twenty-nine persons were received as charter members and partook of the Lord’s Supper. Three elected Elders were ordained.
Sixty persons were present for the April 8, 1931, congregational meeting, and it was reported that the average Sunday School attendance was thirty-one and that there was an active “Ladies’ Missionary Society”. By the next Annual Congregational Meeting, there was a strong youth fellowship in the “Christian Endeavor”.
From the beginning of its organization, the church felt a need for a building, as all of the meetings were held in the Keppel Union School. A building fund was started and the first reported balance was $410.50 at the 1932 Annual Congregational Meeting. Nine years later, in April 1941, the time was “right” for the first building project, as evidenced by excerpts from the bulletin of the Dedication Service. Our Minister, Rev. R. Clifton Dorn wrote: “I Will Build My Church”, thus the divine Head of the Church spoke to a mere handful of disciples nearly two thousand years ago. His faith in them was validated, for, fascinated by His Spirit, and captivated by His personality, they went forth to ‘turn the world upside down’. They built well!—the peerless Commander spoke again, saying, ‘Build Me a Church in Littlerock’. As of old, the disciples responded.—The idea took hold. Soon the entire community was ‘turned upside down’. Captured by the enthusiasm of the committee, magnetized by the Master of all, as under a spell of service, everyone pitched in. Without monetary compensation but mighty cooperation, community-wide and whole-hearted, the job, was done. They built well, too!” Ground was broken on September 13, 1941, and Littlerock’s first church building, completely debt-free was dedicated on January 11, 1942.
All ministers serving the Littlerock church were pastors of the Palmdale church until 1950 when Acton and Littlerock were united into a Greater Parish with Rev. Henry C.S. Keeton as the first Pastor.
Although the Community Presbyterian Church was no longer the only church in Littlerock, in 1956 it had “Growing Pains”. There was now a need for larger and more adequate facilities. With financial aid from the Presbytery, the existing church Chapel was converted to a Fellowship Hall. A new Chapel was built and an office, kitchen, and restrooms were added and dedicated on May 18, 1958.
From 1950 to 1983, the church was yoked with the Community Presbyterian Church of Acton known as the Greater Parish. During this time nine different pastors served the Acton and Littlerock Congregations. They included the Rev. Joseph Easter (11 years); Rev. Henry Krug (5 1/2 years); Rev Jj. Raymond Dewey (5 years); and the Rev. Paul McFarlin (3 years). Worship services were held at the Acton Church at 9:00 am and Littlerock Church at 11:00 am. In 1983, the Greater Parish was dissolved. Then, the Rev. Otis Cross served originally at half-time and then three-quarter time for around 18 months.
Then, the Reverend Doctor Robert and Luella Frisbee served our pastoral needs from December 1985 until 1998. Rev. Frisbee became our first full-time pastor on May 3, 1987. In May 1999, Rev. Bob became Pastor Emeritus by a unanimous vote of the Congregation. Under Pastor Bob’s leadership, the church began a Hispanic Ministry in 1991 with Ismael Gonzales from Santa Ana, California, and Mrs. Mercedes Cevallos. In July 1993, the San Fernando Presbytery brought the Reverend Angel Becerra and his family from Guatemala to expand this ministry to the Hispanic community in the Antelope Valley. After meeting at the Littlerock church for several years, the church would eventually become a New Church Development in the Presbytery and is currently meeting in a recently purchased and renovated building in Littlerock.
The Reverend Doctor Krin J. Van Tatenhove was installed as the pastor on July 29, 2001. Pastor Krin came to us from Palm Springs, California. Pastor Krin was called to serve another church on October 1, 2005.
On November 19, 2006, The Reverend K.C.Wahe was called to serve as our new pastor. Pastor K.C. before coming to Littlerock served in youth ministry for close to 16 years at churches in Hollywood, Burbank, New Jersey, and Sacramento, California. While in New Jersey he attended the Princeton Theological Seminary where he graduated in May 2003 and was ordained as a Minister of Word and Sacrament in the Presbyterian Church USA by the Presbytery of San Fernando. We were thankful for Pastor K.C. and his family as we continue serving Christ in Littlerock and the Antelope Valley. At our September 21, 2014 Session meeting, K.C. Wahe announced that he would be resigning as the Pastor of Littlerock Community Presbyterian Church (a.k.a. Littlerock Community Church) and had accepted the position of Pastor at Silverlake Church in Los Angeles to take effect on October 12, 2014.
Between the fall of 2013 and December 1, 2015, Littlerock Community Church was in the process of investigating and completing the graceful withdrawal from PCUSA (Presbyterian Church USA) and affiliating with ECO (A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians). This process is addressed in the following pages.
On July 1, 2016, Elder Chuck Pedersen was appointed by Session as Head of Staff/Pastor. The Congregation unanimously called Chuck to Head of Staff/Pastor at the January 8, 2017, Congregational meeting. Chuck was unanimously approved for ordination and installation as the pastor of Littlerock Community Church at the October 21st meeting of the Mission Presbytery. He was installed and ordained as pastor of Littlerock Community Church on November 19, 2017. Pastor Chuck Pedersen retired on June 30, 2021.
Last updated on July 1, 2021