Source: Los Angeles Times

On February 3, 2001, the Los Angeles Times published an article on the First German United Methodist Church in Los Angeles. "On Sunday, anywhere from 50 to 80 people fill the small church to hear pastor Thomas Hildebrandt offer services almost entirely in German--a tradition, unique among United Methodist churches in the United States, that has spanned nearly 125 years...Members say the church remains a monument to their rich German heritage...Although German immigration slowed decades ago, First German remains a gathering place for elderly immigrants and their families, new immigrants and others who share the German language--plus German visitors. In the Los Angeles area, there are 50,000 Germans and 200,000 Americans of German descent, said George Goesele, a lifelong member." Many second- and third-generation German Americans, however, do not understand the German service, and in recent years pastors have had to be imported from Germany. "Despite the cultural component, the church's primary purpose is 'to teach the gospel of Jesus Christ but in the German language,' said Goesele."