An epic is a sweeping story with a hero at the center, an artistic expression through narrative. This is an apt description of the gospel of Jesus Christ and also how God is creating something beautiful out of people here.
We are a multicultural church born from an Asian American heritage seeking to be a reconciled alternative to the society in which we live: a visible and tangible sign of the kingdom of God. We are not an evangelical church, we are an American Baptist Church leaning into our Anabaptist heritage.
In part, this means we are a church that affirms the role of women, people of color, and our LGBTQ community in the Kingdom of God while living in a place that has erected barriers to this. In Jesus, we believe spirituality is ultimately human, relational, and holistic. Our values of community, justice, and healing are varied expressions of this same Christic love.
It is through story—God’s story, your story, our story—that we are embodying our unique witness in the world to God's love. It is how we are living the story of Jesus together.
Epic Church was planted in Orange County in1998 by a team of 22 people led by Pastor Kevin Doi. In 2001, after a nomadic existence, the church relocated to Downtown Fullerton where it put down roots and continues to grow as an Asian American multicultural community learning to follow Jesus.
In 2017, Reverend Doi left for other opportunities and Epic moved locations in Fullerton to our current home with First Lutheran and The Table. By the grace of God, we only had to move to the other end of the block!
We have membership with the American Baptist Churches of Los Angeles, Southwest, and Hawaii (ABCOFLASH), one of the most diverse denominational regions in the country, and with whom we share a commitment to the urban city, to reconciliation and justice, and to world mission.
Epic has a simple structure with only two standing governing bodies written into its constitution and by-laws: the church board and the pastoral staff.
The board was established to provide fiduciary and legal aspects of the church’s governance and to ensure compliance with regulations necessary to maintain our 501(c) 3 status and membership within the American Baptist Churches of Los Angeles, our denomination.
Organizationally, the board is accountable to the congregation; the pastors are accountable to the board. Biblically, we are all accountable to one another.
Our board operates as a team in the same way we try to operate as a church – not as a business, but as a community created by the Spirit. We are a ministry team, not a board of directors in a narrow sense. The board does take the fiduciary and legal responsibilities very seriously; this is a vital part of our responsibility to the church. Yet the board is also cognizant that it is always first a servant of Christ and the church, his body.
