Our church family is full of life stories of transformation. A few years ago Ellie, who was a believer but was living alone as a young adult and trying to figure out life, ventured into one of our services. It was a Sunday we were launching our Love Europe initiative to send a tenth of…

Annually, Fullerton Free Church members have the privilege of choosing elders. With 1 Timothy 3:1-7 as our model, names are submitted from the congregation, staff, ministry leadership teams, current elders and past elders. A nominating committee made up of staff, congregation and current Elder Board members reviews the names submitted and submits a list of…

On January 1 of every year, the Encarnacion home enters the frenzy and fun of Siopao-Palooza where we make close to 200 meat-filled siopaos or steamed buns. Gerry and I host it in our home and close to twenty people—family and friends spanning three generations form an assembly line over long tables to mix, knead,…

At the end of each year my wife Alexa and I pull out our calendars and reflectively go through each month of the year. We think about the highs and the lows, the ways God answered prayers and the moments it felt like He wasn’t there. At the end of our rumination, we look forward…

Brothers and Sisters: Twenty-two years ago, when my wife Kaetchen and I began attending here, it was my intention to just sit quietly in the back and take it all in. I did not want to know anything about the inner workings of the church or be involved in anything beyond attending on Sunday morning….

“Worship the Lord in the beauty of His holiness; tremble before Him, all the earth.” “Come let us worship and bow down; Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.” We are told to worship the Lord over 70 times in the Bible. So, what is worship? Here are some dictionary definitions: the acts or…

Last weekend we celebrated an amazing, wonderful three-day event called Christmas Blvd. (If you missed it, maybe you could mark your calendar now for next year!) Volunteers and staff created a beautiful environment that pointed toward Christ in many ways. One of my favorite moments was on Sunday night when the mariachi band took to…

Dear Church Family, What is your role in family gatherings? I was reflecting on past holidays with my family this week and thinking about my tasks for these events. As a child, my job was to pick the napkin rings and put the napkins in them. At the Christmas Eve meal we have at my…

Hello Church Family, As we approach Thanksgiving my thoughts tend to turn to blessings and what I am thankful for. I remember the Thanksgiving after my mom passed in 2001. After moving all day, we were eating Thanksgiving dinner at Denny’s and I was struggling with mom’s death, missing my mom’s turkey dressing and playing…

Dear Church Family, Recently, I have been reminded of Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:14: “Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your…