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Oak Hills Covenant Church

Hell is a choice.

Pastor Marilyn Williams’s family and friends saw the minister in her before she did.
Pastor Marilyn Williams’s family and friends saw the minister in her before she did.
Place

Oak Hills Covenant Church

1920 Shadowridge Drive, Vista

Contact: 1920 Shadowridge Drive, Vista. 760-598-3852; http://oakhillschur…">oakhillschurch.tumb…

Denomination: Evangelical Covenant Church

Membership: 100

Pastor: Marilyn Williams

Age: 48

Born: Chula Vista

Formation: Vanguard University of Southern California, Costa Mesa; Bethel West Seminary, San Diego

Years ordained: In process

San Diego Reader: What is your favorite subject on which to preach?

Pastor Marilyn Williams: I would say that my favorite subject is God’s love for us and how God’s love changes us forever. I think of John 3:16-17, which surmises the foundational truth from which every sermon builds — “God so loved the world that He gave His one and only son. Whoever should believe in him shall not perish but have eternal life. God did not send His son into the world to condemn the world but to save it.”

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SDR: What is your main concern as a member of the clergy?

PM: My aim is that we would all live our lives by faith in God who loves us and that we wouldn’t just believe that God is who He says He is, but that we would live our lives in the confident belief that God is with us and He has a plan for our lives. I like to say that we would live out an active faith.

SDR: Why did you become a minster?

PM: I honestly never saw this one coming. I was an itinerate international Christian speaker and Bible teacher for about 15 years, predominantly to women. I only went to Bethel Seminary to become a more skilled bible teacher. It wasn’t until half way through seminary — my professors, friends, and even my husband started telling me, “You are a pastor.” It wasn’t until everyone else seeing it in me that I began to consider becoming a minister. When I thought about it, I made the choice to go in that direction because I felt the closest to God when I was doing the work of minsters — such as serving communion, baptizing or preaching, loving people through the different seasons of life.

SDR: What is the mission of your church?

PM: I Corinthians 13:13 probably surmises it best. “So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three, but the greatest of these is love.” The mission of our church is to be a safe and friendly place where anyone or everyone can find faith and hope and live a life in Jesus. Our mission is to enjoy God together, to love one another, and to serve our neighbors.

SDR: Where do you go when you die?

PM: I believe that when I die I will go to be with God in an even fuller way than I already am. Because I’ve placed my faith in Jesus for the forgiveness of my sins, I believe I reconciled with God now and forever…. So, God meets us now and knows us, and we begin the journey now but death only brings us closer to Him.

SDR: Is there a place for hell in your theology?

PM: Absolutely. I don’t believe that God condemns people to hell, but that people who don’t receive the gift that God has given them, the forgiveness of their sins, end up there of their own choice. But I believe that God does everything and anything — all the way to a brutal and horrible death on a cross — to reach out to save everyone. I believe he wants all to be saved.

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Pastor Marilyn Williams’s family and friends saw the minister in her before she did.
Pastor Marilyn Williams’s family and friends saw the minister in her before she did.
Place

Oak Hills Covenant Church

1920 Shadowridge Drive, Vista

Contact: 1920 Shadowridge Drive, Vista. 760-598-3852; http://oakhillschur…">oakhillschurch.tumb…

Denomination: Evangelical Covenant Church

Membership: 100

Pastor: Marilyn Williams

Age: 48

Born: Chula Vista

Formation: Vanguard University of Southern California, Costa Mesa; Bethel West Seminary, San Diego

Years ordained: In process

San Diego Reader: What is your favorite subject on which to preach?

Pastor Marilyn Williams: I would say that my favorite subject is God’s love for us and how God’s love changes us forever. I think of John 3:16-17, which surmises the foundational truth from which every sermon builds — “God so loved the world that He gave His one and only son. Whoever should believe in him shall not perish but have eternal life. God did not send His son into the world to condemn the world but to save it.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

SDR: What is your main concern as a member of the clergy?

PM: My aim is that we would all live our lives by faith in God who loves us and that we wouldn’t just believe that God is who He says He is, but that we would live our lives in the confident belief that God is with us and He has a plan for our lives. I like to say that we would live out an active faith.

SDR: Why did you become a minster?

PM: I honestly never saw this one coming. I was an itinerate international Christian speaker and Bible teacher for about 15 years, predominantly to women. I only went to Bethel Seminary to become a more skilled bible teacher. It wasn’t until half way through seminary — my professors, friends, and even my husband started telling me, “You are a pastor.” It wasn’t until everyone else seeing it in me that I began to consider becoming a minister. When I thought about it, I made the choice to go in that direction because I felt the closest to God when I was doing the work of minsters — such as serving communion, baptizing or preaching, loving people through the different seasons of life.

SDR: What is the mission of your church?

PM: I Corinthians 13:13 probably surmises it best. “So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three, but the greatest of these is love.” The mission of our church is to be a safe and friendly place where anyone or everyone can find faith and hope and live a life in Jesus. Our mission is to enjoy God together, to love one another, and to serve our neighbors.

SDR: Where do you go when you die?

PM: I believe that when I die I will go to be with God in an even fuller way than I already am. Because I’ve placed my faith in Jesus for the forgiveness of my sins, I believe I reconciled with God now and forever…. So, God meets us now and knows us, and we begin the journey now but death only brings us closer to Him.

SDR: Is there a place for hell in your theology?

PM: Absolutely. I don’t believe that God condemns people to hell, but that people who don’t receive the gift that God has given them, the forgiveness of their sins, end up there of their own choice. But I believe that God does everything and anything — all the way to a brutal and horrible death on a cross — to reach out to save everyone. I believe he wants all to be saved.

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The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Extended family dynamics

Many of our neighbors live in the house they grew up in
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Big swordfish, big marlin, and big money

Trout opener at Santee Lakes
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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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