"Living a life of purpose" is the Vida Real church's message. The church has its headquarters in Somerville and is a religious community that spreads the gospel of Jesus Christ through missionary work, in addition to the use of television and Internet radio. Vida Real operates in conjunction with the CGNTV Latino TV network.
In 1919, Robert C. Lawson gave a sermon in a church basement in New York City that so inspired those present, that he soon founded his own church: The Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ (COOLJC). The church is a Protestant denomination that belongs to the Oneness Pentecostal tradition (which states that God is one being that manifests himself in different forms). The Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ of the Apostolic Faith now has roughly 600 churches worldwide, including the Mission Church in Somerville, which is affiliated with it.
The Mission Church's imposing, granite, Richardsonian Romanesque church was built in 1894 for the First Unitarian Church. Today, Bishop H. A. Moultrie, II, leads the Mission congregation there. Self-described as a "warm and loving church," the congregation has many active programs including three choirs, two singing groups and men's, women's and youth groups.