A Christian Church in Upland, Still Becoming
Life Bible Fellowship Church meets in a single campus on North Euclid Avenue in Upland, California, in the western edge of San Bernardino County. The building is the same address it has occupied for decades, and inside the rooms are still called what they have always been called: the Worship Center, the Garage, the Ridge, Mont Vista. Three Sunday morning services roll through those rooms at 8:00, 9:30, and 11:00, and an online service begins at 9:30 for those who would rather watch from home. The church describes itself in plain language: a Christian church that studies God's Word, connects with others, serves the community, and shares the hope of Jesus.
The building is busy on more than Sundays. Monday nights bring a prayer group, Tuesdays bring a young professionals community and a monthly gathering for moms, Wednesdays belong to middle and high school students at Exit83 and to a marriage group, Thursdays carry a college and career Bible study, and Fridays open the doors for Celebrate Recovery. LIFEgroups - the small-group engine of the church - scatter through homes and the campus on every night of the week. LIFEcare partners meet one on one with people walking through crisis. The 50th anniversary of the church has already been marked, and the work of building, replanting, and retooling for the next generation is underway.
Passionately Pursuing LIFE
At the heart of the church is a sentence that shows up in almost every description the staff writes: "We exist to passionately pursue LIFE in Jesus and lead our neighbors to do the same." The word LIFE is unpacked in the church's own words as four ideas that spell the acronym.
Passionate Pursuit is the first idea: chasing Jesus wholeheartedly with time, habits, and heart, and making disciples as an overflow of love. Life is the second: the forgiveness, purpose, and daily transformation by the Holy Spirit that the church teaches is available now. Lead is the third: every believer, by serving, inviting, and modeling the way of Jesus, influences others toward him. Neighbors is the fourth: starting right where one lives and loving outward to the city and the world.
The four ideas are not abstract. The LIFE branding is everywhere. Children's ministry is called LIFEkids. Small groups are called LIFEgroups. The online portal for giving, groups, and communication is called myLIFEonline. One-on-one pastoral care is called LIFEcare. The kids even take LIFEkids @ Home videos with them into the week on YouTube. The repetition is intentional - it ties every part of the church's life back to the same pursuit.
What LBF Believes
Life Bible Fellowship holds to an evangelical doctrinal statement that it makes available in full as a downloadable PDF. The Bible is the divinely inspired, inerrant Word of God and the final authority for faith and life. The church affirms one Triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, coequal and worthy of worship. Jesus Christ was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, was crucified, was buried, and rose bodily from the dead. He is the only Savior, and salvation comes by grace through personal faith in Christ, not by works.
The Holy Spirit baptizes the believer into the body of Christ at salvation, distributes spiritual gifts as He wills, and seals the believer for the day of redemption. The church teaches the imminent, literal, personal, and visible return of Jesus Christ to rule and reign in righteousness, and the resurrection of both the saved and the unsaved - the saved to the resurrection of life and the unsaved to the resurrection of damnation.
Two ordinances are observed: baptism and the Lord's Supper. Christians are called to walk by the Spirit, not after the flesh. The family is treated as the foundational institution of human society, marriage is defined as the uniting of one man and one woman in covenant, and the church teaches that any sexual activity outside of that covenant is inconsistent with biblical teaching.
Three Sunday Mornings and an Online Hour
A first-time visitor to Life Bible Fellowship will encounter three Sunday morning services in a single day. The earliest begins at 8:00 a.m., a second at 9:30 a.m., and a third at 11:00 a.m. The services follow the same shape: worship in song, prayer, Scripture reading, and a sermon preached by one of the pastoral team. Lead Pastor Dan Franklin is the primary preacher; recent series include "Glimpses" through the parables of Jesus, a current series titled "Jesus Is Better" anchored in Hebrews, and a long-running series through the Gospel of Matthew that produced more than forty messages.
For those who cannot attend in person, an online live service is offered at 9:30 a.m. on the church's YouTube channel, and a deep archive of messages extends back through dozens of series, including "LBF Church Message," "King of the Kings," "Wherever You Are," "Strongholds," "How We Belong," "Justice and Mercy," and many more. A weekly study guide accompanies the Sunday message so that LIFEgroups can dig into the same text during the week.
Worship at LBF is led by Worship Pastor Andy Watson, who accepted Jesus at sixteen and began leading worship soon after. His musical influences include Delirious?, Tim Hughes, Matt Redman, Jesus Culture, Hillsong United, and Phil Wickham - a contemporary and gospel-friendly blend that is matched by a sermon style that is expositional and Bible-saturated.
