Greetings from
Special Appointments
Conference Membership
Freedom of Worship
If you’ve been lucky enough to visit many of our churches, you’d know firsthand how each embraces the freedom to worship as the Spirit leads. Whether the style is liturgical or expressive, our worship is always seeking after God.
Special Relations and Special Appointments ministers are Free Methodist Elders engaged in ministry in non-traditional ways. Usually these are conference members supporting para-church ministries and church plants but may also be retired pastors or educators who continue to follow God’s calling in their communities.
Each year we receive special greetings from these treasured partners and share them with the Free Methodist Church to encourage and challenge our members to pray and support these ministries and ministers.
Moises Bejarano
God is doing incredible things with us. We are seeing broken people being restored and transformed by the love of Christ. We are developing and empowering leaders under the anointing of the Holy Spirit. So, we are very grateful and humbled by God’s mercy in our lives. We want to send greetings and love to our FMCSC family and request to please continue praying for us.
Don Bowers
I trust that we will faithfully serve the Lord until we are no longer able to do so …….. since there is so little said about retiring or retirement in scripture except in one passage in the Old Testament, we should endeavor to press on to the goal that is set before us, then to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.
Jonathan Brewer
May the Lord continue to bless in Southern California.
John Culp
I wonder at God’s goodness in terms of the students and colleagues I have been privileged to know over my years of teaching. In retirement, I have been blessed by God to be able to live on a lake in the woods in order to enjoy God’s creation.
Dan Davidson
I’m grateful to have stayed connected to our Free Methodist Family! I’ve enjoyed a year of missional work through Rosebud Coffee and the opportunity to help other churches start social enterprises to bless their communities. I’m looking forward to what the Lord has in store as I help with another FMC restart!
Julie Matallana Freedman
I am enjoying my professional work at an Episcopal Church in Cambridge MA. It is a lovely parish and I am delighted to use my gifts in preaching and teaching regularly. This is a progressive community which challenges me to think about my faith in Christ in new ways.
Roger Garza
Keep looking up!
Ieda Grigg
As I work at the Geriatric Hospital (in New Zealand) and walk alongside with many patients and residents with dementia and various levels of decreasing mental ability, I find it so comforting to be able to simply offer to them the ministry of presence; and it has certainly taken on a new meaning for me – the ability to be in the presence of another human being expecting nothing in return but simply to acknowledge the sacredness and beauty of that life for what it is, the very image of God. So I sit with them as in the presence of God Himself who encouraged us by saying: “I was sick and you looked after me…I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.” Matthew 25:31-40
So my heart rejoices in the work I have been called to do as a chaplain. May all praise be to Him!
HuiWen Lo
Thank the Lord for keeping the Logos Evangelical Seminary dormitory where I serve safe during the past two years of the epidemic. However, since January of this year, there have been successive residents with suspected symptoms, but thank the Lord they are all false alarms. But, since mid-March, people have been confirmed to be infected with the virus. Every time it seems to have calmed down, someone confirms the infection again. But thank the Lord, because of so many more experiences of God’s peace and strength in prayer to experience His truth, grace, and love. What a privilege to trust in Jesus, pray to him, and have peace with him! All the glory to him. Please also remember my ministry in prayer, so that these seminary students can experience God’s wonderful grace together and learn to be more like him.
Maressa Jaikumar
Greetings from New York! Grateful for the ability to stay connected through technology. I had a baby girl just under a year ago, so it’s been a fun season of adjusting to being a family of four! I’m learning a lot about slowing down and being present for the little things. Blessings to you all in Southern California!
Bob Managbanag
The Lord is continuing to call, lead, and grow my experience of His presence in my life as I follow each day!
Jim Mannoia
The Lord has been teaching me that while at my stage of life I am not called to introduce and lead change as I did as a young person, my years of experience give me an opportunity to be a reconciler and one who hears and guides from various sides of divisive issues. I become more and more aware each year of my own personal need for God’s grace as circumstances reveal more and more of my own failings. My daily time with the Lord has changed from a more intensive focus of reading and praying to more frequent contemplation and reflection as I walk for long hours each week. I feel blessed by my circumstances and grateful to the Lord for the peace he gives me when so many others around me are in turmoil.
Kevin Mannoia
Each morning I find myself in amazement at the grace of God shaping my own heart and life while also opening doors of influence that allow me to bring the Kingdom near. My commitment remains to the threefold priorities of leadership formation, unity in the church, and Kingdom mission. The fulfillment has never been more vibrant. Even as I grow increasingly aware of limited time and energy, I am deeply compelled in this labor. I find it interesting that as I divest positions, titles, and power, true influence for the Kingdom in the hearts and lives of other leaders and organizations — especially young ones — is multiplied. It is thrilling to be in this Kingdom work.
Floyd Noble
In light of the soon coming of Jesus in judgment, I pray that God would help us to be good examples of the changed lives that He has done and to share in love the wonderful offer of forgiveness of sins and eternal life that Jesus offers to everyone.
Keith Parmelee
Looking forward to seeing everyone at Annual Conference 2022 and hearing how everyone is doing. I missed our time together.
