Dear First Pres,

Chrisie Pereria


Michael Anderson


Aaron Meyer


Sophia Steele


Dear First Pres,

 I hope you were encouraged by the testimony that Ian & Charity Whitney shared in worship on Sunday. It was certainly encouraging to me, and not just because I’m the senior pastor of the church. Early in our marriage, Diane made it clear that she wanted to build a consistent, non-negotiable habit of giving at least 10% of our income to our local church. At the time I was in the “let’s give as our hearts are tugged” mode. But, by God’s grace, we followed Diane’s lead.

Dear First Pres,

   In November of 2013 we partnered with World Vision to bring an immersive experience called Kisongo Trek to our parking lot. Walking through the truck trailer was like walking through an African Area Development Project, learning all the ways a child sponsorship impacts an entire community. We specifically planned to have the experience here on an ArtHop Thursday to make it a larger than FPC community event. We had an African drumming group and food trucks nearby. It was a significant part of a successful multi-day Kisongo Trek Experience. 

Dear First Pres,

   Yanelly Solorio-Rivera and her 3-week old daughter, Celine, were tragically murdered last week in their home in Southwest Fresno. I imagine you saw or heard the news. It was a horrible, evil crime that has yet to be solved. 

Dear First Pres,

   “In Fresno as it is in heaven.” That’s our church’s vision. If you were part of our worship service on Sunday, that’s what you heard me talk about. An organization’s vision is simply a picture of a desired future state that drives and inspires the organization’s purposes and plans. It’s what an organization longs to see accomplished through their efforts.

Dear First Pres,

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