by Garrett Glende

Hi David, tell me a bit about yourself.

I’m a junior at UCSD, from Cerritos and I’m currently a psychology major.

Can you tell me a little about how you first came to LBC?

It was through a parachurch ministry called CCM, specifically two brothers, Bach Ngyuen and Randy Tsuchiyama, who encouraged me to go out to Lighthouse.

What were your first impressions?

The people were friendly. They were very welcoming and encouraging. Pastor John’s made a big impact and he was very passionate. It was a place where I saw myself being a part of. I could really see myself being a part of this church.

What were some things that made you stay here?

For one thing, it was definitely the gospel centered teaching, the gospel centered perspective that the leaders had. I knew that if I stayed here I would really grow and I really wanted that.

How would you describe college so far?

It’s so liberating that if I don’t put some limiters, I’m afraid that I’ll go too crazy and I’m thankful that there are brothers and sisters who put these limits on me so that I don’t get too crazy.

What thing are you most thankful for in college?

If there was one thing that I am thankful for it would be that God has led me to Lighthouse when He could have chosen to have me fall away or join a church that has horrible doctrine, but He chose to put me at a great church like Lighthouse.

How are you currently serving at church?

The first would be the Sonlight ministry. That was the first ministry that I joined. Also LKC or Lighthouse Kids Club, cleaning ministry, web team for college life, and although it’s not an official ministry I try to minister to people by using my skills in videography.

What are your goals for this upcoming year in the context of college life?

I think definitely one thing would be to minister to the new freshmen and help them, even if they don’t choose lighthouse, to truly see what the gospel is and that it should not be taken lightly. Also just to keep up with my disciplines, not just because I’m an upperclassman now, but just to be excellent in everything.

Describe an encouraging story from church.

Besides just the encouragement notes themselves, if I had to choose just one, there was one time during children’s ministry after I finished a lesson, one of the kids, David Chung, came up to me and told me “thank you for that message. It was really helpful.” And that just touched me. It was really touching.

What is it like to work with the children at church?

It’s really fun. They’re a refreshing bunch of kids. It’s hard sometimes to be patient, but at the same time I’m really thankful for that because I feel like I’m learning to be more patient. Whenever I interact with them or teach them, I genuinely feel like I’m learning a lot.

What is one thing you would like to do before college ends?

Haha find a girlfriend…no no seriously. Hmm that’s tough. I’ve never really thought about it. I think one thing would be to memorize a certain book in the Bible. Not just memorize it, but really grasp it and understand it, making sure that I can apply it. Please don’t put find a girlfriend, I don’t really mean that. I’m just being silly.

Ok, thanks David.

Thanks for the interview. It was fun…I wish I provided better answers.

You did great.