In January of 2025, large and devastating wildfires swept through parts of Southern California. The two largest blazes, the Palisades and Eaton fires, collectively burned 37,728 acres and destroyed more than 16,000 homes and other buildings. Close to 200,000 people were evacuated from their homes. The Eaton fire directly impacted the cities of Pasadena and Altadena, home to several Nazarene churches. Out of the ashes, stories of hope and healing continue to emerge from communities of faith.

Jonathan Aubrie Lewis is the son of Pastor Jonathan and Dr. Sandra Lewis of Fountain of Life Church of the Nazarene in Altadena. In this blog, Jonathan Aubrie shares some reflections on the church and their ministry to the community, his family history, and the future of his congregation.

When I think of family, I think of Abraham in the Bible. I think of God’s obsession with genealogy. I think of Genesis 12:1–3, “Now the LORD had said to Abram: Get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

After the fires, that scripture was an elixir—a healing balm over my burned, marred emotions and broken heart. I couldn’t help but think of my ancestors from Mississippi who decided to leave during the Great Migration—a period from the 1910s to the 1970s, when approximately six million African American people moved from states in the South to Northern, Midwestern, and Western states—and came to sunny California. They moved in the ’40s, during and under the pulverizing iron fist of Jim Crow in America. Yet, my grandmother, Johnny-Mamie, believed God when He said, “I will show you a new land.” That land for my ancestors was Pasadena, California. My grandmother worked as a housekeeper for a rich family in Pasadena and lived in a boarding house for several years until she was able to purchase a modest home on the west side of Altadena—just north of Pasadena.

Altadena was and is special because it was the first city in California that allowed Black people to purchase homes. Nestled at the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains, Altadena is a quaint city with a small-town, western feel. Everyone had a horse or knew someone with a horse. It became a safe haven, a beacon of hope, and yes, a promised land for Black people to build generational wealth. My grandmother never returned to the South again—not even to visit. Instead, she leaned into her new community. Like Isaiah 54 says, she “enlarged the place of her tent, stretched her tent curtains wide, she did not hold back; she lengthened her cords, and strengthened her stakes.” She went on to have seven children, including my mom, Sandra. Eventually, just about everyone in my mother’s family made it out of Mississippi. Our reunions can easily have close to 100 people in attendance.

To this day, we believe the very soil in Altadena is anointed, and we are a blessed family. A blessed nation.

God also shone His light on my father, Jonathan Lewis. He was a shy, reserved, and extremely creative kid, but he had an Achilles heel—a stutter he still lives with today. For a young Black boy growing up in South Central Los Angeles, this made him a vulnerable target. This is why his older brother, my uncle, Artist Lewis, decided to take my 13-year-old dad with him when he moved to Pasadena.

My dad and mom met and attended prom together in high school, and they’ve been married for more than 45 years.

Standing under the starry Altadena sky, atop its anointed soil, and in front of family and a great cloud of witnesses, my parents answered the call and commission to nurture the good and sacred soil they were blessed to be on in Altadena. In the early 1990s they started Fountain of Life Church in their living room. The church was only open a month before God blessed them with a storefront building on Altadena Drive. My dad went for several years without taking a salary. Even now, he works a full-time job and only receives a small stipend from the church each month.

My parents and their congregation started a food bank and clothing ministry, which is still in operation today. People come from all over the area to receive food and clothes. The church started a Christmas toy drive. They have a men’s, women’s, and children’s ministry, focused on building up the inner spirits in each participant. The congregation has blessed their community with gifts of free BBQ meals to brand-new refrigerators for families in need. They have even purchased cars for a few of their parishioners who were down and out. My parents, Pastor Jonathan and Dr. Sandra, have truly been beacons of hope and a literal lifeline to a community that has often been overlooked.

In the mid-2000s, their congregation joined the Church of the Nazarene on Fair Oaks Avenue. Joining forces with the Church of the Nazarene only increased their resources, allowing them to do exponentially more for their community. It’s been a very prosperous, God-ordained union.

What truly makes Altadena Fountain of Life Church of the Nazarene so undeniably amazing is the congregation’s heart for the community and for the least among us.

Both of my parents grew up and experienced poverty, so they understand what it means to struggle firsthand. This makes them uniquely qualified to serve the West Side of Altadena, a predominantly African American community. My dad speaks about being young and putting cardboard in the bottom of shoes to cover holes. He talks about ditching school for weeks at a time because he was teased about shabby clothes and shoes. My mom recalls wearing a secondhand coat that smelled of mildew and smoke. Her mother did her best to clean it, but she had to go to school with that smell on her clothes. My dad remembers when he came to live in Altadena and how meeting my mom opened a window of opportunity. Through marrying my mom, he gained a second mother in my grandmother, Johnny-Mamie. My parents learned the art of serving others through Johnny-Mamie’s influence—someone who always made sure others were fed no matter how little she had herself.

When I think of Fountain of Life and what this church community provides to the neighborhood, I can’t help but think of Johnny-Mamie’s handprints of service and sacrifice. Every item of food and every piece of clothing the church gives away holds great meaning and is rooted to a long legacy of service.

The Fountain of Life Church and Pastor and Dr. Lewis deeply know the community of Altadena—this congregation has its hands on the pulse and heartbeat of that community.

I’m reminded of 1 Timothy 1:3–6: “I thank God, whom I serve, as my ancestors did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers. Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy. I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also. For this reason, I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands.”

Where do we go from here, after the fires have impacted Altadena so much? Well, we continue doing what God has always mandated of us: We continue to serve our community—even more now.

We are happy to report:

• Altadena Fountain of Life Church of the Nazarene will be rebuilt.
• Sunday services have moved to the Bresee Campus of Montrose Church of the Nazarene in nearby Pasadena.
• Even in our time of need, God has blessed us with a surplus of donations that include clothing, food, and gift cards that we have been able to offer to the community.
• Finally, my parents are in good spirits! They have a new, fresh, deeper zeal to minister and serve! It’s been incredible to watch their leadership in this time of crisis.

In closing, we still don’t know why the Eaton fire happened or why God allowed it to happen. Who can know the mind of God? Certainly not us. However, in my brief research on the power of fire in the Bible, I learned that fire doesn’t always signify destruction. It can also mean God’s presence—like when He came to Moses in the form of a fiery bush that did not consume it, or like in Luke when He said, "He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire." Fire can mean renewal and revival. Whatever the reason, I know that God knows best, and He loves Altadena, Fountain of Life Church of the Nazarene, and the people of Altadena.

Jeremiah 1:10 says, “See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.”

I can’t help but believe that our family—my dear father, Pastor Jonathan A. Lewis, alongside his helpmate, Dr. Sandra Lewis, myself, and Lauren Lewis, my sister—have been called for such a time as this. We are called to uproot, tear down, destroy, overthrow, build, and plant new seeds in the anointed fertile promised land of Altadena, spiritual seeds that will sprout up and prosper for generations to come.

And with that in mind, the question in my mind is no longer, “Why? Why did our church burn?”, but instead, this statement from Solomon in the Bible reverberates: "The house that I am to build will be great, for our God is greater than all gods."

See a view of the destruction of Fountain of Life church here.