About Us

FBC at a Glance
Our Purpose
Our Pastors
Our Ministries
How We're Organized
Our Affiliations
Our History
Our Worship Style
Our Beliefs
Visiting on Sunday

How We Are Organized

We are an independent, Bible believing church. Being "independent" means that we are locally governed; in other words, we raise our own money, set our own doctrinal positions, admit our own members, and elect our own leadership. Another way to put this: we are not the local chapter of a larger church organization such as the Presbyterian Church, the Southern Baptist Convention or the Catholic Church.

The church operates as a State of California non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation. (Learn more about the tax treatment of your gifts and cash donations to FBC by reading our Financial Giving policy.) As such, it can buy and sell property, receive donations, take out loans, and pay salaries.

The church is governed by its members, whose two-thirds majority decisions (for most issues) are executed through an Executive Board comprising the Pastor, pastoral staff, elders and deacons. The Executive Board is responsible for the business operations and general work of the church.

The church has quarterly business meetings to make any substantive business decisions, review spending against budgets, and confirm new members. During an annual business meeting, church members also elect church officers who perform functional roles such as Sunday School superintendent, treasurer, clerk deacons, and deaconesses.

Finally, the Executive Board appoints special committees who work on specific issues such as church membership, real estate planning, and missionaries.

Aside from the pastors and office manager, no one else is directly compensated for their work on behalf of the church. Instead, we serve out of love and reverence for our God and our church and our neighbors.

If you are political science-minded or merely curious, feel free to read more about how we govern ourselves in the Church Constitution.