About Us
History of Desert Reign
In 1982 Reverend Art Huges began a bible study in his home, located at 17544 DuBarry Drive in Bellflower, CA. A few months later February 3, 1983, Pastor Don and Deborah Metcalf joined Pastor Art and Grace Fellowship Church was established.
For the next five years the Masonic Lodge in Artesia served as our meeting place. Grace Fellowship Church joined with Messenger Temple in October of 1987 and became Messenger Fellowship Church.
Messenger Fellowship worshiped at 16000 Norwalk Blvd. in Norwalk, CA until September 1998. In 1991 Messenger completed a major building program and God moved us to a whole new level. In 1994 being prompted by the Holy Spirit, the congregation removed itself from its denominational affiliation and in doing so Messenger was asked to surrender its building. God worked a Miracle! Just a few weeks later and only two miles away, Messenger joined Cerritos First Assembly and Desert Reign Assembly emerged.
Pastor Frank Tiggs opened the doors to Cerritos First Assembly in 1974 and in 1997 led the church in a campaign to build the building we presently use. Since 1977 we have labored to have a Christian school, a Christian preschool, and the church all on one small acre. We were able to purchase a school campus in 2002. This allowed us to move our school and preschool ministry to its own home and freed us to turn our attention to relocate the church without jeopardizing those ministries.
Pastoral Staff
Pastor Don and Deborah Metcalf (Senior Pastors)
I was born December 28, 1953, in Chattanooga, Tenn. Although I was the youngest of three children, my mom was only eighteen when I was born.
After first grade my mom and dad went into full-time ministry. We traveled all the rest of my school years until dad left in January of 1970. I have spent significant time or lived in twenty-five of the fifty states and I have lived in over eighty-five houses that I can identify by memory. My fondest memories come primarily from three places where I lived: Chattanooga, Tenn.; Hobart, Oklahoma; and Marysville, CA. We lived more in Marysville than anywhere else, so I consider that and Tennessee home. Our family was fairly poor, but we were never left hungry or without good care. .
Although I can see some out of my left eye, I am legally blind and somewhat hindered by its limitations. My limited eye sight has been one of life’s major challenges. It has had a huge impact on all of the other areas of my life such as music, sports, self-esteem, and going into ministry. .
I spent only the first grade in one school. I attended many schools each grade year after that. I got D’s and F’s through the eighth grade and dropped out in the 9th, 10th, and 11th grades. I went to the 12th grade for one and a half years and still did not come close to graduating. I then sneaked into Bible school in Texas. I received a “Christian Worker’s” Certificate from IBC which is a two and a half year certificate. I received a BA from them later. I finally received my high school diploma in April, 1976, about the same time my first child was born. (I actually received my high school diploma after I finished Bible school.) I received an AA in Theology from IBC many years later. .
I served as a youth pastor at Bethany Baptist in San Antonio, Texas, from March of 1975 till March of 1977. I moved to Faith Farm in Fort Lauderdale and worked as a staff member there from March of 1977 till December 1982. I was serving as the Senior Director at the time of my resignation. .
Deb and I then moved to the greater Los Angeles area in February, 1983, and picked up the work that had been started by Art Hughes. Jennifer was seven and Angela was barely four years old. I have now served in fulltime ministry a total of thirty-one years. I have been Senior Pastor of this flock for almost twenty-four years. I have had a good life, a good wife, great children, and will cherish it all in my old age.
Pastor Patsy (Worship Pastor)
“When my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will take care of me (i.e., adopt me as His own… ”) Psalm 27:10
From the beginning the Lord spared my life and set me apart for ministry. Because of Him, I survived an abortion attempt and was born to a Chicago gangster and a Greek mother. Surrounded by federal officers, my father surrendered to save my mother and my lives. When he went to prison, I was given up for adoption to my uncle and his wife. He was a Pentecostal pastor, and thus I escaped being raised by an unsaved step-father. Just another step in God’s plan for me! I started directing a children’s choir in my dad’s church when I was twelve. Directing was easier than singing because my back was to the audience. (I was that timid at that time!) In high school to satisfy my longing for music, I was in the band. Again, it was easier to play an instrument than actually stand and sing before people.
After high school I married a music minister and for the next 17 years, we worked in music ministry together. We had two children, a son and daughter. I always felt I was in the shadow of this talented musician, singer, arranger, worshipper; yet all the while, I was a passionate worshipper in my heart and home and church. I directed the choir (back to the audience again, but eyes on the Lord.) After losing my husband to the gay lifestyle and eventually to AIDS, I thought my life and ministry were over. I was even told by many that the Lord had a different ministry for me. Those people were not there when, at four years old, I was singing at the top of my lungs about Jesus out in public places. God was not the one who had just “forsaken” me. “He Was There All the Time.”
I had known that I was to worship the Lord with all my mind, heart, and strength even before the days of the “Praise and Worship” renewal movement, which I had the privilege of being exposed to from day one. So in the embryo stages of Desert Reign – we were Grace Fellowship – when Pastor Don Metcalf asked start to start leading worship, how could I not accept the calling and destiny that God had put on my life? For the first time in almost 20 years, I was the set person for music ministry. I saturated myself in worship songs and worship experiences. I practiced hours on end, went to seminars, and praised more and more in song and dance! I now was also remarried and the mother of another son and daughter.
