A brief history of the Greek Evangelical Church

Back in the early 40’s, several Christian Greek immigrants felt God’s leading to gather in a home to worship the Lord in their native tongue. A group was quickly formed in the Los Angeles area under the leadership of Reve. Nick Bakan, the late husband of our Mina Bakan, this “Greek group” gathered at the famous Church of the Open Door in Los Angeles.

In 1961 when Reve. Bakan went to be with the Lord, a lay couple, George and Chrysanthe Lucas, took this Greek meeting to their humble home in Pasadena. Between 30 and 35 people met monthly to worship, fellowship and break bread together. In 1977, when brother Lucas was unable to lead due to old age, George and Anna Kefalas, who were led by the Lord, opened their home for these meetings. This group grew to 60-80 people meeting monthly.

In 1981, after months of seeking the Lord, a core group of people founded the Greek Evangelical Church of Los Angeles. The church began as an ethnic group serving the spiritual needs of Greeks, but it evolved into a mainstream church serving both Greeks and non Greeks in the surrounding community. The church eventually changed its name.

In the year 2001, after much prayer, most of the Greek folks withdrew from the congregation and reformed the church under its original name…Greek Evangelical Church of Los Angeles.