I want to personally welcome you to The Door Christian Fellowship Church, San Mateo County, Northern CA website. We are a FULL GOSPEL church. We believe and practice EVERYTHING that the bible teaches; salvation, healing and deliverance by the power of the risen Lord Jesus Christ. We would like to make ourselves available to you to help to discover the life that has been offered to us through the personal sacrifice of God’s son, Jesus Christ. No matter what may be the situation in your life, good or bad, we are all in need of His forgiveness and mercy.
We are personally committed to doing everything we can to see you come to know Jesus Christ personally and to become a follower of Him.
Please take time to read the Following Jesus and Pastor’s Testimony sections as they will give you a better understanding of of what it means to become a follower of Jesus Christ.
All have sinned… there is none righteous… the wages of sin is death… the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ. – The Bible
In His Service,
David Ford, Pastor
The Door Christian Fellowship Church,
Reaching out to San Mateo County in Northern CA.
Do you need help finding us? Here is a map of our location for directions to the church. If you need further assistance please use the Contact Us form.
Events hosted by The Door Christian Fellowship Church, San Mateo County, Northern CA, will be added to this calendar with all the dates and times as well as for our regular church services. This calendar is kept up to date as new events are confirmed so check back often.
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Thank you for taking the time to read my testimony of how I became a follower of Jesus. I have given a detailed description of how Jesus brought me to Himself and MADE ME a follower of Him. I hope it will help you.
Between the ages of 16 to 21 I went from a 3.8 GPA honor student with designs on going to college, working towards a degree in Electrical Engineering getting married and having a family, to graduating with only a 2.78 GPA, full time partier, part time human. How? Simple, I got tired of being good. I felt like I was missing out. Many of my friends were into partying and I thought “let’s just take a year off after high school and try it for one year”. That was a big mistake. By 21 I pretty much gave up on having ANY kind of future. I remember thinking “I’m not going to college,” and every marriage I knew had ended in divorce. That was the end of all the hopes and dreams of my younger years.
The turning point in my life came when I found myself sleeping on the floor of a studio apartment with ten other people just like me, headed nowhere. I got up one morning and said “NO MORE.” I went out and got a job that day. I called a friend and shared an apartment with him. Things were going pretty well. I still partied but it was much more under control and I was able to hold a job.
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At Christmas 1982 I came into contact with an old friend I hadn’t seen in years that had become a follower of Jesus. I had a very bad experience in my younger years with church and my attitude was “If there is a God, He doesn’t go to church.” I wasn’t raised religious, but I was invited to church occasionally by friends who didn’t seem to really want to be there. That’s how bad the experience was. I saw only RELIGIOUS SCHIZOPHRENICS. I say that because the word HYPOCRITE implies knowingly living a double life. They didn’t seem to know. They talked about God but lived like He didn’t exist. Not for me.
Because of that my friend had a very difficult time trying to convince me to go to church with him. He invited me several times and every time I told him “NO.” I think he was even about to give up on me when he came to invite me for the last time. Again I said “No.” He said, “Alright” without any argument and put his hand on my shoulder and prayed silently and turned to leave. As he prayed, a voice inside of me said “Go with him.” I told him I would go.
During the service things happened that never happened in other churches I visited but the main thing was GOD invited me to know Him. At first I was unsure because of my past experiences but came to the conclusion that I needed to find out if there was anything to this. That night, I prayed to receive Jesus as my Lord and Savior and SURRENDERED my life to Him. In that moment I was totally transformed. I walked out different that night.
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I already knew that IF God was real I wasn’t going to heaven. That was a no brainer because of the life I was living, but the real transformation was twofold. For one, I understood WHY the way I was living was wrong. Concepts and principles came to my mind that I never considered before that made perfect sense to me. The second thing was the change itself. I had NO desire for that life anymore. I was defending it only an hour earlier. Saying things like “What’s wrong with pot?” “Why is sleeping with someone you love wrong just because you’re not married?” Etc. From that MOMENT I was changed; never to be the same.
