Church of the Open Door
The Church of the Open Door was conceived by R. A. Torrey who had come to Los Angeles to start a Bible institute (now known as Biola University) similar to Moody Bible Institute. The church was to be strictly non-denominational, though Evangelical. Its purpose was to reach the lost of Los Angeles, which was reflected in the name based on two passages of Scripture: John 10:9 and Revelation 3:8. Other pastors have included Louis T. Talbot (1932–1948) and J. Vernon McGee (1949–1970). The current Pastor is Ed Underwood.
For 70 years the church was located in downtown Los Angeles on Hope Street. It relocated to Glendora, California in 1985.
The original church building was located in downtown Los Angeles and was demolished in the late 1980s. Despite efforts led by the late William Eugene Scott to prevent the building from being sold to developers and to have the building saved as a historic landmark, the building could not be saved because it was so damaged in the 1987 Whittier Narrows earthquake that it was declared unsafe and the cost of repairs deemed prohibitive. The historic "Jesus Saves" sign from the original building can now be seen atop the Los Angeles University Cathedral. It was relocated there by the late William Eugene Scott, the owner of the building at the time of earthquake, who took it with him when his church relocated following the earthquake.
Glendora
When the church moved to Glendora in 1985, it purchased land from Azusa Pacific University. It is still a thriving church, with about 500 worshipers every Sunday. Ed Underwood is the current pastor, with David Anderson serving as associate pastor. There are four services every Sunday, a Traditional Service, two Contemporary Services and a Spanish Service. The Traditional Service meets at 8:00am in the White House, a building named for the late Charles White. The Contemporary meets at 9:15 a.am and 11:00 a.m. in the new Worship Center, which is located just South of the gym and the Spanish Service also meets at 9:15am in the gym. A variety of Sunday School classes are available, including ones for adults, and ones for children and teenagers. HUB (Home Unity Bible) groups meet weekly in local church families homes. This small group ministry is centered around fellowship and discussion of the pastor's sermon from Sunday.
Pastors
- Senior Pastor: Ed Underwood
- Adult Pastor: David Anderson
- Youth Pastor: David Newkirk
- Children's Pastor: Scott Dodson
- Worship Pastor: Tom Townsend
- Missions Pastor: David Schaller