Before the service began, Cindy Ludwig, director of the Malibu Presbyterian Preschool, expressed gratitude that no lives were lost at MPC, but also shared her sadness over losing the preschool and church: “There were so many memories in that building. Our sons made public professions of faith on the steps of that church. They were both married there. So I grieve over those memories. Yes, Malibu Pres is the people. But the building was important too.”

MPC member Mike Rupp confessed that he is still upset by the fire. Rupp first came to the church in 1983. He was married there in 1989. His kids were baptized there in 1994 and 1998. “I’ve cried, loved and developed friendships there,” he shared. “I developed a tool belt for life based on the Bible there. That building for me was a symbol – a reminder of all of that. And now it’s gone. That’s why I’m sad.”

Rupp said he knows the building “is a shell like our own bodies. The true church is in the spirit. I understand this, but it does not make it easier. I know God will do something great as myself and my church rise out of the ashes, but still I grieve.”

Dozens of churches from San Diego north to Lake Arrowhead in the San Bernardino Mountains were impacted directly or indirectly by the firestorms. Sixty families from the Rancho Bernardo Community Presbyterian Church – one of the hardest hit areas – have lost their homes.

Julie Lee, a resident of Los Angeles, was not aware of the imminent danger when she traveled to Rancho Bernardo last Sunday to meet a friend. “I had heard about the Malibu fire on the radio as I drove down, but had no idea what was happening a few blocks from the hotel I would check into that evening.”

Lee, along with the rest of the hotel guests and Rancho Bernardo residents, were forced to evacuate Monday morning as the nearby fire swept through town. “They knocked on our doors at 6 a.m. The smoke outside was choking thick, the sky was red and ashes were falling on the car. The winds were hurricane force. Trees snapped in half and were strewn all over the road. It looked like the end of the world.”

When Lee stopped to pray before leaving the hotel, another guest expressed fear that, indeed, the world was ending. “The man asked if I knew about God. I told him I did and shared a super-fast version of the gospel.” The man accepted Christ right in the lobby. “Maybe the fire outside made the fire of hell seem more real,” Lee added. “I felt so inadequate, but God was there in the flames.”

She is very thankful to have escaped such a close call with danger. A week after the fire, Lee hoped to return to Rancho Bernardo to attend a church service with her friend. She couldn’t make the trip due to a scheduling conflict, but agrees with what Pastor Dan Maxton of Rancho Bernardo Baptist Church posted on his website: “I read this verse and smiled, ‘Because he loves me,’ says the Lord. ‘I will rescue him, I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.’”

Photos courtesy Janet Chismar

To encourage the people of Malibu Presbyterian, or donate to the church's relief efforts, click here.