Videos and Podcasts

Each year the Free Methodist Church celebrates our incoming ministerial candidates – leaders who have dedicated themselves to God’s work in the world. Janelle Coleman and Howard O’Dell share the story of how each first experienced God in their life, how they made the decision to enter into ministry, and why each chose to serve in the Free Methodist Church.

Dr. Chris Adams, Executive Director for the Center for Vocational Ministry at Azusa Pacific University, shares ways for pastors to develop healthy disciplines and mindsets in the midst of difficulty and challenge. Chris uses the lens of Psalm 37 to remind us to commit to the work God has given us by maintaining perspective, trust and understand our feelings, and rest through healthy routines.

How does the Church respond during a crisis like COVID-19? Do we give in to the impulse to demand to get our way, or do we allow God to soften our hearts and show us what really is “essential” in following Jesus? This series of interviews focuses on the ways Southern California ministry leaders are seeing God move in their communities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hermon Free Methodist Church has been a reminder to their community that we are all in this together and that nobody is alone, even when socially distant. See how one church, in the heart of Los Angeles, is adapting to life during the pandemic and getting ready for what God has next.

Find out more about Hermon Church at:
http://www.hermonchurch.org/

Each year the Free Methodist Church celebrates our incoming elders – leaders who have dedicated themselves to God’s work in the world. Terry Beasley shares his story of how he first experienced God in his life, how he made the decision to enter into ministry, and why he chose to serve in the Free Methodist Church.

# How did you first experience God and choose to follow Christ?

My very first memory of experiencing God was when I was about 8 years old; before I would go to sleep, I would look up to heaven and say, “God if you are up there, I love you.” I was raised in a holiness church at a very young age. My siblings and I had no choice in the matter; our parents made us go to church every Sunday and midweek service. As I got older and was able to make my own choices, unfortunately I stopped going to church.

I believe and I stand on what the scripture says in Proverbs: “train up a child when they are young they won’t depart.” At the age of 25 years old I was invited to a month-long revival. Of course I waited until the last night of the revival and wouldn’t you know it – God saved and filled me with the Holy Ghost and I was speaking in tongues and praising God!

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

After hearing Pastor Brian’s testimony I felt God leading me to help launch Chapel of Change. At this point in my walk with God; I had been involved and leading other ministries for many years, and came to a point where I was not really active in ministry anymore but just going to church. I was in a vacation mode – club med is what I called it – just attending church every Sunday and not having any responsibilities. But of course God began to ignite some things in me after hearing Pastor Brian preach his testimony, Young Man Arise. It was time for me to get out of the vacation mode and walk in what God was calling me to do. It was time to step up and feed His sheep; and to help men and women grow in Christ.

At that time I had been in ministry over 30 years and I felt God wanted me to be a pillar and a leader with wisdom and experience to pour into Pastor Brian and Chapel of Change. God has always given me a heart to serve his people and to give them fresh hope. I serve as the Campus Pastor at Chapel of Change in Paramount, CA where I oversee the leadership and help develop leaders and other ministries. I also lead an Ignite Marriage Ministry with my wife Deena.

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

My mother invited me and my then soon to be wife Deena to Light & Life North in 1998. I didn’t know much about the Free Methodist Church. When I met Pastor Larry and some of the members they all seemed to be genuine and very friendly. I remember talking to Pastor Larry after service the following Sunday and he remembered my name; that really made a lasting impression on me – soon after we joined Light & Life.

I have chosen to continue my ministry as an Elder ultimately because I felt the nudge of God. I believe in the core values of the Free Methodist Church and I believe God will and is using my life experiences to help grow the body into maturity. I may not have a testimony of drug addiction or prison time; however I know that God has me in a place where I can shepherd His flock and grow the kingdom.

God has given me a word for His people to remind them that He is the lawyer in the courtroom of their lives. He is a restorer of relationships. I have a burden to build up men and minister to married couples. In an effort to build community and connection perhaps someday I’ll organize a men’s or marriage conference not just for Free Methodist family but all denominations.