Over 40 years later I’m still changed and CHANGING all the time!
I’ve been married for 40 years, raised three kids who are all following Jesus as well. My two daughters and one son are married all of them “waited until the wedding night.” I have twelve grandchildren to date and I’m on my way to heaven. I truly live a blessed life!
After I began following Jesus, I decided that it would be a good time to go back to college and get my degree, but God made it clear to me that He had other plans for my life. I choose His plan, abandoning mine. I have been a pastor for 30 years in four churches and three different countries; I have no regrets and plenty of joyful memories!
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My whole purpose in life now is to help others to maneuver through the murky waters of RELIGION like what I experienced as a young man and to find THE TRUTH as it is in Jesus Christ; His salvation and forgiveness that only comes through turning from sin.
I am here to help you. Marriage, children, parenting, drug, or just life problems; I can lead you to the solution! What Jesus has done for me, He can do for you… AND MORE!
Please send me a message from the Contact Us section. I would like to hear from you.
Pastor David Ford
Thank you for reading this introduction into EXACTLY what being a follower of Jesus is all about.
First, let me say that we are UNASHAMEDLY followers of Jesus. I know a lot of people SAY that but let’s be honest, how many people have you met that you would say “they are DEFINITELY a follower of Jesus?” If you had, then you probably wouldn’t need to be here because they would have told you how to become a follower of Jesus!
We believe everyone instinctively knows what it means to be a follower of Jesus and our aim is to BE that definition, not just talk about it.
I told someone once “OUR CHURCH IS DIFFERENT” and he said “THAT’S WHAT THEY ALL SAY.” I knew he was right but that didn’t stop me from trying to prove it! Thanks again for giving us the chance.
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Let me first introduce myself. My name is David Ford and I am the pastor of The Door Christian Fellowship in San Mateo, CA. But this isn’t about me or our church. It’s about FOLLOWING JESUS. For now, I would like you to think of me as a tour guide on a journey.
We will start with Jesus the Person and talk about how God took on the form of a man in the person of Jesus Christ. Then we will go into Jesus The Church Builder and discuss the role of the church in following Jesus. Then we will discuss Jesus and The Bible and talk about the importance of the bible in following Jesus. I have also included Pastor’s Testimony as an added personal touch.
This is NOT meant to be an EXHAUSTIVE STUDY but a CLEAR SUMMARY of what it means ACCORDING TO JESUS to be a follower of HIS.
I really believe this will resonate with something inside you and you will want to become a FOLLOWER of JESUS.
Feel free to use the Contact Us page and call me or send me a message. It is my heart’s desire that you become a follower of Jesus.
Let’s begin our tour with Jesus The Person (see below).
When you have time, I’d like you to read Pastor’s Testimony of how I became a FOLLOWER of Jesus. It will let you know something about how Jesus starts this process of becoming one of His followers. I go into detail that I think will be a great help.
Let’s look at Jesus the person…
Yes, Jesus is a PERSON. Not a spirit. And HE’S NOT DEAD, because He’s not JUST a person! He’s GOD. He came to earth 2000 years ago as a person.
This is very important: A person can’t raise from the dead and GOD cannot die.
Jesus is the first and only GOD-MAN.
Now I know this sounds like a fantasy but stick with me.
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If Jesus is GOD then… Why doesn’t He just show Himself to everyone? Simple. We would die from fright!
Just think of how you feel when a snarling dog comes running at you! Even if he were really friendly, you wouldn’t be sticking around to find out!
Even if a LOVING GOD showed Himself, we would die on the spot. So God hid Himself in a human body (stay with me!) and revealed Himself to mankind AS A PERFECT MAN.
Every major religion KNOWS this Jesus I’ve just described. The difference is He is labeled as GURU, PROPHET, GREAT TEACHER or GOOD MAN. The truth is He was GOD masked in human flesh reaching out with INCREDIBLE LOVE and mercy to anyone and everyone who would listen. He proved He was God by healing the sick and raising the dead.
