Our Name
Who We Are
Our name derives from 1 Timothy 3:15 where Paul writes, “so that you may know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth.” It defines the great mission of the church.
This imagery of pillars and support would not be lost on the Ephesians to whom Paul was writing especially since they had in their city, the impressive temple of the goddess Diana, one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world. It had 127 massive pillars, every one of them the gift of a king. All were made of marble and some studded with jewels and overlaid with gold. The pillar’s function was to hold up the roof. The word “support” refers to the foundation on which the whole building rests. Therefore, Paul’s metaphor is that the church is the foundation and pillar that holds up the truth.
Just as the pillar and support or foundation of the Temple of Diana was a testimony to the error of pagan false religion, so the church is to be a testimony to God’s truth. That’s our mission in the world.
John MacArthur in his commentary on 1 Timothy wrote, “The truth is the divine revelation, including the truth of the gospel, the content of the Christian faith. It is the solemn responsibility of every church to solidly, immovably, unshakably uphold the truth of God’s Word. The church does not invent the truth, and alters it only at the cost of judgment. It is to support and safeguard it. It is the sacred, saving treasure given to sinners for their forgiveness, and to believers for their sanctification and edification, that they might live for the glory of God. The church has the stewardship of Scripture, the duty to guard it as the most precious possession on earth. Churches that tamper with, misrepresent, depreciate, relegate to secondary place, or abandon biblical truth destroy their only reason for existing and experience impotence and judgment.”
One essential part of our purpose is to uphold the truth of God’s Word and its precious legacy, most especially in relation to the Gospel and its faithful proclamation to every generation and people.
Our History
How We Began
Pillar Bible Church was established and incorporated on November 4, 2003, when a group of like-minded men and women, committed to Biblical ministry, prayerfully gathered as a new local congregation. The church called James H. Lee as its first Pastor-Teacher. The founding church board consisted of 6 men as its officers. PBC had its first official service on Sunday, November 16, 2003, gathering for worship in the living room of one of its member's homes. The church celebrated its first Thanksgiving and Communion service the following week. The church continued to meet in homes with an initial gathering of about 30 people consisting of both original founding members and several visitors.
PBC moved into its first regular Sunday Worship facility at Hermosa Drive Elementary School in Fullerton, CA, on Sunday, December 14, 2003.
The church celebrated on Sunday, April 25, 2004, with an Inauguration Service, with several local Bible-teaching churches, family, and friends in attendance. Rev. Alex Montoya, pastor at First Fundamental Bible Church in Monterey Park and a professor at the Master's Seminary, preached the inaugural address, "Rewards for Serving Christ."
PBC moved into the its second regular Sunday Worship facility at Rolling Hills Elementary School in Fullerton on Sunday, June 13, 2004, due to construction at Hermosa Drive. Not long after, PBC was formally accepted into the Southern Baptist Convention by the recommendation of the OCSBA Advisory Board on Thursday, July 15, 2004.
On Resurrection Sunday, March 25, 2005, PBC celebrated its first Baptism service as 3 of our members who recently came to Christ made public profession of their new life in Christ. On Sunday, May 5, 2005, PBC moved it services to Heritage Inn Hotel in Fullerton, CA. The first official membership class of 21 brethren made a public covenant to our local congregation on Sunday, June 12, 2005.
After careful observation of the lives of fellow brethren over the first five years of our ministry and several months of prayerful nominations by our membership, PBC affirmed its first elders and deacons, on February 1, 2009. The original governing board of PBC replaced itself by publicly affirming our first elder plurality as a stated goal from our inception. Then later that year, on October 4, 2009, PBC moved from Heritage Inn Hotel to its current Sunday facility at Covenant Presbyterian Church in Orange, CA.