Church History
Our Story
Simi Covenant Church began as a dream shared by ordinary believers who sought to plant a church in the rapidly growing community of Simi Valley during the 1960s. Written correspondence dating back to 1961 reveals their passionate communication with regional denominational leaders. In one letter, they even mentioned placing an advertisement in the local paper to spread the word about their vision.
Initially, the group met as a house church, gathering around kitchen tables and in family rooms. Calling themselves the "Simi Valley Covenant Fellowship," they began organizing what would become Simi Valley Covenant Church. They began having regular services starting April 21, 1963. Their first Sunday, thirty-seven people met in the Simi Valley Women’s Clubhouse for worship. In August 1963, the church was able to call its first pastor, Alton Peterson, to lead the growing congregation.
The church was officially chartered as the Evangelical Covenant Church of Simi Valley on March 3, 1964, at the White Oak Covenant Church in Northridge, with 25 people signing the charter. Shortly thereafter, in April 1964, the congregation purchased three acres of land on Alamo Street for $62,500. This property included a house that initially served as a gathering space for worship. That same house is now the church office.
After worshiping in the house for a year and a half, the church broke ground for a new sanctuary on October 31, 1965, which was dedicated on June 5, 1966. Generous contributions from Frontier Friends and other Covenant churches helped make the vision of these pioneering Christians a reality. This first sanctuary, with its distinctive “ski jump slope,” later became the Fellowship Hall and is now used as a Youth Center and multi-purpose space for ministry and community events.
In October 1976, the congregation purchased an additional acre of property on Adam Road. Later, construction began on a new worship center, with groundbreaking in 1989 and completion in 1991.
Today, Simi Covenant Church stands as a testament to the faith, generosity, and vision of those early believers, who saw the potential for ministry in this valley and stepped out in faith to make it a reality.
Church Planting Efforts
Marie Wiebe (d.2008), served as an intern and later became an associate pastor from 1980-1986. She was ordained in the Evangelical Covenant Church in 1983. In 1984, she became the Covenant’s first ordained female church planter when she started a congregation in Camarillo, California.
In 1999 Simi Covenant, in partnership with the Pacific Southwest Conference, helped to plant a Spanish language congregation, Nueva Esperanza Covenant Church, to minister to Spanish speakers in the community. Roberto Ghione was the church planter and remains as pastor of this congregation.
Senior Pastors
Alton Peterson - Aug 1963-Oct 1970. In October 1970, Pastor Peterson left Simi Valley to take up ministry at Trinity Covenant Church in Salem, Oregon..
Chester “Chet” Larson - July 1971-1978. Chet Larson went on to a pastorate in San Diego and eventually to be the Superintendent of the Southeast Region of the Covenant.
David Smith 1978-1983
(Interim Pastor: Worth Hodgins)
Kurt Fredrickson (associate pastor 1979-1985) June 1985-2003
Bruce Bruns 2003-2010
(Interim Pastor: Fred Carter)
Mark Almlie 2011-2014
(Interim Pastor: Ross Browning)
Chad McDaniel 2016-2018
(Interim Pastor: Dan Huang)
Kurt Morrill January 2020-Present