Darren Rouanzoin

Having moved to Long Beach over three years ago with his wife, Alex, Darren had a vision for Long Beach: to become an active participant in making the city thrive holistically. And he doesn’t take the word “active” lightly, having felt that God called upon him to start a church in Long Beach — an endeavor that began with beach cleanups, meetings at the Rescue Mission, and prayer collectives in a basement of First Christian Church.

Darren didn’t always think he was going to be an active pastor, but rather pursue his PhD, approaching religion from an academic standpoint (especially since his father holds a PhD). A trip to India altered that, where the essentials of human living were laid bare with the need to simply provide clothes, food, and shelter.

And after the unbearable heat in that basement, they moved their church — called the Garden — into one of the most offbeat locations that one could imagine a church to gather: a nightclub. Cohiba Nightclub downtown, to be specific, and they meet every Sunday at 9:00am and 11:00am. “I think of my job less as a pastor and more as a catalyst for change and transformation. Not just for individual change, but also for systemic change. I work a lot with local church pastors to see city collaboration between the churches of the city along with non-profits and the business domain leaders. I think if churches would partner with local organizations including the city to work together our city will flourish.”