Christian Penaloza
Pastoral Intern
Contact Christian
I’m a California native, born on Edwards Airforce Base and raised in The Antelope Valley. My brother and I were raised by our grandmother in a Catholic home, attending weekly masses, doing daily rosary prayers, getting catechized & baptized in the Catholic Church. At thirteen years old, Steve Yu, a video game store owner invited me to Valley Bible Church. I attended the youth ministry there and Steve led me to the Lord and saving faith in Jesus Christ, baptizing me too. I then spent ten years growing, serving, and being discipled at Valley Bible Church, where the Lord called me to lead the Youth Ministry after high school. In 2013, I graduated from the Master’s College with a degree in Biblical Counseling.
I’ve spent the last seventeen years in ministry, serving as a youth pastor in Auburn, CA, and then as a Biblical Counselor St. Louis, MI, as a Youth Pastor in Austin, TX and finally in Houston, TX. I am married to my wife Amanda, with whom I have three children, two daughters and a son.
Most recently, the Lord has called me to pursue a Masters of Divinity at The Masters Seminary. My family and I currently live in Van Nuys and are excited to call Calvary Bible Church our home. My hobbies include playing and making music, cooking, bargain hunting with my family, and playing Mario Kart with the kids.
My prayer for Calvary Bible Church is to continue to grow in an affection for Christ and His Word. Colossians 3:16 says, “Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” May this be our prayer as a body to grow by the grace and mercy of our God each week, day, hour, and minute. This is echoed in this quote from John Knox, “Let no day slip over without some comfort received from the mouth of God.”