Southwest Christian Church gathers each Sunday morning on Del Rio Road in Temecula, California, around a simple rhythm that shapes everything else: the preaching of Scripture, the singing of truth, and the belonging that comes from being held together by Christ. The congregation's own motto - Word-driven. God-centered. Church-rooted. - is short enough to fit on a coffee mug and serious enough to describe the next three decades of ministry. Members often describe the church simply as a place where the Bible is opened, explained, and obeyed.
Tucked into the rolling country between Temecula's wine country and its residential neighborhoods, the church has called its Del Rio Road location home for years. It is a congregation in the historic Reformed stream, identifying itself plainly as a Reformed church in Temecula, while remaining formally non-denominational and self-governed. That posture shows up in the statement of faith (which draws on the Westminster Larger Catechism, the 1689 Second London Baptist Confession, the New Hampshire Confession, the Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy, and the Gospel Coalition Confessional Statement), and in the steady diet of consecutive, book-by-book preaching that fills the sermon archive.
Sunday morning at 9:00 am
The Sunday gathering is the center of the church's life. Morning worship begins at 9:00 am and runs as a single, reverent service built around corporate singing and prayer, the public reading and preaching of Scripture, and the two ordinances Christ left his church: baptism by immersion and the Lord's Supper. The gospel is described as the lens for the whole gathering.
Music is congregational. Visitors should expect a service shaped by the words rather than by performance - the order of service leans on the pulpit, the Table, and the gathered voices of the people. Dress is completely informal; the leadership is direct about it. Come as you are.
Children of every age are welcome to stay in the service the whole time. The church's conviction is that one of the best ways parents can disciple their children to love the Lord and his church is to worship with them. For families who prefer, after the singing portion of the service, children from six months through fifth grade may be dismissed to a Christ-centered, age-appropriate class. A soundproof room for nursing mothers sits at the back of the sanctuary.
Faith Builders: Wednesday nights for the whole family
Midweek ministry at Southwest is organized around Faith Builders Family Discipleship, a free program that meets on Wednesdays at 6:30 pm and gives every member of the household a place to grow in the same gospel at the same time. The whole family shows up, splits into age-appropriate groups for the main lesson, and shares a meal of fellowship around it. Three emphases run through the year:
- Bible memory. Hiding God's Word in the heart, week by week.
- Biblical worldview. Understanding the truth of Scripture and learning to defend the faith.
- Character formation. Growing in wisdom, integrity, and godliness.
The church uses the Truth78 curriculum across all ages. Preschool through kindergarten works through He Has Spoken by His Son, a New Testament survey that introduces young children to God's redeeming work through Jesus and to the foundations of Bible doctrine. Grades one through five use Faithful to All His Promises, a study that traces God's trustworthy Word from Genesis to Revelation. Youth and adults walk through Teach Me Your Way, a study of surrender to Jesus and submission to his way, with a close look at the Sermon on the Mount.
While children enjoy their own classes, parents and guardians stay and take part in the adult class. Enrollment is free for every age, and the church follows up with each family before the first Wednesday.
Monday Bible studies in members' homes
The midweek life of the church also includes separate men's and women's Bible studies that meet on Monday evenings from 6:30 to 8:00 pm, rotating bi-weekly between homes in the congregation. The purpose is to live out the Bible's many "one another" commands in a smaller room: encouraging, grieving, rejoicing, and praying with brothers and sisters in Christ. Groups open their Bibles, discuss together, and ask God to shape their lives by his word.
Each semester works through a single book of the Bible using a discussion workbook. In January 2026 the studies moved into Ephesians with a Reformed expository study guide, available for purchase so participants can follow along at home. The church keeps the address of the next meeting on a need-to-know basis; newcomers email the office to be plugged into the current rotation.
The elders and staff
Southwest is shepherded by a plurality of elders who provide spiritual oversight, teaching, and pastoral care in accord with Acts 20 and 1 Peter 5.
Cale Fauver serves as Senior Pastor (Elder). He came to faith in middle school at a Hume Lake winter camp, then served in youth and college ministry. Before coming to Southwest he pastored a church in the Southern Baptist Convention. He holds an MDiv and an MA in theological studies. He and his wife, Kelly, have four children. He enjoys the Reformers and Puritans, pickup basketball, and In-N-Out with his family.