Each year the Free Methodist Church celebrates our incoming elders – leaders who have dedicated themselves to God’s work in the world. Sean Anthony Fenner shares his story of how he first experienced God in his life, how he made the decision to enter into ministry, and why he chose to serve in the Free Methodist Church.

# How did you first experience God and choose to follow Christ?

The first Sunday of January 2008. I came to Light and Life North Long Beach and received Jesus as my Lord and Savior as I accepted the altar call invitation that first Sunday. No looking back!

I immediately felt invited and connected. My wife and I attended a meeting with our Pastor and he started building a relationship with us from our first day there. We call our church the “people loving place” and I felt the love of Christ and heard it from God’s people. My experience awakened a desire to daily experience God’s love in me, to be shared with others. We joined a small group, got involved with serving, got baptized, served on a mission trip in Indonesia, and within 4 years I was working on staff. It’s good to belong!

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

A team model has always been on my heart for ministry and accountability. I felt God asking me to always travel with a disciple as my national speaking platform began to grow, and have felt God asking me to be a part of a ministry team ever since.

At Light and Life we are passionate about all people of all ages from all backgrounds, and the Revelation 7 (“every tribe and every tongue”) expression of the Body of Christ. Here we have the opportunity to live that out as I lead a diverse staff and we influence diversity in the Kingdom from our own backyard to countries like the Philippines, Indonesia, and the Dominican Republic.

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

From day one at Light and Life I was taught the values of living out our Five Freedoms. I was first exposed in 2013 to the History and Polity / Wesleyan Theology Classes, and fell in love with our expression in the body of Christ. It sent me on a path to learn, grow, and share with as many people as possible the powerful move of God that our history was birthed in, and to link that history with the move of the Spirit of God in the here and now.

I’ve spent the last 7 years searching for, participating in, and connecting with opportunities for the FMCSC to live out being the best expression that we can be based on the theology and values that we cling to. That search and commitment has led me to ordination, and I am excited to serve and grow in this family in the ways that God allows and our leaders see use for my gifting.

Each year the Free Methodist Church celebrates our incoming elders – leaders who have dedicated themselves to God’s work in the world. Lindsey Sinnott shares her story of how she first experienced God in her life, how she made the decision to enter into ministry, and why she chose to serve in the Free Methodist Church.

# How did you first experience God and choose to follow Christ?

I have grown up in a family that has always been a part of the church, so in some ways, it feels like I have always known Christ. My parents raised my brother and I in a home where we were taught the importance of the Christian story, and we both attended a Christian school growing up. In light of this, I was surrounded by people who were doing their best to point me toward God.

Despite this, it was not until I was in high school that I really felt like my faith was my own, and I still remember the day that I felt that God was actually talking to me. I was a teenager sitting in our youth service at my church. Instead of a normal service with music and a sermon etc. our pastor decided that we were just going to have a night of singing. I was sitting in the back and distinctly remember feeling that I needed to choose to follow Christ myself. Not because I always had or because my family did, but because his grace was extended to me, and I needed to respond. This was a turning point for me.

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

For years, I’ve felt called to be a part of theological education and the instruction of both undergrad and seminary students. In my role as an associate professor of theological research at Azusa Pacific, I have been able to work with and teach students, guiding them through how to properly study Scripture, theology, and the application of these in a tangible, practical form in their own lives and the life of the church. While not all students come from a Free Methodist background (or even a Wesleyan one), the very way we teach and what we teach helps to shape students who may continue on to become future pastors, ministers, and lay leaders.

While there are many ways that students are developed over the course of their studies, one of my core goals is to help develop students who are competent exegetes of Scripture, researchers in theology/church history, and who are equipped to apply these in practical ways. From the perspective of our own tradition, John Wesley demonstrated that theory/knowledge and practice always need to be linked. Knowing how to study Scripture or theology is not good enough on their own. They need to have a direct impact upon how we live our lives and how we operate as the Church. It’s my hope to help students navigate this process.