Jesus as a human was REJECTABLE. The reason for this is because He came looking for FOLLOWERS not FANS. He made it so even though He did miraculous things, He could still be rejected. And HE WAS. He was REJECTED and CRUCIFIED by the very people He came to reach, but because He was God, Three days later He ROSE FROM THE DEAD JUST LIKE HE SAID HE WOULD. Now He has gone back into heaven.
What does this have to do with you today? He is still looking for FOLLOWERS: those willing to PULL BACK THE VEIL OF PHYSICAL REALITY AND STEP INTO THE UNKNOWN.
Here’s how.
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I went to church for years and NEVER EVEN KNEW THERE WAS A VEIL!!! No one ever told me! I know now it’s because they DIDN’T KNOW EITHER. They were just being what I call FAITHFUL HOPEFULS. There was NO REALITY of Jesus but they hoped that going to church would count for something in the end.
How can you know Him, then? It’s really quite easy. Several times while I was writing this, out of habit, I would write things like “I can help you, show you how to…” like I would say when talking to someone face to face. This is helpful but not necessary. You can know Him yourself RIGHT NOW, if you really want to. Just step behind THE VEIL. ASK Jesus to show Himself to you. It’s really that easy.
There is one thing though. You must be willing to do WHATEVER HE TELLS YOU TO DO. This is the main reason many NEVER become true followers. Not being visible (He is in heaven), Jesus is still REJECTABLE.
Many are happy to PLAY CHURCH or BE RELIGIOUS and MAKE UP a Jesus in their mind that has no expectations. Jesus WILL tell you EXACTLY what to do. The question is will you do what He says?
Now it’s time for a little more detail.
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The reason we wouldn’t survive seeing God in His fulness is because He is perfect and we are SINFUL… ALL OF US. When God comes on the scene, you can’t tell Hitler from Mother Teresa! Sin is NOT what we DO. It’s what we ARE. We ARE ALL SINNERS.
Sin is an issue with God. That’s why He let US (mankind) crucify Him. He did it to demonstrate both the seriousness of sin and His WILLINGNESS TO FORGIVE our sin.
Forgiveness is an amazing thing. It has the power to CHANGE the human heart in incredible ways. In essence that is what SALVATION is; the realization that God has forgiven your sins. When you experience that, a RADICAL TRANSFORMATION takes place.
When this happens, you have met with Jesus. You won’t see Him with your eyes or hear Him with your ears, but you will KNOW… Inside, He’ll be there BEYOND all doubt, AND YOU WILL CHANGE.
So now it’s up to you. Say “Jesus, I’m ready to follow you, WHATEVER YOU SAY.”
Again, If you have any questions or just want to talk more about this, please go to the Contact Us page and call me or send me a message.
In the next section, Jesus the Church Builder (below), I will explain what church is all about, according to Jesus Himself.
I want to talk to you now about JESUS the CHURCH BUILDER.
I will explain what church is all about ACCORDING to JESUS HIMSELF.
I’ll begin with why I called this Jesus the Church Builder. If you have read my previous discussion about Jesus the Person (above), then you have a good foundation for what I’m about to say. I recommend reading that first if you haven’t.
Church is JESUS’ IDEA. NOT MAN’S. Jesus in the bible said these exact words “I WILL BUILD MY CHURCH”. It’s HIS idea, HIS church, and HE is building it.
How do you know which church is the right one? It’s really straight forward. It’s the one HE attends.
As I said in Jesus the Person (above) and in Pastor’s Testimony, I went to church (several churches actually) for a few years when I was younger and Jesus NEVER attended any of them! They all sang, they all had preachers that talked ABOUT the bible, but Jesus was NEVER there.
I know this sounds elitist but the TRUTH is either Jesus is real and you can know WHEN He is PRESENT or the whole thing is POINTLESS. If you can know when He IS present, then you can know when He’s NOT.
