A Greeting from Pastor Paul Brown

Welcome!

Thank you for visiting TBBFChurch.org. My name is Paul Brown and it is my privilege to serve as Senior Pastor of The Bridge Bible Fellowship.  My wife, four children and I love this church and are thrilled to be a part of it. It is so exciting to be involved with people who want a relationship with God instead of religion. I grew up in a mildly religious home and learned to hate church. It was stuffy, boring, and had little to do with my life. When I was twelve I discovered that the Bible talked about a relationship with God instead of religion. I learned that I was sinful and guilty before a holy God (Rom. 3:23; 6:23), but that God sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, to suffer and die in my place to pay the penalty for my sin. I discovered that the bodily resurrection of Jesus from the dead proved that He was the Son of God (Rom. 1:4) and that the penalty for my sin was paid in full. At that time I confessed my sins to God, turned from them (repentance), and put my trust in Jesus alone (not religion or my good works) to be forgiven, receive His righteousness and have eternal life. Jesus has steadily changed my life ever since and has given me a burden to serve in a church that would know Him and make Him known.

It is my prayer that this website will be a blessing to you. If you have not placed your trust in Jesus Christ alone and received His righteousness and eternal life as a free gift I pray that you will soon. If you know the Lord Jesus, I pray that this site will help you grow in your relationship with Him and encourage you to make Him known to all the nations. If you live in Southern California or are planning to visit, please come and worship with us. Hopefully you will find a church that is:

What's Distinctive about The Bridge Bible Fellowship?

• God-sensitive. There is a lot of talk today about being "seeker-sensitive." Churches are rightly looking at how they might reach their culture with the gospel and show that it is relevant for all people at all times. We believe the church needs to be "God-sensitive." Our priority is to glorify God and please Him in all things. We believe that as we honor the Lord and preach His truth faithfully and without compromise that He will draw people to Himself (Jn. 6:44; Acts 2; 1 Thess. 2:13).

• Committed to the Scriptures and to expository preaching. At The Bridge we believe the Bible is the inerrant, inspired, authoritative Word of God. That is why we preach the Bible verse-by-verse trying to understand what it means in context (Neh. 8:1-8). How thrilling it is to find out what the author meant when he originally wrote the Scriptures and then find principles and applications for our lives today. Expository preaching not only helps protect us from taking verses out of context; it also helps train our church members how to study the Bible for themselves.

• Relationship-oriented, not religious. Religion (man trying to earn his way to God) often produces rules, legalism, and prideful people (Lk. 18:9-14). But Christianity is a relationship where we come to God in humility and acknowledge that we have nothing to boast of in ourselves. This gives us the freedom to be honest with each other and admit that we make mistakes on a regular basis. At SCC we strive to be transparent and honest about our weaknesses so we can help each other grow. People have the freedom to fail and learn from their mistakes.

• Committed to discipleship, not just decisions. We are not content to have people simply make a profession of faith in Christ; that is just the beginning. We are focusing our attention on helping every person move forward in their relationship with Jesus and become more like Him every day. Our focus is not simply that people would change on the outside but the inside as well! We offer small groups for men, women, couples, singles, etc., so we can focus on our hearts and not just our heads. We strive to see every believer grow to maturity inside and out (Col. 1:28-29; 2:7).

• Committed to function, not just form. At The Bridge we are not consumed with "programs" for program sake. We seek the Lord in prayer and in His Word to find out what He wants us to do, then we seek the best way to accomplish His purposes. Function is the priority, not the particular form or program that has worked in the past.

• Worshipping God, not a worship style. At The Bridge we believe that God is awesome in His beauty and creativity. He has given us many ways to express our worship of Him (arts, literature, music, etc.). God has given us great songs and liturgy in the past and He continues to do so today! We are not focused on "traditional" or "contemporary." In reality there is no such thing as "traditional" music (only music that is traditional to you or me). What is "traditional" to one person may not be "traditional" to another. We believe that both "traditional hymns" and contemporary songs have their place and we attempt to blend the two together.

• Equipping Seniors to Re-fire, not retire (Titus 2). We believe that older believers must be equipped and challenged to continue giving their lives to service in the church. Instead of moving out of the way to "let the young people serve in the church," our seniors are moving on to greater involvement in the church than ever before. Praying, mentoring, teaching, serving and counseling are just some of the ministries to which our seniors are giving their lives.

Thank you again for coming to visit us. Please pray for us as we strive to fulfill the Great Commandment and the Great Commission in our local church. May the Lord Jesus richly bless you as you love Him and obey His Word.