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Faith Bible Fellowship

Place

Faith Bible Fellowship

9971 Mission Gorge Road, Santee




Membership: 400

Pastor: Gene Beezer

Born: Punxsutawney, ­PA

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Formation: Bachelor’s, Houghton College, NY

Ordained: 48 Years

San Diego Reader: Can you think of a time when you gave a sermon which ­flopped?

Pastor Beezer: I can think of a few of them. One of the worst ones happened when I was a young pastor. After I had gone out, it was very silent. Afterwards, one man in the congregation said, ‘That was the best sermon I ever heard you preach,’ but I knew it ­wasn’t.

SDR: What is the most prevalent sin you observe or hear about from your ­congregation?

PB: I ­can’t name one, specifically, but probably thinking ill of others. Our congregation is pretty straight and I ­can’t think of a prevailing sin, but they live a pretty close life…. I stayed longer in ministry than I would have otherwise because I did have such a positive experience with this group of ­people.

SDR: What is the mission of your ­church?

PB: Our mission is to reach people for Christ and grow people in Christ through preaching and pastoral care and involvement of the congregation in the ­church’s ministries. For example, one of those ministries is to Hispanics — we have about 170 Hispanic members of our church and sometimes we have joint services with them, including baptism and communion. ­They’re very much a part of our ­fellowship.

SDR: How do you look at the nature of your ­vocation?

PB: My father wanted me to be an attorney and I look back at my work and ­I’ve seen young people get off drugs and marriages restored. I taught a class a year ago for young people about to get married in our church and couples on the verge of divorce. As a result of that class, ­they’re together today and getting along. They said to me that if they had this when they first got married then they probably ­wouldn’t have the problems they had. I definitely feel I was called by God to do this work. I felt it as a young boy and my parents ­didn’t even go to church, but I had a grandmother who influenced me. My father was an alcoholic and our home was turmoil, but my grandmother had a tremendous influence on me — and she lived to be 103 years of age. She lived her Christianity. When I was 12 years old and reading the Bible and I came across the passage in 2 Timothy (4:2), “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.” When I read it, I said, “He wrote that for ­me.”

SDR: Where do you go when you ­die?

PB: I believe a believer goes to heaven and a non-believer goes to a place of eternal ­punishment.

SDR: What if ­you’re a believer but you ­haven’t been living a good ­life?

PB: We may think we are believers. But the Bible says, “Those who know the name of Christ depart from iniquity” (2 Timothy 2:19). I believe that God brings people back to himself who have wandered from him, but I believe that if someone continues on their own path and never turns back, they are a believer nominally but not experientially. Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice; I know them and they follow me” (John 10:27). That ­doesn’t mean a sheep ­can’t ­wander.

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Events April 1-April 3, 2024
Place

Faith Bible Fellowship

9971 Mission Gorge Road, Santee




Membership: 400

Pastor: Gene Beezer

Born: Punxsutawney, ­PA

Sponsored
Sponsored

Formation: Bachelor’s, Houghton College, NY

Ordained: 48 Years

San Diego Reader: Can you think of a time when you gave a sermon which ­flopped?

Pastor Beezer: I can think of a few of them. One of the worst ones happened when I was a young pastor. After I had gone out, it was very silent. Afterwards, one man in the congregation said, ‘That was the best sermon I ever heard you preach,’ but I knew it ­wasn’t.

SDR: What is the most prevalent sin you observe or hear about from your ­congregation?

PB: I ­can’t name one, specifically, but probably thinking ill of others. Our congregation is pretty straight and I ­can’t think of a prevailing sin, but they live a pretty close life…. I stayed longer in ministry than I would have otherwise because I did have such a positive experience with this group of ­people.

SDR: What is the mission of your ­church?

PB: Our mission is to reach people for Christ and grow people in Christ through preaching and pastoral care and involvement of the congregation in the ­church’s ministries. For example, one of those ministries is to Hispanics — we have about 170 Hispanic members of our church and sometimes we have joint services with them, including baptism and communion. ­They’re very much a part of our ­fellowship.

SDR: How do you look at the nature of your ­vocation?

PB: My father wanted me to be an attorney and I look back at my work and ­I’ve seen young people get off drugs and marriages restored. I taught a class a year ago for young people about to get married in our church and couples on the verge of divorce. As a result of that class, ­they’re together today and getting along. They said to me that if they had this when they first got married then they probably ­wouldn’t have the problems they had. I definitely feel I was called by God to do this work. I felt it as a young boy and my parents ­didn’t even go to church, but I had a grandmother who influenced me. My father was an alcoholic and our home was turmoil, but my grandmother had a tremendous influence on me — and she lived to be 103 years of age. She lived her Christianity. When I was 12 years old and reading the Bible and I came across the passage in 2 Timothy (4:2), “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.” When I read it, I said, “He wrote that for ­me.”

SDR: Where do you go when you ­die?

PB: I believe a believer goes to heaven and a non-believer goes to a place of eternal ­punishment.

SDR: What if ­you’re a believer but you ­haven’t been living a good ­life?

PB: We may think we are believers. But the Bible says, “Those who know the name of Christ depart from iniquity” (2 Timothy 2:19). I believe that God brings people back to himself who have wandered from him, but I believe that if someone continues on their own path and never turns back, they are a believer nominally but not experientially. Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice; I know them and they follow me” (John 10:27). That ­doesn’t mean a sheep ­can’t ­wander.

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4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
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