Our Calling
Christians from many churches, serving together.
We look for the places where Scripture clearly commands Christians to serve but where help is missing, scattered or too small (Proverbs 3:27), and then we build the ministry ourselves (James 2:15–17).
“Just as the body is one and has many members… so it is with Christ.”
Who we are
Individual Christians, not a new institution.
Many churches are strong in worship, teaching and fellowship, while whole fields of commanded service stay thin or absent: no one visiting the prison, no one standing with foster families, no one sitting with the isolated (Matthew 25:42–45).
So we begin with a different question. Not “what programme would churches like?” but “what does Scripture say Christians ought to be doing, and where is it not being done?” (2 Timothy 3:16–17).
The early churches pooled their gifts and sent relief across congregations (Acts 11:29–30; Romans 15:26). We do the same: individual Christians are the people who serve, and churches cooperate as partners, never as gatekeepers (Philippians 1:3–5).
Where Scripture commands the work and no one is doing it well, our presumption is action (Proverbs 3:27; James 4:17).
Five churches. Two people each. One team.
No single congregation has enough people for a prison ministry. Ten believers from five churches do. Two are better than one, and a threefold cord is not quickly broken (Ecclesiastes 4:9–12).
- A church in Irvine
- A church in Santa Ana
- A church in Anaheim
- A church in Garden Grove
- A church in Fullerton
volunteers
Clear boundaries
What we are not.
Not a denomination
We do not appoint pastors, administer the sacraments or govern any church; each church is shepherded by its own elders (Acts 14:23; 1 Peter 5:2).
Not a federation
Churches need not join, approve, fund or sponsor us before their people may serve; each believer answers to Christ for the good he can do (Galatians 6:10).
Not a consultancy
We do not sell programmes to churches. We go and do the work, in deed and in truth (1 John 3:18).
Not apart from the church
We urge every volunteer to belong to, worship in and stay accountable to a local church (Hebrews 10:24–25).
Our mark: a threefold cord.
Our cross is woven from two threefold cords, one upright and one across, passing over and under one another. A threefold cord is not quickly broken (Ecclesiastes 4:12); and in Christ the whole body is joined and held together, every part working properly (Ephesians 4:16).
It is a reminder that nothing we do holds together apart from the cross (Colossians 1:17–20; Galatians 6:14).
Where we began
Four first ministries.
We did not launch twenty ministries at once. Like a builder who first counts the cost (Luke 14:28), we began with four, each testing something different about doing this faithfully.
- 1
Prison & re-entry
Our hardest test first: patient trust with institutions, careful vetting, and long faithfulness to people easily forgotten (Hebrews 13:3).
- 2
Practical service & gleaning
A pooled team for gardens, moves and repairs, and backyard harvests delivered through local food pantries (Leviticus 19:9–10).
- 3
Disability companionship
Our first care ministry, built on careful safeguarding and training, giving lonely neighbours a place at the table (2 Samuel 9:7).
- 4
Christian Sport
A friendly front door into Christian fellowship, deliberately kept second to the works of mercy (1 Timothy 4:8).
Founding statement
What Fabric exists to do.
- Fabric Ministries is an independent Christian ministry in Orange County, established to put biblical obligations into practical action (James 1:22).
- It identifies works of service that Scripture commands or strongly teaches, gathers and equips Christians across congregational boundaries, and builds ministries wherever those duties are neglected (Ephesians 4:11–12).
- It welcomes cooperation with biblical churches but remains free of denominational, donor and governmental control (Galatians 1:10).
- It distinguishes between what the Bible commands and what modern administration merely makes useful, and says so plainly (Deuteronomy 4:2).
- Its leaders are held to a high biblical standard of doctrine, character and financial integrity (1 Timothy 3:1–7). Its money will not purchase influence (Acts 8:20). Its care for the vulnerable will never be subordinated to reputation (Ezekiel 34:4).
- Its success will be measured by faithful service and ministries created, not by its own size (1 Corinthians 4:2).
“He must increase, but I must decrease.”
Fabric exists for the work; the work does not exist for Fabric. We claim no right to permanence, and we will close or hand on any ministry that no longer serves its purpose (1 Corinthians 3:5–7).
Here am I. Send me.
Bring your skills, your car, your toolbox or simply your Saturday mornings. The harvest is plentiful and the labourers are few (Matthew 9:37–38).