Don Rogers
Greetings fellow followers of Christ. GOD IS ON THE MOVE in Africa in ways like I have never seen before in 27 years of ministry. Broken lives and families are finding Christ and gaining new skills to crush poverty in over 20 villages AND those empowered are sharing their transformation with others! Even one Kenyan governor told me that “This Empowering Lives approach is a gift from God to me as a leader of my county.” WOW – this man – responsible for over one half million people is telling all of the chiefs under his jurisdiction to “Go the ELI way” which includes the Gospel. God is good.
This coming year is now the time to send a team to see for yourself and also…Invite your church members to JOIN a Virtual Ministry Trip to Africa – email [email protected] It is a joy to be empowering lives together.
David Saltzman
I am blessed by God’s calling bearing fruit in my life, seeing connections made between care recipients in the homeless communities and services that make a difference in their lives. It is also a blessing to serve with God on a daily basis as a Chaplain. I feel as if God has led me here and he continues to guide me through the amazing journey of chaplaincy, seeing people connect to God and heal, be restored and resurrected by God. I am blessed by Timothy and Patricia Porter’s amazing and gracious guidance on this journey.
Pedro Preciado Sanchez
Saludos desde la iglesia monte de Sion en Colomotitan, Michoacan.
Adrian ‘AGE’ Sandoval
I was shining a biker’s boots at a big motorcycle rally here in San Diego. I didn’t know this but he was a Jehovah Witness. I began to minister to him about the love of Jesus and how He can set someone free. We had a weird conversation but in the end he was open to listening. I then began to encourage him to call upon Jesus when in need and be encouraged and move forward. Again, it was weird because his concept of Jesus was a little different than mine. In the end, I prayed for him and his wife and family. He received it and now knows if he needs anything he can call me for prayer. This is just one step closer for him to realize the power of the name of Jesus.
Another was the local Harley Davidson dealership asked me to perform a renewing of vows ceremony around Valentine’s Day. Sure enough, I was leading several couples to this renewing with vows. It was a great ministry experience as this was in the middle floor of the dealership. What a testimony to pray, share scripture and lead them to commitment. Afterward, I had many couples coming up to me telling me how heart felt they were for me to do this. They were moved and it gave me the opportunity to pray with a few couples in the end.
Lee Schierbeek
I love Jesus passionately as well as the work He has given me to do. We attend Calvary Chapel Chino Hills where we serve in various capacities and enjoy the growth we find in our small groups
Eugene Smith
For me, daily I enjoy spending time with our precious Father. He is the light of my life and guide in all I do. He continues to bring joy and encouragement into my life as I seek to be the husband, father and leader in my family and ministry that God called me, and Marilyn, to these days. God is abundantly supplying all of our needs and showing us His power, grace and might even as we have been stretched taking care of two Mom’s in Savannah, GA, 2000 miles away. It is a wonderful, yet stretching season for us in this regard. We rejoice God is giving us these precious years loving and serving them.
Richard Sorenson
Learning to walk with Jesus in an endeavor to make a greater impact for God’s Kingdom as we explore our ministry during retirement years. God’s blessings on all that you do for our Lord and His Kingdom.
Gail Wallace
Thanks to all who supported our family in so many ways after the loss of my husband, Jon, in 2021, whether through meals, cards, notes, emails, hugs, flowers, and more. It has been so encouraging to be cared for in these ways by the body of Christ!
Dale Winslow
Bless you, Superintendent Jon. And blessings on the FMCSC.
Karen Winslow
We appreciate your support and prayers during this difficult time. We are so thankful for Foothill Community Church and Supt Jon Sato, for their prayers, meals, platelets, and concern for us. We are being carried by you.
Ricci Wojtkiewicz-Wesley
I know many have been in prayer for me. After a long year of preparing and waiting, I had the necessary surgery April 28th to remove poisons and abscesses from my body. God definitely has been so God. I am slowly getting back to activity. I cannot express how grateful I am enough.
Karl Wolfe
Jesus is Lord. A focus which is most present and persistent of late is that of Jesus’ resurrection. Without it, nothing we claim as Christ followers is true. However, because he is risen (this form is being completed a few days before Palm Sunday), we can be confident he is with us, he is for us, he loves us, and he awaits welcoming us when this life is completed.
Gay Zambrano
2021 has been an amazing year to see the body of Christ adapt, grow and expand the Kingdom! God is in control no matter how many viruses, vaccines, mandates, and rules happen in society. Please never, never, NEVER doubt that He is on the throne. Let us pray for one another, let us strengthen one another. Let us cry out to God when we need help. But let us reach out to one another when we have a need.
[Psalm 96:1-13 NLT] “Sing a new song to the LORD! Let the whole earth sing to the LORD! Sing to the LORD; praise his name. Each day proclaim the good news that he saves. Publish his glorious deeds among the nations. Tell everyone about the amazing things he does. Great is the LORD! He is most worthy of praise! He is to be feared above all gods. The gods of other nations are mere idols, but the LORD made the heavens! Honor and majesty surround him; strength and beauty fill his sanctuary. O nations of the world, recognize the LORD; recognize that the LORD is glorious and strong. Give to the LORD the glory he deserves!”