Exploring Life & Business with Shawn Mandoli of Hopeland

Today we’d like to introduce you to Shawn Mandoli.

Hi Shawn, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
It all begins with skateboarding. I grew up skateboarding and when I was a teenager I ended up at a church with a skate ramp in it. As a result I came to faith in Christ at the age of 17. I continued with skateboarding and turned pro when I was 18. I traveled the world and did the pro-skater thing for 5 years. I quit professional skateboarding at the age of 23 because I felt a call to ministry. Some 25+ years later I’m pastoring a church in Boyle Heights. Even the whole journey with pastoring here in LA is as a result of being friends with folks from the skateboard industry. Close friends of my that are/were a part of the skateboard industry were super kind and generous to me. They helped open doors for me and helped me a lot in getting started with what I’m doing now here in Boyle Heights. I’m thankful to do what I do right here in the heart of the city. I’m here due to the generosity of other people in my life. I thank God, for real!

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
There is nothing smooth about my journey. Haha!!! We launched Hopeland Church in January 19, 2020. COVID hit shortly after we launched. We’re a small church. We did not begin with a lot of resources. We have no outside organization funding us. So, we had moments where we didn’t know if we were going to make it. I went through all the doubts. I questioned my decision to pastor this church multiple times throughout the years. I would beat myself up and get super discouraged at times. And then God would come through…like at the last minute. I’m a person of faith so I see everything in my life through the lense of faith. My wife and I just stayed faithful and stuck with it. The community we pastor is resilient. We experienced financial miracles that would seem to come out of nowhere! We also had to get creative and change the way we’re doing this pastoring thing. We had to find ways to generate income so we could continue to pastor this amazing community. Looking back, the struggle was a good thing. It caused us to pray and think deeply, and change the model we were operating in. So, my wife and I both have sources of income/work outside of our role as pastors. And the church is growing and thriving in a way we have never experienced since we launched 6 years ago. Sometimes you just have to be persistent and you have to be willing to break the mold. Sometimes a breakthrough is just on the other side of a simple adjustment.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Hopeland ?
We’re a Christian faith community. We’re a diverse people from all over the city and we gather weekly to worship Jesus, connect with one another, and learn from the Bible. We also come together to serve our city in different ways. As I’m writing this we’re actually collecting socks and blankets for the unhoused community in our neighborhood. We’ll hit the streets soon and pass them out to who ever needs them. We also give scholarship money to a graduating senior at a local high school every year. These are things we love to do. I wish we could do more. I don’t share these things so people think we’re “good people”. We really have a passion to make a difference. Our scholarship is not a lot of money, but it’s something. Our dream is to give a full-ride scholarship one day. Don’t allow what you don’t have to keep you from doing something. Do something now, even if it appears to be small. Don’t despise small beginnings.

What makes you happy?
Seeing diverse people come together and become genuine friends makes me happy. That’s so cool to witness. Being a pastor in a metropolitan city and to see folks from different countries, socio-economic statuses, backgrounds, etc. come together in unity is pretty dope. I see a parallel with faith communities and skateboarding. As a skateboarder I’ve made friends with people that I never would have if it wasn’t for a piece of wood with four wheels attached it. For me skateboarding broke the cultural, socio-economic, and ethnic divide. We had a common passion and our deep-connection formed around “the skateboard”. And so it is with faith. Our faith community doesn’t unify around a political party, culture, or anything other than Jesus. It makes me happy to be a part of something like that.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://hopelandla.com/
• Instagram: hopeland.church
• Facebook: hopelandla
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@hopelandchurch
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/hopeland-church-los-angeles-4
• Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/steinbot-519314947

Image Credits
Josseline Ramirez, Diego Contreras, Emily Gularte, and Gabe Morford