LIFEkids: From Nursery Through Sixth Grade
Children's ministry at LBF is called LIFEkids, and it is offered during the 9:30 and 11:00 services every Sunday for kids from nursery through sixth grade. Laurie Baiz has led LIFEkids since 2012 and works alongside a team of coordinators for the nursery, the two- and three-year-old room, the 4-5-6 group, and the pre-K class. Parents can pre-register their children online to make a first visit smoother.
The check-in process is structured around family-specific name tags. Each child and parent receives a matching pair of tags, the child wears one portion, and the parent holds the other. If the church needs to reach a parent during the service, a text is sent, and a staff member or volunteer guides the parent to the child's room. After the service, the parent's tag is matched before the child is released back.
LIFEkids @ Home extends the ministry through the week. Spirit-focused videos are produced for the church's YouTube channel so families can reinforce the same teaching at home. A LIFEkids volunteer team is built around people who love telling stories, running tech, or leading small groups.
Exit83: Wednesday Nights for Students
Middle and high school students do not have their own service on Sunday mornings at LBF; instead, they join the adults and then gather on their own on Wednesday nights. Exit83 Youth Group meets every Wednesday from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. in the room called the Garage. The vision is straightforward: every student who walks through the door should be made aware of three things - God has a purpose and plan for their life right now, Exit83 is a safe place to be real about life and faith, and the leaders are glad they came.
Exit83 has its own social presence. There is a YouTube channel where the ministry goes live and posts event promos, an Instagram account for updates, and a serving track called Plugged In that allows students to serve within the student ministry itself. The current Student Ministries Pastor, Ethan Nolan, grew up in nearby Rancho Cucamonga and joined the LBF staff after a decade of ministry experience, including helping start a church.
LIFEgroups: The Heartbeat of the Church
The church states plainly that "the healthiest churches in the nation depend on LIFEgroups for creating a firm foundation" and that LIFEgroups are the key priority for uniting the church family and getting people connected and growing. LIFEgroups come in different sizes, styles, and seasons of life, and they all share the same heart: helping people connect, grow, and be known.
A browse of the current LIFEgroups list shows the range. The Young Professionals group meets Tuesdays from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. and is designed for single adults 25 to 30-somethings. The College and Career group meets Thursdays from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. for ages 18 to 29. The Pursuit of Marriage group meets Wednesdays from 6:45 to 8:30 p.m. and is built for couples in the first five years of marriage, engaged couples, and seriously dating couples who want a Christ-centered foundation. Mom-to-Mom meets the second and fourth Tuesdays from 9:00 to 11:15 a.m. for mothers of babies through kindergartners. Two women's Bible studies run on Mondays - one in the morning, one in the evening - through an eight-week study of the life of Abraham. LIFEgroups are also available in homes throughout the week, and a team member will help match a newcomer to a group.
The Pastoral Team
Life Bible Fellowship is elder-led and pastor-staffed, and the names behind the ministries are largely people who were raised in or near the Inland Valley.
Dan Franklin has been on staff since 2011 and serves as Lead Pastor and an elder. A California native, he holds a bachelor's in biblical studies from The Master's College and a Master of Divinity from Multnomah Biblical Seminary. He is married to Karina, and they have three sons, two of whom are in college. Troy Spilman serves as Executive Pastor and an elder. He grew up in the Bay Area, met his wife Heidi in 1997, and joined LBF as the serving pastor in 2017 before transitioning to the executive pastor role in 2022.
Andy Watson is the Worship Pastor. Laurie Baiz is the LIFEkids Pastor, a Glendora native who joined the LBF staff in 2012. Bill Heydorn is the Community Life and Assimilation Pastor, with a master's in leadership from Hope International University and a long history in pastoral ministry that began after a Christian punk rock concert at Citrus College. Summer Brown is the Women's Pastor; she and her husband Greg spent eight years serving in Europe before returning to California. John Eltiste is the Men's Ministry and Care Pastor; he became full-time in 2025 after seven years as LBF's facilities specialist. Tim Longo is the Outreach Pastor; he and his family have attended LBF since 2002. Ethan Nolan is the Student Ministries Pastor; he, his wife Natalie, and their son Levi began attending LBF in 2025.
The Elders
Alongside the pastoral staff, an elder team shares in the spiritual oversight of the church. Jeff Collier chairs the elder team; he and his wife Colleen came to LBF in 2021 after Jeff retired from more than forty years in city government, and they lead a LIFEgroup together. Dalton Sweaney and his wife Ally were born and raised in the Upland area and lead a LIFEgroup with other young families. Bob Butler has been a follower of Jesus since age nineteen, when his girlfriend Cathy (now his wife) brought him to faith; he has two sons, three grandchildren, and a passion for teaching children and youth. Stan Klopfenstein is a Southern California native who retired as a fire division chief after thirty-six years of service; he and his wife Sue serve in the marriage ministry.
