Events at Granite Creek

Pastor Joshua Kapchinsky

I am a husband, father, minister, and antiques dealer. I grew up memorizing Bible verses as well as being able to discern if a piece of furniture was a reproduction or a true heirloom.

I love discovering cool, old stuff and sharing it with others. Nothing compares to inhaling the soothing, musty scent of an old leather club chair, or feeling the well-worn patina of a 16th century church candlestick. Unlike newer pieces that might cost the same and be had in trendy shops like Pottery Barn or Restoration Hardware, antiques possess true character and history. When purchasing antiques, one gains great pleasure not just from the actual act of possession, but from the process of acquiring as well.

My college education, as well as other life opportunities, helped cultivate my fondness for "cool, old stuff." Equipped with a B.A. in HIstory from Westmont College, I went on to curate the Karpeles Manuscript Museum in Santa Barbara, and later served as Director of the Karpeles Manuscript Museum in Charleston, South Carolina.

Inevitably, I opened my own antique business in 1998 in Pasadena, on Colorado Boulevard with items hand-picked from Belgium and France. Preston Roberts Antiques featured French, Italian, and Spanish antiques that usually were masculine in style or religious in theme. It was always a big rush when my containers would arrive and I called my favorite clients, allowing them a sneak-peek into my treasure trove of finds.

Today, my treasure seeking revolves less around material items and more around people. As the Lead Pastor at Granite Creek Community Church in Claremont, California, I gain great satisfaction in mining for spiritual treasure among the families and individuals we serve.

Joshua and his wife, Meko, have a passion to develop leaders, encourage the arts, and to continue to create a place where people find friends and inspiration to live their best life. Meko is the College and Young Adult Pastor.

Downplay societies influence on your soul and life. Instead, focus on the impactfullnes of a Christ centered Kingdom perspective.

— Joshua Kapchinsky (@JoshKapchinsky) January 2, 2021

Pastor Meko Kapchinsky

Coffee, not blood, courses through my veins.

I'm a closet Sci Fi nerd, but I draw the line at conventions and costumes;

LOVE my family, especially my daughter and my hubby; my sister and bro-in-law and nephews; my sis Alex; love my church family, especially people who work with youth. Totally into HARVEYS purses; love shoes; I'm a big theology nerd; I love my college and young adult kids like they're my own.

Azusa Pacific University
Class of 2010 MA in Religion

Westmont College
Class of 1994 BA in Philosophy and English

Pastor Michael Jones

Family Pastor Michael Jones

Pastor Michael served as the Youth Pastor at Granite Creek for over twenty years, and is stepping into the new full-time role of Family Pastor! He has great vision for what God can do in and through our Granite Creek families and can't wait to see what God does next.

Michael's interests includes movies, football, and comics. He has worked with Special Needs Children and families, and has coached sports. Pastor Michael holds a B.A. in Psychology and Human Development from Vanguard University.

[email protected]

Pastor Mandy VanHolsbeck

In Youth Group we laugh, have fun and make new friends. We challenge each other to grow and become all that God has designed us to be.

We believe the truth in 1 Timothy 4:12, "Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity."

We are building the church of tomorrow while being the church of today.

Pastor Mandy has been serving with our youth since 2015. She loves planning crazy events like Outbreak, Domed, Color Wars, Beach trips, Invasion, retreats and more for our youth. In her spare time you can find Mandy reading or binge watching Netflix while crafting!

Pastor Sara Frias

Sara and Aaron Frias made Granite Creek their home church in 2009. With help from Pastor Larry and the Holy Spirit, they got married after announcements during second service, right before they got their daughter dedicated. They have been growing spiritually ever since.

Sara volunteered as a Sunday school teacher in 2010. Fast forward to now, she’s a wife and mother of four children.

Sara shares: “I love children and I love being the Children’s Ministry Director of this awesome church. I enjoy teaching the young ones about the Bible. I love to let them know they matter the most and that God wants the adults to be like them with child-like faith.”

Sara’s life verse is Galatians 6:9:“Let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.” – (NKJV)

Pastor Mike Noyes

Pastor Mike and Kim function powerfully in the gift of prayer for physical healing, and love to teach and train others to use their spiritual gifts to serve others. They are longtime key leaders and elders at Granite Creek and have served with Men’s and Women’s Ministries, Marriage Ministry, led and taught several home groups, Healing, Prayer Ministry and Alpha Courses.

