Welcome to Vista Christian Church and thanks for visiting our web page. My name is Don Dalrymple most people call me "Bear" . I'd like to take this opportunity to tell you a little about our ministry as well as some of my own background. In addition to our basic statement of faith which you can read in the ' We Believe ' section, I'd like to share a little about our philosophy of ministry. We are a ministry that take God, His salvation, His love, and His Word very seriously. Personal growth and discipleship are of utmost importance to us. As is our personal relationship with God, personal prayer life, and personal study of God's Word. Although each service is centered around praise, worship, and the preaching of the Word, the congregation is encouraged often from the pulpit to read and study the Bible for themselves. This keeps both the congregation, and the minister on track.

Though we take our pursuit of holiness very seriously we are not a legalistic ministry. We are saved by, and enjoy grace, but never use it to excuse or condone sin. I believe the priority is to focus on the two commandments Christ gave the scribe in Mark 12:30, to love God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. These are far more important than dress codes and traditions of man. Christ Himself said the whole law is summed up in these two commandments. We may appear very casual at church by the way we dress, love to laugh, and have a good time, but our efforts to keep those two commandments makes us anything but casual about our Christianity.

I was born in 1958 in a suburb of San Francisco. I had a difficult childhood that contributed to my having a serious drug problem and an even more seriously hardened heart. I had grown into a very angry and rebellious young man. I refused to accept or believe in God and yet if He were real, I was convinced that He hated me. I know what it is like to be a hopeless slave to sin and to live in darkness as you feel the presence of death all around you. I was set free in 1978 when God came into my life. I discovered that God didn't hate me after all, and in fact, demonstrated how much He loved me by sending His Son to pay a horrible price for my sins. Since then I've grown closer to the Lord year by year. As Paul said in Romans 8:38, I have become persuaded that God loves me and over the years that knowledge has grown and become more thrilling. Now it's my turn to help others understand how much God loves them. And I truly delight in seeing them come to the realization that He does.

I recognize that our open, honest, and no frills approach to church may not be for everyone, but I do recommend that you find a church that you can really become a functioning part of. There are still many good churches out there and I suggest that you seek one that you believe is both led by the Spirit, and has some plan of going through the Bible, as opposed to topical sermons only. This will give you the whole counsel of God. I think you'll find that these are the churches that will stay on track and will turn out a higher number of committed disciples. If for some reason our ministry doesn't appeal to you or isn't accessible, may I suggest you look for a local Calvary Chapel . Though we are not affiliated with Calvary Chapel, I had the privelage to serve as a deacon and then an elder in one for several years before I became the senior pastor at VCM. This gave me the opportunity to meet many of their pastors and to visit a number of their churches. I found most of them to be just what a committed Christian should be looking for in a church. Jesus said that the Holy Spirit will guide us into all truth. Therefore I recommend that you pray and ask Him to guide you to the church He wants you to be a part of, regardless of the name on the sign.

May God bless you and please remember :
"God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind". -2 Timothy 1:7