So now I will go into a little more detail.
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Jesus said HE is BUILDING HIS church. That means a church will be the way Jesus says.
He has given very GRAPHIC INSTRUCTIONS in the bible as to how He will build His church. It’s in a book of the bible called THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES.
This book begins with Jesus telling His followers WHERE to go and WHAT to do. He told them to GO to Jerusalem and WAIT for the HOLY SPIRIT to come. It then describes in detail EXACTLY how the Holy Spirit worked in those early followers.
The SAME THING is still true today. JESUS is BUILDING HIS CHURCH through the work of The HOLY SPIRIT in the hearts of TRUE followers JUST LIKE He did in the bible.
The Holy Spirit is probably the least understood part of GOD. THAT IS DISASTROUS since Jesus is working through HIM to build His church.
So we need to talk a little more about the Holy Spirit to UNDERSTAND this crucial truth. It’s really NOT complicated… unless you want to MAKE UP your own religion.
Actually, that is the answer to a question I get asked often; “Why there are so many denominations of Christianity?” There are as many denominations as there are people who want to make their own Jesus. I go through this more in Jesus and The Bible (below).
But for now, let’s talk about the Holy Spirit.
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The Holy Spirit is the THIRD PERSON of the Trinity of God. Don’t let that CONFUSE you.
You are body, soul and spirit, THREE in ONE. So is God. The only difference is God’s 3 parts function independently. That may seem creepy but the more you think about the differences between how you act (your body) and how you think (your soul) it makes more sense. Have you ever thought how shocked people would be if they knew your thoughts? How different our body is from our soul!
God, The Holy Spirit, as I said earlier, is like Jesus in that The Holy Spirit is here to finish what Jesus began, by TEACHING how to be a follower of Jesus in the CONTEXT of a CHURCH COMMUNITY.
The church is not what the building looks like or even the order of events that happen in a church meeting, it is the INTERACTION between The Holy Spirit and those following Jesus, EMPOWERING them to live out and DEMONSTRATE to the world outside of the church what it means to follow Jesus.
So let’s talk about how this happens.
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The Holy Spirit GIFTS individuals to be teachers. It’s not by intelligence or time spent in church. This is important because it emphasizes that JESUS, not man, is BUILDING His CHURCH. We are not stronger than God and cannot override His desires. This gives those that follow Him confidence that God is IN CONTROL of His church AT ALL TIMES.
In light of that, if Jesus is building HIS church and the Holy Spirit is CHOOSING the teachers, it follows that Jesus will also DIRECT those who desire to follow Him to where HE wants them to be.
That is the foundation of our church. We know that GOD appoints and speaks through teachers, HE directs those who desire to follow Him into the church, Jesus ALWAYS attends services, and He is ALWAYS IN CONTROL. It’s in this environment called THE CHURCH where LIVES are CHANGED.
Are we perfect? NO. How can the church be perfect if humans are involved? BUT don’t let that bother you. JESUS is building HIS CHURCH. If something isn’t going right, the Holy Spirit will deal with it LIKE HE HAS for thousands of years.
NEVER forget… JESUS is building HIS Church!
EITHER Jesus is building His church and HE is IN CONTROL or this is just a weak fantasy held together by resourceful individuals. If the latter is true there is NO POINT TO CHURCH! But if the former is true, I’m in good hands… and so are you!
If you have any questions or just want to talk more about this, please go to the Contact Us page and call me or send me a message. I’ll be glad to help.
So that’s Jesus the Church Builder. I encourage you to continue on with the next section Jesus and The Bible (below).
This section on the bible is the most important section because it is the key to EVERYTHING concerning following Jesus. I recommend you read Jesus the Person (above) and Jesus the Church Builder (above) first, as I refer to several things here from there.