Richard LaPorte is an elder and a charter member of Southwest. He has been married to Marre for more than forty years; together they have five children and nine grandchildren. A Christian for about three decades, he has long taught Bible study and children's discipleship. His stated priorities are, in order, Christ and the Great Commission, then his family.
Randy Taylor has been at Southwest since its founding in 1993. He has served as elder, youth leader, and friend to the needy. He works professionally as a life coach for adults with special needs. He and his wife Audrey have two children and six grandchildren, and he loves to magnify Christ through the Scriptures.
Donna Branstetter is the children's director and has served in children's ministry at Southwest since 2005. She holds a degree in child development, has two adult sons, and enjoys quilting, crafting, and reading when she is not serving families.
A confession shaped by the historic church
The elders have written the statement of faith themselves, with deliberate attention to the clarity of Scripture. It is organized in twelve sections that move from the source of revelation to the last things: the Scriptures, God, God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, Man, Salvation, the Church, and the Future, plus the Five Solas.
The shorter summary reads like a catechism:
- Scripture. The Bible is God's true and sufficient word for faith and life.
- God. One living and true God, eternally existing in three distinct and co-eternal persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
- Christ. Jesus is truly God and truly man, mediator, redeemer, and coming judge.
- Salvation. Sinners are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.
- Church. The local church gathers Christ's people under his word, ordinances, and care.
- Future. Christ will return, judge all people, and bring his people into eternal joy.
The Five Solas of the Protestant Reformation are spelled out in plain language. Sola Scriptura: Scripture alone is the highest and only infallible authority. Sola Fide: sinners are declared righteous and saved by faith alone in the gospel. Sola Gratia: God saves sinners by his sovereign grace alone. Solus Christus: Jesus Christ alone is the Mediator between God and man. Soli Deo Gloria: all the glory goes to the Triune God alone.
The longer articles work through the same territory in careful detail: the inerrancy and sufficiency of the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments; the Trinity in one essence and three persons; the eternal generation of the Son and the procession of the Spirit; the full deity and full humanity of Christ joined in one Person; the imputation of Adam's sin and the imputation of Christ's righteousness; the calling, regeneration, justification, adoption, sanctification, and preservation of the elect; the headship of Christ over the church; the truth that the office of elder is reserved for godly, qualified men; and the ordained future of resurrection, judgment, eternal joy for the redeemed, and eternal, conscious punishment for the unrepentant. Marriage is described as a God-ordained union between one man and one woman, designed to reflect Christ and the church, and all human life from conception to natural death is held to be sacred.
The elders close the preface with Soli Deo Gloria and a single sentence: The Elders of Southwest Christian Church.
The sermon archive: book after book
The preaching calendar at Southwest has unfolded, slowly and steadily, across long arcs through individual books of the Bible. The sermon archive on the church's own site currently lists 307 sermons across 21 series, with audio on a podcast feed (Apple Podcasts, Spotify) and video on the church's YouTube channel. The shape of that archive says as much as any doctrinal statement about what this congregation values.
The longest-running series is a verse-by-verse walk through the Gospel of Matthew, now at 133 sermons. The series moves in careful detail through the birth narrative, the Sermon on the Mount, the parables, the miracles, the confrontations with the Pharisees, the entry into Jerusalem, the upper room, the cross, and the empty tomb - and runs to titles like Jesus' Last Sermon, Behold the Cross, Forsaken, Our Great High Priest, Christ's Funeral and Ours, and The Risen Lord.
A second long arc runs through 1 Samuel, currently at 38 sermons, beginning with Prayer and Providence and tracing the life of Israel from The Calling of Samuel through Saul Anointed by the Spirit, David & Goliath, Jesus & Golgotha, Man on the Run, and The King Is Dead. The pulpit often pauses mid-series for special occasions - Advent, Easter, Reformation Sunday - and threads those messages into the running exposition rather than treating them as interruptions.
Other series include a 22-sermon exposition of 1 John (from The Word through The Truths of Christianity) and an 18-sermon walk through Colossians (from Welcome to Colossians through Church Is a Team Effort). A new three-week series on Christ as Prophet, Priest, and King ran in July 2026, and a nine-sermon series through Jude was completed in early 2026 with a final message titled Doxology.