Care That Goes Beyond Sunday
Support and recovery ministry is woven into the weekly rhythm of the church. LIFEcare is the one-on-one pastoral care track: a LIFEcare partner is available to meet, listen, pray, encourage, and help connect people to church and community resources. LIFEcare is for LBF members and regular attenders ages eighteen and up, and it also includes marriage mentoring for couples who want to grow stronger together.
Celebrate Recovery meets on Friday nights from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. (with crosstalk over coffee until 9:30) and is open to anyone facing hurts, habits, or hang-ups - not only chemical dependencies. The format is worship and large group teaching from 7:00 to 8:00, gender-specific Open Share small groups from 8:00 to 9:00, and a time for coffee and connection from 9:00 to 9:30. A Step Study track is also available for those who want a longer-term, workbook-driven journey.
Other support ministries include GriefShare, a thirteen-week program for those walking through the loss of someone close; Exhale, a caregiver's support group that meets the first and third Wednesdays on Zoom; and Healing After Betrayal, a group for women navigating a husband's infidelity or pornography addiction that meets the second and fourth Thursdays in Room 112. LAMBS is an email- and restaurant-based connection group for senior women that gathers twice a month over a meal.
Outreach: Loving Neighbors Near and Far
The Outreach team, led by Pastor Tim Longo, coordinates a long list of ministry partnerships. LBF Church has a 50th anniversary behind it and an outward-facing posture that shows up in regular service opportunities.
Locally, the church partners with Adopt-A-School, which encourages and supports teachers and students in nearby schools and recognizes outstanding students at the end of each year. Adonai Family Services serves families coping with a child facing cancer or another life-threatening illness, and volunteers can help at events or be trained for hospital visits. Assure Pregnancy Clinic is a faith-based licensed medical clinic offering free pregnancy testing, ultrasounds, and options information; volunteers can be trained to work in the clinic or serve as parenting mentors. Foothill Family Shelter provides transitional housing and walk-in services to low-income and homeless families, and volunteers help sort donations, stock the pantry, and serve walk-in clients. Growing Pains supports student and teen parents with food, diapers, baby items, and parenting training. Inland Valley Hope Partners brings food, shelter, and supportive services to residents of western San Bernardino and eastern Los Angeles counties. Pacific Lifeline is a shelter for homeless women and their children. Operation Christmas Child is hosted at LBF as a collection and packing center for Samaritan's Purse shoebox gifts.
The New Commandment Ministry uses the skills of men in the church to help widows and single mothers with home repairs and maintenance; once a month, teams of men head out for two-hour service calls. Disaster relief trips are organized in partnership with Samaritan's Purse, with travel arranged as needs arise.
The Bible Reading Plan and the Blog
One of the more distinctive rhythms at LBF is the church-wide Bible Reading Plan. The plan is published in quarterly PDFs and a daily companion email, and the readings are shared on a Facebook Bible Reading Page where the church collaborates on thoughts, questions, and encouragement. A WhatsApp group chat also helps people talk through what they are reading. The Bible Reading Blog at lbfbiblereading.wordpress.com carries the daily verse.
The church also produces a regular blog and podcast. Recent episodes have asked "What Happens to Christians When They Die?", "Why Should We Pray If God Knows Everything?", "Should Christians Try to Pay God Back?", "When We Belong, We Give", and "When We Belong, We Serve". Episodes often pair Lead Pastor Dan Franklin with another member of the team for a conversation.
Giving, Facilities, and the Parking Lot Project
Life Bible Fellowship is a registered 501(c)(3) organization and all donations are tax-deductible. Giving is available through Pushpay, and the myLIFEonline portal allows members and regular attenders to see giving history, manage recurring contributions, and print tax receipts. The church does not condone giving that contributes to personal debt and offers stock-gift options on request.
The Parking Lot Project is the most visible campus improvement in progress. The goal is to add more parking spaces to prepare the church for greater impact, and the congregation has been asked to participate through prayer, serving, and giving. Now that parking has returned to the campus, the church has asked members and attenders to be courteous neighbors as they come and go: drive at the speed limit, watch for pedestrians in the lot, walk to the side of the drive aisle rather than down the middle, keep greetings quiet, double-check that street parking does not block driveways, and leave no litter.
Office hours run Monday through Thursday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., with a lunch break from noon to 1:00. The phone number is (909) 981-4848. First-time guests can fill out a welcome form online, where Andrea on the pastoral team will reach out to follow up. Meet LBF, a three-part newcomer experience with lunch and childcare provided, is offered on Sundays from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. in the Garage.