Our Mission
- To worship and love God and neighbor by bringing people to Jesus Christ so they can become a member of his family, develop them to spiritual maturity and give them the necessary tools for their ministry in the church and life mission to make disciples of others.
- “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength. And you shall love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:37,39)
- “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” (Matthew 28:19-20).
Our Vision
- We want to make St. James relevant, prayerful and exciting by giving our parishioners the tools they need to grow to spiritual maturity like Jesus Christ so they can continue God’s mission to bring people to his kingdom.
- We do this by reaching out to disconnected Catholics in the South Bay (Torrance, Redondo Beach, Palos Verdes) and encouraging our members to do the same.
Our Strategy
- Currently one in three Catholics are no longer connected to the Catholic Church. Our strategy is to creatively reach out to disconnected Catholics in our South Bay community with a vibrant, meaningful and engaging presentation of the life-changing message of the Gospel to make committed disciples of Jesus Christ. We do this by bringing people in as members, we build them up to spiritual maturity, we train them for ministry, and we send them out on a mission, following in the footsteps of Jesus Christ.
- Our weekend experience plays a significant role in our strategy. Our captivating and life enhancing weekend homily and music is central to the weekend experience. Our music, homilies and ministers work together to create an irresistible environment of energy and excellence in which newcomers feel welcome and want to come back.
- Equally important strategically are excellent weekend programs for kids and students where the messages usually parallel the adult message (we don’t have this yet but we should do this).
- Newcomers are encouraged to come back. Regular weekend attendees are encouraged to take the next step and become a member. Members are challenged to get to the next level in their spiritual life: serve in a ministry, join a small group, contribute regularly through faith direct or envelopes, support our mission, spend daily quiet time with God, and increasingly honor and worship God in all areas of their daily lives. Members are also encouraged to invest in and invite their unchurched friends to our weekend experience.
- Our strategy is to try and meet each person exactly where they are the way the early apostles did during their ministry that they might grow to spiritual maturity like our savior Jesus Christ.
PARISH MISSION STATEMENT
The mission of St. James Church is to build up the Body of Christ by evangelizing those weak in faith, healing the hurt and alienated Catholic, nourishing the faith and commitment of its active members. We encourage those in our Faith Community to be:
- Involved in regular Mass Attendance
- Participants in the sacramental life of the Church
- Committed to personal spiritual growth
- Registered & contributing members of the Church
- Supportive of the community through ministry & service in right relationship with one another