Our Name

“Light and Life” is a phrase long associated with the Free Methodist Church. The words, “Light” and “Life” are common throughout the New Testament as metaphors for Christ and indicators of the ministry of Christ’s followers.

Unfortunately, the ministry of many of the mainline denominations has been in decline for decades now as churches and leaders have succumbed to internal and external pressures and institutionalism. Among evangelicals in California, denominational names for churches are often associated with this decline. (Fortunately, this is not the case with the Free Methodist Church—especially in the Southern California conference, as its continued growth attests.) Therefore, we seek to be attractive to those searching for a Bible-believing, evangelical congregation, and to align ourselves with that wing of the church.

Robert Logan cites four characteristics of an effective church name, namely that the name is “distinctive, relevant, memorable, and flexible”. We believe this warrants the catchy and Bible-based phrase “Light and Life” as our church name. Additionally, we are careful to retain our proud connection to the Free Methodist Church, so we include its name in our by-line.