Let
me tell you a little of my story as to how I became the pastor of Horizon
Community Church: when I was 4 years old, my father left a lucrative position
with AT&T to plant a church in Pittsburgh PA. Since then, my parents
have successfully planted two other churches in Connecticut and Virginia.
Of course that meant that when I went to Wheaton College in 1985, I declared
myself a business major. I had no plans for the ministry. But of course,
God had different plans for me.
I began to feel a tug towards ministry after I had graduated from Wheaton
College with a BA in Business/Economics in 1989. While a business executive,
I began volunteering with the youth program of my church, the Anaheim
Vineyard Christian Fellowship. I also enrolled part time in a Master’s
program at Talbot Theological Seminary. During this time, I had the privilege
of leading teams of youth overseas on short-term mission trips, first
to Czechoslovakia in 1991 (where I met my wife) and to Fiji in 1992.
Eventually God led me to quit my job and dedicate myself to pursue ministry
as a full time vocation. This of course, meant living below the poverty
level, eating lots of Top Raman and being willing to move cross-country
twice. In 1993 I moved to Virginia to pioneer a college ministry &
serve as an intern at the Virginia Beach Vineyard Christian Fellowship.
In 1994, I took my first staff position as a youth & college pastor
at the Desert Springs Church in Palm Springs, California.
These first few years where great training for me, as I got to work with
several great pastors who trained me and drew out of me pastoral gifts
I did not know I had. In 1996, I hired my replacement and became the executive
pastor at the Desert Springs Church. This move was predicated upon the
joint decision by the senior pastor & my wife and I that we were to
plant a church after serving two years as Executive pastor and finishing
my Master’s in Theology at Talbot.
In May of 1998, I graduated from Talbot Theological Seminary and in June
of 1998, we moved here with a small team to plant the Horizon Community
Church. Since then, we’ve been working to create a community of
people who want to authentically follow Jesus & worship God together.
For more of the story of the church plant, see the "History of Horizon"
brochure.
Let me briefly introduce my family to you: My wife Catherine was born
in the Netherlands. She and I met in Czechoslovakia in 1991. That summer,
we were both doing evangelism on a short-term mission team in Eastern
Europe. After that summer, Catherine served as the head nurse for an
orphanage dedicated
to caring for children afflicted with AIDS in Romania. We corresponded
during this time and pursued a relationship after her two-year commitment
in Romania was completed. We married in 1995 and she moved to be with
me to Palm Springs California. Now Catherine is a full time Mom and a
part time Registered Nurse at UC Davis in Sacramento.
God has blessed us with four beautiful children: Sarah, our oldest & Samuel
are both in elementary school. Scotty is a pre-schooler and Sutter is
a very active toddler
Now you know a little about me, and I look forward to getting to know
all those who become a part of our growing community at the Horizon
Community
Church.
Sincerely,
Brad Swope