In addition to my work at Azusa Pacific, I also feel called to be engaged at the local church level. While I definitely see myself as primarily called to work with students as a part of their theological education, I strongly believe that there also needs to be a bridge between academia and the local church.

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

I first became involved with the FMC 13 years ago, when I was a freshman in college. I had been visiting different local churches hoping to find a church home and from the moment I came to Foothill Community Church I knew that I had found a community that was dedicated to joining in on God’s work in the world, and I wanted to be a part of that! My time at FCC has further confirmed my desire to apply for a ministry appointment in the FMC, and I could not imagine a better place to do ministry. I greatly value the FMC’s view on women in leadership/ministry, service to the poor, work in/for justice, and our vast Wesleyan heritage that emphasizes our response to God’s grace in a way that leads to us acting on that grace by getting in on God’s work.

Wesleyan theology and the Free Methodist Church have also been foundational components to my own faith and understanding. They have shaped the way I view my relationship with God and with others, and they continue to influence the way I believe, live, and teach.

Each year the Free Methodist Church celebrates our incoming elders – leaders who have dedicated themselves to God’s work in the world. Guillermo Moras shares his story of how he first experienced God in his life, how he made the decision to enter into ministry, and why he chose to serve in the Free Methodist Church.

Each year the Free Methodist Church celebrates our incoming elders – leaders who have dedicated themselves to God’s work in the world. Ann Hansen shares her story of how she first experienced God in her life, how she made the decision to enter into ministry, and why she chose to serve in the Free Methodist Church.

# How did you first experience God and choose to follow Christ?

I grew up in a Christian home and was raised in the church. I knew Jesus and loved him from the time I was a little child and never doubted that He was the one true God and my Savior. God has always felt personal to me and I experienced various encounters with the Lord while growing up. When I was in high school, I remember having a moment in prayer with the Lord where I felt completely overwhelmed by the love and presence of God and at that moment – I surrendered everything to him, declaring that I would serve him and make him known for the rest of my life.

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

Nineteen years ago, my husband John Hansen was called to be the lead pastor of Centerpoint Church where we are serving right now. I came as his wife and was in a season of full-time mothering. However, in those years of full-time mothering, I also served the church in various capacities – preschool director, lifegroups director, momspace director, just whatever was needed of me! In 2014, I started a freedom prayer ministry which involves inner healing and deliverance. This ministry was birthed from my own encounters with the Lord that launched me into personal freedom and victory over past issues and wounds. I believe that God has called me to set the captives free through my own ministry, to teach and show others who the Father is and to show God’s children their true identity in Christ. I also believe the Lord has given me an assignment as an intercessor, to push back the darkness and push forward the Kingdom of Heaven through prayer.

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

My husband and I learned about the Free Methodist Church when he was applying to be the lead pastor of a Free Methodist church – the Lamb’s Fellowship in Murrieta, which is now called Centerpoint Church. We had served in several other denominations and other churches that were non-denominational. When we came to the Lamb’s Fellowship, we had never even heard of Free Methodism. However, as we learned more about Free Methodism, we discovered that we were Free Methodists all along when it came to our theology and desire for a connectional system/church family. It was awesome to come into a church family where guidance and accountability were available through all levels from the bishops, superintendents and conference levels.

Through our 16 ½ years of being part of the Free Methodist Church, we have had many situations where we have had to draw on the help, wisdom and support of our superintendents and conference for various reasons and complexities. We have been thankful for the strength of our family. We are also grateful for the freedoms that are available to us as Free Methodists. It’s refreshing to have the freedom to pursue the expression of the Holy Spirit that is genuine and authentic to our specific community without having to conform to a specific mold. We are blessed to be Free Methodists in the FMCSC.