Church of The Open Door

Church Of The Open Door

The Church of the Open Door was conceived by R. A. Torrey who had come to Los Angeles to start a Bible institute (now known as Biola University) similar to Moody Bible Institute. The church was to be strictly interdenominational, though Evangelical. Its purpose was to reach the lost of Los Angeles, which was reflected in the name based on two passages of Scripture: John 10:9 and Revelation 3:8. Other pastors have included Louis T. Talbot (1932–1948) and J. Vernon McGee (1949–1970). The current Pastor is Ed Underwood.

For 70 years the church was located in downtown Los Angeles on Hope Street. It relocated to Glendora, California in 1985.

The original church building was located in downtown Los Angeles and was demolished in the late 1980s. Despite efforts led by the late William Eugene Scott to prevent the building from being sold to developers and to have the building saved as a historic landmark, the building could not be saved because it was so damaged in the Northridge earthquake that it was declared unsafe and the cost of repairs deemed prohibitive. The historic "Jesus Saves" sign from the original building can now be seen atop the Los Angeles University Cathedral. It was relocated there by the late William Eugene Scott, the owner of the building at the time of earthquake, who took it with him when his church relocated following the earthquake.