How it all started...
It all started in a living room in West Long Beach. Our founders, John and Becky Teter were commissioned as church planters with the Evangelical Covenant Church. They gathered a core group of partners in their living room to pray, learn, and vision about the church.
Soon after, they launched "preview services," monthly rehearsals for the weekly services to come. God opened the door for us to meet at Hamilton Middle School in North Long Beach. One Sunday we pulled up to the school in our ancient decommissioned U-Haul to find the gates locked. We held a memorable service as the worship team lead us in an acoustic service, a few lucky people seated on the tiny chairs for the children's ministry.
In the first years of our church, we faced great sadness, discouragement, and loss. Our core team suffered injuries, miscarriages, and an apartment fire. We were forever changed when a drunk driver killed one of our core members and one of her four-year-old twin boys in a hit-and-run accident. The Lord helped us walk together through grief. As we reflect on our origins we are thankful that God has helped us to persevere and never give up.
Although we launched in North Long Beach, God called us to invest in West Long Beach, where we now meet each Sunday. We have a one-room schoolhouse, the FOL Family Center, where we host K-12 tutoring, ESL classes for adults, youth groups, and more. Down the street on Santa Fe Avenue, we rent a storefront building, the Training Center, where we have a vibrant high school ministry, and a partnership with CRU at Cabrillo High School, and host a weekly food pantry for families in the neighborhood. Our church also launched a successful social enterprise, 5000 Pies.
Pastor John Teter and his wife Becky received a call to plant a new church and left FOL In November 2021. Rev. Dr. Tim Dally served as transition pastor from March 2022 to June 2023. We began a new chapter in June 2023 when Dr. Kimberley Morrison received the Lord's call to become our senior pastor.
Soon after, they launched "preview services," monthly rehearsals for the weekly services to come. God opened the door for us to meet at Hamilton Middle School in North Long Beach. One Sunday we pulled up to the school in our ancient decommissioned U-Haul to find the gates locked. We held a memorable service as the worship team lead us in an acoustic service, a few lucky people seated on the tiny chairs for the children's ministry.
In the first years of our church, we faced great sadness, discouragement, and loss. Our core team suffered injuries, miscarriages, and an apartment fire. We were forever changed when a drunk driver killed one of our core members and one of her four-year-old twin boys in a hit-and-run accident. The Lord helped us walk together through grief. As we reflect on our origins we are thankful that God has helped us to persevere and never give up.
Although we launched in North Long Beach, God called us to invest in West Long Beach, where we now meet each Sunday. We have a one-room schoolhouse, the FOL Family Center, where we host K-12 tutoring, ESL classes for adults, youth groups, and more. Down the street on Santa Fe Avenue, we rent a storefront building, the Training Center, where we have a vibrant high school ministry, and a partnership with CRU at Cabrillo High School, and host a weekly food pantry for families in the neighborhood. Our church also launched a successful social enterprise, 5000 Pies.
Pastor John Teter and his wife Becky received a call to plant a new church and left FOL In November 2021. Rev. Dr. Tim Dally served as transition pastor from March 2022 to June 2023. We began a new chapter in June 2023 when Dr. Kimberley Morrison received the Lord's call to become our senior pastor.
