Incoming Leaders

Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara Free Methodist Church

My first experiences of God were through the faith of my parents and grandparents, especially when we all spent time together in God’s creation. Being at the beach and in Yosemite Valley, I made connections between the faith of our family and experiencing the wonder of God’s handiwork. Experiencing the peace and joy that life with God brought me personally and our whole family was a gift. The summer before sixth grade I got baptized at Lake San Antonio. Following Christ in earnest as a young kid, my faith was shaped by those who had gone before me. Experiencing God through prayer, worship singing, and reading scripture helped me grow in my faith, both individually and communally. Following Christ has always meant an invitation to take up the yoke of Jesus, and though this has looked different in various seasons, life with Jesus has been filled with joy even in the most raw and difficult parts of life. Now, as an adult, I am so grateful that my experience of God’s presence has been a constant since I was a little kid.

How did the Spirit guide you to your current ministry and what has God called you to do through your ministry?

The Spirit of God has guided me toward cultivating an appreciation and deeper education of creation care. Our local church overlooks the Pacific Ocean and if you walk directly down the street and into that ocean, you’ll find yourself in a vibrant kelp forest. Not only is this forest teeming with life, but I have witnessed beautiful imagery about God’s grace and abundant peace through studying and experiencing snorkeling through these kelp forests. Santa Barbara is where Earth Day started. So there are a lot of environmental groups in our town. There are also a lot of churches in our town. Throughout seminary, I felt a nudge from the Spirit to find more ways to create bridges between these groups of people. Our church started a green group called Common Ground with the hopes of educating ourselves more about creation care. Through this group and conversations with others, I have noticed that there is a similar interest and angst from those who are in their first third of life and their third third of life. Cultivating connections between these groups is something that excites me about what God is up to in Southern California right now. Whether it’s an interest in conservation, starting a small group, or an interest in gardening, I am excited to help our young people connect with older people in our congregation and beyond.

How did you come to first be involved with the Free Methodist Church and why have you chosen to continue your ministry in the Free Methodist Church?

I first visited the Free Methodist Church with a friend during college, and shortly after that I started an internship there. The summer after graduating from college, I did another internship through the Center for Transformational Leadership. This was down in Lake Elsinore with the Dream Center. I was so grateful to first attend the annual conference that summer, and I was grateful to get to know more of the Southern California conference. I attended church at Lamb’s Fellowship, my host parents were involved with the Black Sheep motorcycle ministry and I got to go to some of those events and I got to help start the Dream Center, which was such a treat. In the last 10 years at Santa Barbara Free Methodist, it has been a joy to be involved in a variety of small groups, ministries, experience daily life with our congregation, and get to know people of every age. The Free Methodist denomination stood out to me initially because they were emboldening women to be church leaders. I was unfamiliar with this way of doing things when I first found you all, but I’m glad I stuck around and paid attention to God’s calling on my life so that I could witness this incredible expression of the body of Christ in Southern California.