Pastor Don and I have worked together for 24 years now. I have been the Worship Pastor through the transitions from Grace Fellowship to Messenger Fellowship to Cerritos First Assembly to finally Desert Reign Assembly. I feel very blessed as the Lord has increased our praise and worship experiences. I love the presence of the Lord and when people experience His presence in a new way and begin to express their love for Him with music and dancing!
The day I found the above scripture, “When my father and my mother forsake me, the Lord will take care of me …” (Psalm 27:10), “He turned my mourning into dancing …” (Psalm 30:11) and I long to see Him do that for others. I am so glad He adopted me as His own and He is my Father and the lover of my soul! “I will sing, I will dance, I will praise, I will worship!”
Our Values
1. Worship-Loving God 2. Relationships-Loving people 3. Soul-Winning 4. Equipping people into Discipleship, Maturity, and Leadership 5. Restoration- Addressing Specific Problems or Addictions in specific ways, and Building Strong Families
Vision of the House
VISION OF THE HOUSE God’s Word teaches us that we should always be growing in four areas of our walk with the Lord. Those areas are WORSHIP, CARE, PRAYER, and EVANGELISM. When it comes to worshipping Jesus, we want to be biblically balanced, free and expressive. A true worshipper both possesses and expresses their love for Jesus without timidity or embarrassment. CARE is “love with gloves on.” Saying I love you is easier than walking it out. Going the extra mile is “being there” for others. Care is the area people expect the most from a church. However, the needs of a community is not a one-man mission. The church body as a whole must reach out and touch others. Care takes an army. God calls all believers to decide whether they will be full of love or full of themselves. Love in action speaks very loud to the unbeliever. Our prayer life is learning to take things to God and trust Him. Prayer is invading the impossible. It is ruling over circumstances with the Word. It is exercising our authority as believers. It is ever increasing faith through daily practice. “Give us this day our daily bread.” Evangelism is sharing the good news. “Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel.” Each of us are to be growing in our effectiveness of sharing the gospel. Those who die without Christ are lost in eternity. Our mission is to tell them the wonderful story of how Christ died for them and paid the penalty for all of our sins. The skill, courage, and timing in sharing the gospel must be cultivated, not placed on a back burner as though nothing matters. People are lost until they are found, and “How shall they believe except they be told.” This is the VISION OF THE HOUSE for Desert Reign Assembly of God. Success to you and success to the Kingdom, Pastor Don and Deborah[/tabcont]
What We Believe
WE BELIEVE…The Scriptures are Inspired by God and declare His design and plan for mankind.
WE BELIEVE…There is only One True God–revealed in three persons…Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (commonly known as the Trinity).
WE BELIEVE…In the Deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. As God’s son Jesus was both human and divine.
WE BELIEVE…though originally good, Man Willingly Fell to Sin–ushering evil and death, both physical and spiritual, into the world.
WE BELIEVE…Every Person Can Have Restored Fellowship with God Through ‘Salvation’ (accepting Christ’s offer of forgiveness for sin). [1 of 4 cardinal doctrines of the A/G]
WE BELIEVE…and practice two ordinances—(1) Water Baptism by Immersion after repenting of one’s sins and receiving Christ’s gift of salvation, and (2) Holy Communion (the Lord’s Supper) as a symbolic remembrance of Christ’s suffering and death for our salvation.
WE BELIEVE…the Baptism in the Holy Spirit is a Special Experience Following Salvation that empowers believers for witnessing and effective service, just as it did in New Testament times. [1 of 4 cardinal doctrines of the A/G]
WE BELIEVE… The Initial Physical Evidence of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit is ‘Speaking in Tongues,’ as experienced on the Day of Pentecost and referenced throughout Acts and the Epistles.
WE BELIEVE…Sanctification Initially Occurs at Salvation and is not only a declaration that a believer is holy, but also a progressive lifelong process of separating from evil as believers continually draw closer to God and become more Christlike.
WE BELIEVE…The Church has a Mission to seek and save all who are lost in sin. We believe ‘the Church’ is the Body of Christ and consists of the people who, throughout time, have accepted God’s offer of redemption (regardless of religious denomination) through the sacrificial death of His son Jesus Christ.
WE BELIEVE…A Divinely Called and Scripturally Ordained Leadership Ministry Serves the Church. The Bible teaches that each of us under leadership must commit ourselves to reach others for Christ, to worship Him with other believers, and to build up or edify the body of believers–the Church.
WE BELIEVE…Divine Healing of the Sick is a Privilege for Christians Today and is provided for in Christ’s atonement (His sacrificial death on the cross for our sins). [1 of 4 cardinal doctrines of the A/G]
WE BELIEVE…in The Blessed Hope—When Jesus Raptures His Church Prior to His Return to Earth (the second coming). At this future moment in time all believers who have died will rise from their graves and will meet the Lord in the air, and Christians who are alive will be caught up with them, to be with the Lord forever. [1 of 4 cardinal doctrines of the A/G]
WE BELIEVE…in The Millennial Reign of Christ when Jesus returns with His saints at His second coming and begins His benevolent rule over earth for 1,000 years. This millennial reign will bring the salvation of national Israel and the establishment of universal peace.
WE BELIEVE…A Final Judgment Will Take Place for those who have rejected Christ. They will be judged for their sin and consigned to eternal punishment in a punishing lake of fire.
WE BELIEVE…and look forward to the perfect New Heavens and a New Earth that Christ is preparing for all people, of all time, who have accepted Him. We will live and dwell with Him there forever following His millennial reign on Earth. ‘And so shall we forever be with the Lord!’
