Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

The Chapel at Grossmont in La Mesa

Pastor Hilton wasn’t meant for work in a lab the size of a closet.

John Hilton: “There are a lot of things that come into our lives we like or don’t like; yet, it’s what God has prepared for us.”
John Hilton: “There are a lot of things that come into our lives we like or don’t like; yet, it’s what God has prepared for us.”
Place

Chapel at Grossmont

5651 Water Street, La Mesa

Average Attendance: 120

Pastor: John Hilton

Age: 59

Born: San Luis Obispo

Formation: California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo; San Francisco Baptist Theological Seminary, San Francisco.

Years Ordained: 29.

San Diego Reader: What is your favorite subject on which to preach?

Pastor John Hilton: In the midst of anything going on, God is there and God is gracious. All areas of life, whether hardships, difficulties or something that’s a big blessing or joyful experience, all of it is a matter of God providing the experience for me. I read a story a while ago about a guy from Korea who was saying that life was like a banquet. If you go to a banquet, you see all these different plates of different foods. Some of the foods you like and some isn’t really your favorite. But you eat a little of everything because you know it was all prepared for you. That’s a picture of God’s grace. There are a lot of things that come into our lives we like or don’t like; yet, it’s what God has prepared for us. Understanding and recognizing that fact can change our whole life.

Sponsored
Sponsored

SDR: Why did you become a minister?

PH: I got out of college in Cal Poly and began working in a lab in Palo Alto. I loved studying science and enjoyed undergraduate work in biochemistry, but when I got into that lab, doing a lot of repetitive work — well, I am not really an introvert. I was working in a little lab about the size of a large walk-in closet for eight hours a day, looking at machinery and running tests on a high-pressure chromatographer. At some point I realized this work didn’t really suit me and God was calling me to something more.

SDR: What is the mission of your church?

PH: If I could sum up our mission simply, we teach the Word and help people. If you take the Word in, that puts you into the practice of helping people. Among the things that God is doing right now — we felt compelled to start a high-school ministry because we’re located right across the street from one of the largest high schools in San Diego County. The foul balls from their baseball games land in our yard. So, we felt that reaching the youth was a burden we had, and our high-school ministry has grown to about 35 kids, starting with 8 a year ago.

SDR: Where do you go when you die?

PH: It’s in the presence of God. To be absent from the body is to be present to the Lord. I like Paul’s saying — I don’t know if it’s better to be here and help you or to go with Christ which, is so much better. I believe there is a heaven and there is a hell. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through me.” Peter said, “There is one name given under heaven by which we must be saved.” Paul said, “There is one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus.” So, there is one way to heaven: Jesus Christ. The door is open; anyone that wants can accept him today and he’s there waiting for us. If we refuse, then God gives us our own way, which is an eternity apart from God —that is, hell.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Flowering pear trees in Kensington not that nice

Empty dirt plots in front of Ken Cinema
John Hilton: “There are a lot of things that come into our lives we like or don’t like; yet, it’s what God has prepared for us.”
John Hilton: “There are a lot of things that come into our lives we like or don’t like; yet, it’s what God has prepared for us.”
Place

Chapel at Grossmont

5651 Water Street, La Mesa

Average Attendance: 120

Pastor: John Hilton

Age: 59

Born: San Luis Obispo

Formation: California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo; San Francisco Baptist Theological Seminary, San Francisco.

Years Ordained: 29.

San Diego Reader: What is your favorite subject on which to preach?

Pastor John Hilton: In the midst of anything going on, God is there and God is gracious. All areas of life, whether hardships, difficulties or something that’s a big blessing or joyful experience, all of it is a matter of God providing the experience for me. I read a story a while ago about a guy from Korea who was saying that life was like a banquet. If you go to a banquet, you see all these different plates of different foods. Some of the foods you like and some isn’t really your favorite. But you eat a little of everything because you know it was all prepared for you. That’s a picture of God’s grace. There are a lot of things that come into our lives we like or don’t like; yet, it’s what God has prepared for us. Understanding and recognizing that fact can change our whole life.

Sponsored
Sponsored

SDR: Why did you become a minister?

PH: I got out of college in Cal Poly and began working in a lab in Palo Alto. I loved studying science and enjoyed undergraduate work in biochemistry, but when I got into that lab, doing a lot of repetitive work — well, I am not really an introvert. I was working in a little lab about the size of a large walk-in closet for eight hours a day, looking at machinery and running tests on a high-pressure chromatographer. At some point I realized this work didn’t really suit me and God was calling me to something more.

SDR: What is the mission of your church?

PH: If I could sum up our mission simply, we teach the Word and help people. If you take the Word in, that puts you into the practice of helping people. Among the things that God is doing right now — we felt compelled to start a high-school ministry because we’re located right across the street from one of the largest high schools in San Diego County. The foul balls from their baseball games land in our yard. So, we felt that reaching the youth was a burden we had, and our high-school ministry has grown to about 35 kids, starting with 8 a year ago.

SDR: Where do you go when you die?

PH: It’s in the presence of God. To be absent from the body is to be present to the Lord. I like Paul’s saying — I don’t know if it’s better to be here and help you or to go with Christ which, is so much better. I believe there is a heaven and there is a hell. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through me.” Peter said, “There is one name given under heaven by which we must be saved.” Paul said, “There is one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus.” So, there is one way to heaven: Jesus Christ. The door is open; anyone that wants can accept him today and he’s there waiting for us. If we refuse, then God gives us our own way, which is an eternity apart from God —that is, hell.

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

2024 continues to impress with yellowfin much closer to San Diego than they should be

New rockfish regulations coming this week as opener approaches
Next Article

How to Get Legal Assistance When Your Car Accident Insurance Claim is Denied?

Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.