Two short topical series sit alongside the exposition. A five-sermon set on The Five Solas walks through each Reformation motto in turn - Sola Scriptura, Sola Gratia, Sola Fide, Solus Christus, and Soli Deo Gloria. A four-sermon Christmas series traces the doctrines of Christ: Emmanuel, God with Us, The Virgin Birth, The Deity of Christ, Jesus Is Fully Man, and Born to Live. An Easter collection gathers Palm Sunday, Good Friday, and Resurrection Day messages.
Children on Sunday
The children's ministry at Southwest has been shaped by a single conviction: that the gathered worship of the church is the primary place where the faith is handed down. Children are welcome to remain in the service with their parents for the full gathering.
For families who would like a structured alternative, after the singing portion of the service, children from six months through fifth grade may be dismissed to age-appropriate classes. The children's director, Donna Branstetter, has been shepherding this ministry since 2005 and holds a degree in child development. The midweek Faith Builders program extends the same work on Wednesday evenings, with Truth78 curriculum for every age.
A soundproof room at the back of the sanctuary is reserved for nursing mothers.
Visiting Southwest: what to wear, where to park, gifts for first-timers
Visitors who arrive on a Sunday morning can expect a straightforward welcome. There is no dress code, and most people dress casually. The leadership is plain about it: the Lord looks at the heart more than the clothing.
Parking is on the south side of the building near the front door, or behind the building.
First-time visitors receive a free gift bag containing What Is the Gospel? by Greg Gilbert, a New City Catechism for the family, and other booklets. At the back table visitors can also pick up ESV Bibles and other free resources.
Listening and following along
Every Sunday gathering is available to watch live on the church's YouTube channel, and recent services are uploaded to the same channel for on-demand viewing. The same audio is published as a podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, so members can listen in the car, on a run, or during the week. Newcomers often start by browsing the most recent sermons in the church's own sermon archive, which is organized both by series (A through Z, most recent, and biblical canon) and by individual book.
The church keeps an active social presence on Facebook and Instagram, where Sunday photos, announcements, and midweek encouragements are posted.
Giving
The simplest way to support the ministry is through the church's Venmo account, @Give-SouthwestChristianChurch. Visitors and members can also give in person during the Sunday service or by mail to the church office. The elders are direct that every contribution received is a blessing, and that the church praises the Lord for them.
Reading list from the elders
The recommended reading list on the church's site is itself a small curriculum. It is grouped by topic and is full of the kind of titles that have shaped conservative Reformed readers for decades.
- On knowing and reading the Bible: Greg Gilbert's The Epic Story of the Bible, James Hamilton's What Is Biblical Theology?, and Trent Hunter and Stephen Wellum's Christ from Beginning to End.
- On the church: John MacArthur's Ashamed of the Gospel, Mark Dever's Nine Marks of a Healthy Church and The Church: The Gospel Made Visible.
- On prayer: Arthur Bennett's The Valley of Vision, Donald Whitney's Praying the Bible, D. A. Carson's Praying with Paul, and Paul Miller's A Praying Life.
- For the Christian life and faith: R. C. Sproul's Chosen by God and The Holiness of God; John Piper's Spectacular Sins, The Pleasures of God, and This Momentary Marriage; James White's The Forgotten Trinity; Michael Horton's Putting Amazing Back into Grace; Charles Spurgeon's The Soul Winner; John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress; Richard Sibbes's The Bruised Reed; Albert Martin's The Forgotten Fear; John MacArthur's The Gospel According to Jesus; Kevin DeYoung's The Hole in Our Holiness; Ray Comfort's God Has a Wonderful Plan for Your Life; and A. W. Pink's The Attributes of God.
How to get in touch
The church office can be reached at 951-308-1888 or by email at church@southwestchristianchurch.org. Visitors who would like someone to walk them through a first visit can use the Plan Your Visit page; prospective Faith Builders families can enroll directly on the Faith Builders page.
Southwest Christian Church sits at 28030 Del Rio Road in Temecula, California, with Sunday worship at 9:00 am, Monday Bible studies in members' homes at 6:30 pm on alternating weeks, and Faith Builders Family Discipleship on Wednesdays at 6:30 pm. The motto is Word-driven. God-centered. Church-rooted.