A Brief History of Faith Bible Church
Faith Bible Church was started in September 2003 as a small gathering of about 40 adult believers. Unlike many churches, it began with two pastoral staff, two lay elders and virtually all of the body hungry to serve in ministry. After four weeks of meeting in a house, God graciously provided us with an empty Sunday-only facility in Temecula. Shortly thereafter, mid-week small groups from FBC began to meet in homes across the valley, studying the all-sufficient Word of God, fellowshipping and praying together.
By the beginning of 2004, FBC had more than doubled in size, evidencing the hunger of the Murrieta-Temecula valley for solid, biblical teaching. In March 2004, an Equipping Hour was added to further strengthen our adults and children with the Word of God, and to provide further opportunities for the many who kept asking, “How can I serve?” In July of that same year, we learned from the city that our facility was not designed for the size of our body. Learning this, we immediately transitioned into portability and met in the afternoons at an elementary school until the Fall of 2004. In September 2004, we were able to transition back to mornings at Bella Vista Middle School – our current facility. In God’s providence, this new building is enabling us to continue to house the new families that He is bringing.
In 2006, Chris Mueller joined FBC as the teaching pastor and, not long after, the Equipping Hour turned into a full second worship service. From 2007 forward, we have continued to grow in depth and in breadth as a church family. We launched adult discipleship meetings that year, which have slowly morphed into what are now known as midweek Community Groups, which meet around the valley each week and retain a strong discipleship/accountability thrust. At the beginning of 2014, Nigel Shailer joined FBC as the third pastoral staff member, helping us to greatly improve the Training Center and our training of biblical counselors. Not long after, in August 2014, we sent out a team of over 30 people to plant FBC Menifee. Though we miss those people greatly, new people have stepped into significant positions of ministry and are serving faithfully and fruitfully.
Do we want to stay portable forever? Not really. We have our own land off Clinton Keith and the 15 freeway and intend to build in the near future. But more important than numbers, programs, or structures is that a foundation for the spiritual life of Faith Bible Church has been built. This foundation includes sound doctrine, spiritual leadership, and active service. We are convinced that God’s legacy of faithfulness to us will continue in the future if we remain faithful to Him and His Word.