At Watts Powerhouse Church, Sunday worship doesn’t end with the final song. After the service, the church family gathers around a meal. Neighbors catch up. Children play. What began in worship continues through fellowship and service.
That weekly rhythm tells the story of Watts Powerhouse. This ministry in the heart of Los Angeles is more than a building. It is a place where people are known, practical needs are met, and the love of Jesus overflows.
But the road to establishing the church has been anything but easy. Through personal tragedy, financial uncertainty, and the challenges of serving in an underserved community, God has continued to make a way.
A Call to Watts
For many Americans, the 1965 Watts riots shaped perceptions of the neighborhood for generations, often overshadowing the faith, family life, and resilience that were emerging as defining characteristics of the community.
About 20 years ago, Todd and Jennifer Grant felt God calling them to leave their ministry in Arizona for South Los Angeles. As Todd researched the Watts neighborhood, fear took hold. But Jennifer remained convinced they needed to go.
“She finally gave me that nudge and said, ‘It’s time to go.’ And so that's what it took,” Todd recalled.
For Todd, Watts represents a modern-day Samaria. In Acts 1:8, Jesus calls His followers to be His witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. Like Samaria, Watts was divided by cultural and social barriers—a community many overlooked or avoided.
The Grants settled in Watts, partnering with The Christian and Missionary Alliance and World Impact to establish a church near the Imperial Courts public housing community. They believed God was calling them to cross those barriers, build relationships, and share Jesus with their neighbors.
Poverty, homelessness, gang activity, and limited resources affected everyday life. But God was also working in Todd's heart, teaching him to confront his fears and preconceived ideas as he learned to love and understand the people who called Watts home.
The Love of Jesus Made Practical
Watts Powerhouse became a place where faith was demonstrated through action. Alongside worship and discipleship, the church developed food assistance, education, mentoring, recovery support, and practical care ministries, partnering with local churches and organizations to meet needs and share Jesus.
Todd sees significant strain on family life: children without fathers present, single mothers carrying tremendous responsibilities, with marriage being the exception rather than the norm. He speaks openly about sexual immorality and the need for biblical teaching on relationships, marriage, and family.
Yet these challenges do not define the people of Watts. Todd has witnessed families pursuing the Lord amid difficult circumstances. Recent marriage ceremonies held at the church have encouraged couples to build their relationships on faith and commitment. These moments reveal God strengthening families, restoring relationships, and helping people follow Christ through the challenges and joys of everyday life.
Darryl Slack’s life was once marked by homelessness, addiction, and violence. After surviving severe injuries and battling addiction, he experienced a remarkable change. Today, he helps lead the church's recovery programs.
“He’s been clean ever since,” Todd shared. “He sends us all a goodnight text, and he leads our prayer time on Sundays.”
The church also hosts One Table Family Fellowship, bringing Christians from different racial and cultural backgrounds together through meals and conversations. Across these ministries, lives are being transformed, relationships restored, and local leaders raised up to serve their community.
When the Ministry Home Was at Risk
After establishing the church in a former school building owned by World Impact, Watts Powerhouse faced a major challenge. The organization needed to sell the property.
The large, three-story facility had become home to the church and its growing ministries. Losing it meant more than finding another place to gather. It threatened the relationships and ministry opportunities built through years of faithful presence.
Watts Powerhouse was given the first opportunity to purchase the building, but the estimated $1.8 million price was beyond what the congregation could afford. After gathering approximately $800,000 through fundraising efforts, the church still needed additional financing to secure its ministry home.
For Todd, leaving Watts wasn’t the answer. God had called the church to this modern-day Samaria, and the ministry’s relationships within the community had taken years to build.
“I think one thing that God was not saying ... he was not saying it's time to move on,” Todd explained. “The calling was still here.”
The challenge was finding a way to remain faithful to that calling.
Investors Helped Make a Way
In 2019, Orchard Alliance provided financing to help Watts Powerhouse Church purchase the building it had been leasing. Individuals and ministries investing with Orchard Alliance made that loan possible, helping the church remain in the neighborhood where it had spent years building relationships and sharing the gospel.
Todd described a partnership that went beyond a typical financial transaction.
“We were shown a lot of grace,” he recalled. “The outside help that we received from Orchard was just an imperative for us to be able to continue to minister here.”
In addition, Watts Powerhouse was established as one of the first two Alliance Envision sites financed by Orchard Alliance.
A Loss at the Heart of the Ministry
Even as the church’s future was taking shape, Todd and the Watts Powerhouse family faced a devastating loss.
On December 1, 2019, Jennifer Grant passed away on a Sunday morning.
Jennifer had been instrumental in answering God’s original call to Watts. She encouraged Todd through his fears, embraced the challenges of ministry, and helped build the relationships that became the foundation of the church.
Later that same morning, Todd went to church.
There, he was embraced by people who understood grief in deeply personal ways. Many had experienced the loss of loved ones through violence and other tragedies. Their compassion and understanding became a source of comfort during one of the most difficult moments of his life.
Reflecting on the support he received, Todd shared, “I was in a good place. I was in a good place where God used them and continues to do so.”
The community Todd and Jennifer had spent years loving and serving was now surrounding him with that same love. In his moment of greatest need, the church family they had helped establish became a source of strength and healing.
The Body of Christ Carried the Burden
Even after Watts Powerhouse purchased its building, financial challenges continued. Recognizing the need for a lasting solution, South Pacific Alliance District Superintendent David Gilmore helped bring together Watts Powerhouse and another congregation, New Birth Church, located just six miles away.
The plan was to sell New Birth's property, use the proceeds to pay off Watts Powerhouse’s debt, and bring the two congregations together. Despite nearly two years of unexpected delays, the sale was completed, and the Orchard Alliance loan was paid in full. The district also helped fund much-needed renovations to the church building.
Reflecting on the journey, Gilmore shared,
“Watt’s Powerhouse is a light in a very dark community where most people want to just avoid it. I mean, it's just a dark place. That's why Todd is a special person in my heart and mind because he just loves the people and loves... It's God's call.”
“My desire was to try and put the ministry in a place where they could be independent and not reliant upon the district.”
Now, with a well-equipped and debt-free ministry home, Watts Powerhouse is looking toward a more sustainable future. Plans for a childcare facility could provide ongoing income while meeting a deep community need, creating opportunities to build relationships with families, and proclaiming the good news in word and deed. The ongoing goal is for Watts Powerhouse to remain financially self-sufficient in order to sustain and expand its ministry impact for generations to come.
The Gospel Is Moving Forward
Today, Watts Powerhouse continues to serve its neighbors while welcoming visiting ministry teams through Envision LA. Todd also hopes the building will become a training center that equips Christians to serve overlooked communities in the United States and around the world.
For Todd, Watts is a reminder that the Great Commission isn't limited to distant countries. Sometimes, the places God calls His people to serve are the communities others would rather pass by.
“We [in The Alliance family] do well with overseas ministries,” Todd explained, “but our Samarias are often overlooked.”
The story of Watts Powerhouse is ultimately not about a building, a loan, or even the elimination of debt. It is about God's faithfulness to a family who answered His call, a congregation that persevered through hardship, and a community where the love of Jesus continues to be made visible.
Because Watts Powerhouse stayed, diverse neighbors continue to gather around the common tables. Families are being strengthened. Lives are being transformed. And the healing hope of the gospel continues to invade the lives of those Jesus died and rose to redeem.
When you invest with Orchard Alliance, your resources help make stories like this possible. You may never serve a meal in Watts or meet the families whose lives are being dramatically changed, but your faithful stewardship helps churches remain rooted in their communities, sharing the love of Jesus for generations to come.