I mentioned in Jesus the Church Builder (above), the question I’m often asked: “why there are so many denominations of Christianity?” The reason is simple. If you read the bible with the intention of using it as a HANDBOOK or MANUAL, especially the New Testament, it won’t be long before you ask “WHY doesn’t EVERY church DO this?” I know that because that’s exactly what happened to me.
I mentioned in Jesus the Person (above) and Jesus the Church Builder (above) and in Pastor’s Testimony that I attended churches and Jesus was NEVER there. This is why: Jesus doesn’t attend churches that don’t live by what the BIBLE says.
In the Book of Psalms in the bible, it says “Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.” (Ps 119:105). Doesn’t that sound like the bible is very important? That’s because it is.
Without the bible, there is NO WAY you can know if you are following Jesus. It’s like trying to sky dive without an instructor. No one would do that!
Two important things I found immediately about the bible as I read it: #1 It confirmed the truth of what my friend had been telling me (see Pastor’s Testimony). #2 It verified my own experience.
Let me give you an example of how that happened.
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As I mentioned in Pastor’s Testimony, after I asked Jesus to come into my life, I started to RADICALLY change in my THINKING which made me start acting differently.
My friend took me to buy my first bible and told me to read through the New Testament. As I did, I came across this verse: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” (2Cor 5:17 ) I thought “Wow! That is what is happening to me!” VERIFIED.
I remember thinking “Why weren’t any of the people that I met in those other churches I attended years ago changed?” One church I attended invited me to a week long youth camp. I can honestly say there was only one person that struck me as “different” from me and he never told me why! EVERYONE else was just like me! Swearing, telling dirty jokes, etc.
The reason no one was changed is because they didn’t know what Jesus could do, because they NEVER read THE BIBLE!! If they had then they would know HOW JESUS COULD CHANGE THEM.
The bible is the CENTERPIECE of our church. Our lives revolve around the bible like PLANETS around the sun. It’s the ONLY way to follow Jesus. The bible is the WRITTEN word of what Jesus came to do.
Someone once said the word BIBLE stands for Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth. That’s good, but I would add that it is way more than BASIC instructions. It’s the WHOLE MANUAL for life!
Let me explain that in little more in detail.
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Although the bible doesn’t explain HOW TO style, it does cover EVERYTHING at a PRINCIPLE level.
For example. The bible doesn’t say “thou shalt not be rich”. But it does say “the LOVE of money is the root of all kinds of evil”. Money is NOT evil, but the LOVE of money IS. So the PRINCIPLE is be careful not to get too CAUGHT UP in money because it will bring trouble.
We see that happen don’t we? People who are constantly worried they aren’t going to make it because they feel like they don’t have enough money. Others are willing to steal or even sell themselves because they NEED money. That over-concern for money becomes evil.
Here’s another principle related to this. The bible says “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” (Mat 6:31-33). God PROMISES He will take care of those who put their TRUST in Him. I have experienced this for many years.
So if you put these together you see that the LOVE of money causes evil by not trusting God and trusting God will keep us from evil! There’s the principle.
There is one last thing I want to say about the bible before I finish.
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When you do what the bible says IT ALWAYS WORKS. It never fails! In the beginning it is not easy but over time as you see it work over and over, you learn to trust it.
The bible has NEVER been wrong about anything. Over thousands of years of application, it has proven itself to be the VERY WORDS of GOD. It can be trusted.
When it comes to the bible, it is either GOD’S WORD or it’s the greatest con the world has ever known. But let’s be realistic. If it was a con, would people STILL be willing to die for it as many do today in nations that are hostile to Christianity thousands of year later?
SPOILER ALERT!! The bible IS the WORD of GOD.
Whether in downtown New York, or in a little town in the middle of CHINA, people are being RADICALLY TRANSFORMED by reading the bible and discovering the JESUS of THE BIBLE. My hope is that you will discover the same thing.
As always, if you have any questions or just want to talk more about this, please go to the Contact Us page and call me or send me a message.