Pastor Janie Sjogren

For over 30 years, Pastor Janie Sjogren and her husband, Steve, have been involved with church planting, training and encouraging outward-focused churches, with a strong emphasis on small groups, relationship building, and showing God’s love in practical ways to all kinds of people.

Janie has a passion for every person stepping into all that God has for them, and sees life-giving churches such as Granite Creek to be a vital part of that process.

Janie is a graduate of Sonoma State University (California). Janie and Steve are co-authors of 101 Ways to Help People in Need (NavPress). Janie and Steve have three grown children.

Judi Power

Pastor Larry Kapchinsky

Pastor Larry Kapchinsky has served since 1984 as founding pastor of what today is known as Granite Creek Community Church (GCCC). GCCC grew out of a 1997 church merger between Ontario Vineyard and New Life Community Church.

Vision for Ministry

Pastor Larry desires to see the lost come to know Christ in a powerful way and to grow in Him through perseverance and character. Compelled by the Great Commission and Christ's commandment to serve the widows, orphans, and those in need, pastor views the church as the greatest tool to deliver hope to the hopeless.

He also believes that regardless of where you are on your spiritual journey, God has a plan of significance and meaning for your life and your family's - an ultimate plan of God's love which offers you hope for a bright future through His Son Jesus Christ.

Biography: Formative Years

Larry received Christ at the age of 6 in Bakersfield, California. He entered the ministry as a result of witnessing God's restorative power in his parent's marriage, his father's addiction to alcohol, and their fractured family life. Larry's father, an oil field construction worker, did his best to provide for his family financially, spiritually, and emotionally, but alcoholism waged an ugly battle in their home.

While attending church one Sunday as a family, a faithful routine cultivated by Larry's mom Margaret, Larry's father had a radical conversion experience that immediately sobered him and nurtured in him a desire to have Christ as the family cornerstone.

Training, Ministry, Church Planting and More...

In 1968, Larry graduated from Southern California College, in Costa Mesa, California, (now Vanguard University), earning a B.A. in Religious Studies. Shortly thereafter, he was ordained in the Assemblies of God denomination, working as a youth pastor, associate pastor, and senior pastor. In 1980 he left the Assemblies of God and joined the staff of the newly formed New Life Christian Fellowship in Claremont, California.

In the '80s Larry aligned himself with the Vineyard Movement, under the leadership of John Wimber, for whom he worked as a counselor at the Anaheim Vineyard. In 1984, Larry started Vineyard Christian Fellowship of Ontario. Seventeen years after he left to serve in the Vineyard Movement, New Life Christian Fellowship asked Larry to return, this time as senior pastor.

In 1997, Ontario Vineyard and New Life Community Church combined to form Granite Creek Community Church. Granite Creek continues to be a vibrant, Christ-centered community church, demonstrating both quantitative and qualitative growth.

Larry is also the founder and president of KidCare International (KCI), a nongovernmental humanitarian aid organization. KCI, established in 1991, sends medical and financial aid to distressed countries, developing nations, and people negatively impacted by natural and man-made disasters.

Larry and his wife Janice of 50 years, have two adult children, Joshua and Alexandra. Pastor Larry transitioned out of the role of Lead Pastor into the role of Associate Pastor in 2014, and Pastor Joshua Kapchinsky now leads Granite Creek Community Church. Pastor Larry can be reached by email at [email protected].

Professional Experience

• Associate Pastor: Granite Creek Community Church, 2014 - present. President and Founder of KidCare International, 1991 - present.
• Senior Pastor: Granite Creek Community Church (Ontario Vineyard and New Life merged in 1997), 1984-2014.
• Associate Pastor: New Life Community Church (current site of Granite Creek) 1982-84.
• Counseling Pastor: Vineyard Christian Fellowship of Anaheim 1979-82
• Senior Pastor: Newhall First Assembly of God. 1978-79
• Youth Pastor: Pomona First Assembly of God. 1973-79
• Director: Southern California Assembly of God Youth Ministries Department 1978-80
• Youth Pastor: Bakersfield First Assembly of God. 1970-73