God is at the heart of Foursquare
Places of faith
By Angela Randazzo Special to the Acorn
NewHeart Foursquare

NewHeart Foursquare Church

Church 4200 Township Ave.

Simi Valley

(805) 583-3433

Pastor Paul Kuzma

Founded: 1949 Size of congregation: 200

Denomination: International Church of the

Foursquare Gospel

Services: Sunday, 8:30 and 10:30 a.m.

Foundation of beliefs: "The tenets of the church are

based on the four major

ministries of Jesus Christ:

Jesus, our Savior; Jesus, our baptizer with the Holy Spirit;

Jesus, our healer; and Jesus,

our soon coming king,"

Kuzma said. "The other

meaning of the word foursquare means standing bold

and strong with a firm

foundation."

Fun fact:

The church has regular potlucks, movie nights and

barbecues in the summer.

Questions of faith

(answered by Kuzma):

What is the purpose of life?

According to the Bible, for us to know God, to love God, to serve Him and others, and to know Him for all eternity.

What must humankind do to get into heaven?

The way to heaven is with a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. The way Jesus put it: "I am the way, and the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father but by me."

What is your belief in heaven or hell?

We believe and teach as the Bible says: Both heaven and hell are a literal place.

How important is it that congregation members get involved in the community? What kind of things do you do?

We have a food pantry at the church for anyone in need. They can call the office for an appointment and take whatever they need from the pantry. We do outreach events and children's activities in local parks.

I'm a chaplain with the Simi Valley Police Department. We also have volunteers at the local hospital and pregnancy clinic.

Does your church believe in the literal interpretation of the Bible, or are we free to draw our own meanings from those writings?

We believe that the Bible should be interpreted literally. We're not really rigid in a lot of "dos" and "don'ts."

We believe that Jesus taught and exemplified a life of grace. We take the Bible at its word. We also believe that God's forgiveness and grace is what Jesus died for.

What is the church's view on gay rights and abortion?

We don't believe that a homosexual lifestyle or abortion is right, but God offers a lot of grace.

We invite people into our church no matter what their lifestyle.

What is your view on ecology issues?

God created and gave us the Earth as a resource. He gives us the responsibility to stewardship it as best we can.

We leave it to the individual how he/she wants to be involved in doing that.