By Sara Beth Williams–
A church on Mariposa Avenue has officially closed as “Citrus Heights Fellowship” and will relaunch as Edify Church, according to an announcement on Edify Church’s website and Facebook page.
The website formerly home to Citrus Heights Fellowship has since been removed, and all former links now lead to Edify Church’s new website. Citrus Heights Fellowship still operates a YouTube channel, where livestream services were posted, with the most recent post dated two months ago.
An announcement on Edify Church’s Facebook page indicates that the church has “gone dark” as of Aug. 6 while they prepare for upgrades and a relaunch on Sunday, Sept. 14, at a 9:30 a.m. service.
On a visit to the church site last week, workers could be seen inside the building resurfacing the pews.
In another announcement on Facebook, Pastor Sive Nogada said he officially resigned on Aug. 10 as the Citrus Heights Fellowship pastor after serving in the position since 2022.
“I’m deeply thankful and still delightfully surprised at how my life has unfolded—from growing up in a township (ghetto) in Cape Town to doing ministry in Sacramento. Thank you, CHF family, for allowing us to be part of your story,” Nogada said, adding that the church will be relaunching as Edify Church. Nogada and his family moved to the U.S. in 2018.
The church also announced on social media that a core group meeting is to be held this week prior to the relaunch, which is scheduled for mid-September.
The relaunched church will be characterized by “Biblical Discernment, Spirit-Filled Living, Kingdom-Mindedness, and Christ-Centered Community,” the church said on its website, adding that more information on the relaunch will be coming soon. For questions or to find out more information, visit the church’s website.
A post from Doxa Church’s website shows that Doxa Church was assisting Citrus Heights Fellowship with the relaunch in what is called a “replant.”
“A replant is an existing church that has been in decline for several years, now reforming and deciding to relaunch as a new church with new leadership, governance, and mission,” according to Doxa. The new church’s pastor of the replant will be John Gomez, one of Doxa’s 6:4 interns,
Citrus Heights Fellowship has not been the first church to be replanted and relaunch under a new name. Heights Church, formerly known as Bayside of Citrus Heights, was also a replant. At the time, Bayside took over a small church in the same building called Sylvan Oaks, that was on the brink of foreclosure, according to a video posted by Heights Church pastor Craig Sweeney in 2020. The church relaunched in 2008 under the name Bayside of Citrus Heights. The second name change to Heights Church occurred later in 2020.
Edify Church, formerly known as Citrus Heights Fellowship, is located at 7405 Mariposa Ave. The building was constructed in 1975.
