By Teresa Hidalgo Dance
The Exorcist was a box office hit and U.S. troops had completely withdrawn from Vietnam when Twin Lakes Church made local history of its own.
In 1973, its congregation moved to Aptos, leaving behind a ministry begun in 1890 in the Seabright area, to start afresh on 16 acres of land adjacent to Cabrillo College. The 50th anniversary of this move will be celebrated on Sept. 16-17 at its Aptos campus.
Traces of TLC’s original property on 7th Avenue still remain. The auditorium where countless sermons were preached now houses the Five Branches University and a sign shop, and jutting out of the building is the church spire.
From the original church, too, is TLC’s earnest mission to give to the county, even to those who’ve never set foot in a church, through practical service as much as spiritually.
The land which would become Twin Lakes Church’s current home being prepared for construction.
From the hungry to victims of fire, from drug addicts to moms of preschoolers, TLC covers the gamut of human needs, especially the problems particular to Santa Cruz County.
“The cost of living in our area is sky-high, which has driven all of its other needs higher,” observed senior pastor Rene Schlaepfer.
In response to the persistent food crisis in Santa Cruz, for example, TLC has provided more than 13 million meals through generous donations from its congregation to the Second Harvest Food Bank since 2007.
Sensitive to the changing needs of our popular destination town, Schlaepfer is aware of its shifting demographics. Both ends of the demographic curve, from young families to retired seniors, are well represented in the county today, a development that TLC tirelessly works to adapt to in order to serve better.
The church plans to build a permanent place from which some of its most successful ministries—the 12-step recovery group, grief support group, divorce care group, among others—can operate from. Their hope is to break ground for the aptly-named Community Outreach Center next year.
As the church continues to grow, TLC plans to hire more pastoral staff in the coming year.
Schlaepfer recognizes that the needs of Santa Cruz are more than one church can handle.
“I’m proud and happy that we are operating in unity with other churches of all sorts of different denominations in Santa Cruz County. We don’t do fundraising or service projects just for our church,” said Schlaepfer. “We help each other. I think that is a stronger aspect of churches in Santa Cruz than at any place else that I have done ministry.”
TLC doesn’t stop serving even when circumstances make it difficult to do so.
The Covid pandemic, despite forcing TLC to literally close its doors, only served to broaden through technology TLC’s reach into the community.
After Covid, TLC remains a megachurch with a membership of 3,000 and a weekend in-person attendance bolstered by an average online presence of 798 or roughly 600 electronic devices plugged in.
In response to the times, TLC has a Spanish-speaking ministry called TLC en Español, making TLC one church in two languages.
Around the world, TLC lends its support to orphanages, medical missions, job training programs, and much more. On the home front, TLC is always poised to send aid to those affected by natural disasters.
Ultimately, TLC says their message is to impart the good news of Jesus Christ. To the church, every good deed it does builds the goodwill for others to trust in God’s transforming grace.
“I think the most prevalent need of any human being is spiritual—to experience the peace of God and peace with others,” said Schlaepfer. “I think that divine connection is something that is universally sought even though not everyone might use that terminology.”
Santa Cruz is experiencing “remarkable congregational growth,” pointed out Schlaepfer. “I am seeing more people than I have in years interested in becoming part of a church and in exploring Christianity. This is across denominations. I don’t know what’s going on, but it is exciting.”
A story on TLC is not complete without mention of its longest-serving and well-loved pastor, Roy Kraft, who shepherded the church for 47 years, twenty at the Aptos campus.
Schlaepfer was 32 when he was chosen to be TLC’s senior pastor. He has been serving for the past 30 years.
Schlaepfer considers the biggest legacy he could leave is building a church “that has never stopped bringing the unchanging ancient gospel to a constantly changing community.”
He clarified, “I hope that we would be known as a place that truly loves Santa Cruz. Even people who might say, ‘I’m not sure if there is a God, or if there was a Jesus, but people who really believe in Jesus would act like the people in that church.’ That’s my greatest hope.”
Top Photo: Twin Lakes Church in 1980; inset with the church under construction | Pastors Rene Schlaepfer and Roy Kraft.