The Shelter Church is a truly Christian community, enjoying ten years of gospel ministry and unity in the city of La Mesa Ca.

The Shelter began as a Home Fellowship in the home of pastor Ricky Andrade in 2005. Ricky was leading the Christian band "The Dance Floor Prophets" and serving as an associate Pastor at Horizon Park Chapel when he received God's call to open his home for a couples fellowship.

 However, instead of a couples fellowship, some high school and college age folks began showing up in increasing numbers. The meetings were modeled after the passage in Acts 2:42-47.  So along with the teaching of the Bible, it included a full dinner and a dedicated time for personal prayer and encouragement. The fellowship grew in numbers and in 2007 the family moved to a larger home in the La Mesa area. The ministry continued to grow.

These meetings would often roll into the late night and much attention was given to hearing each other's personal stories and offering biblical counseling.

In 2009, the group of about 50 believers, mostly singles, incorporated as a church and in 2010 they moved into a small church building down the street where they continued to grow. Steadily the church of mostly singles began to marry in the Lord and have children.

The Shelter Church is now an established family church with lots of children and has moved again close to Grossmont Center where they continue to live out a gospel centered life in a truly biblical Christian community.

In 2015 Shelter Church became affiliated with The Southern Baptist Convention.

The Shelter Church is a body of believers who are committed to follow Christ and keeping his commands. We continue to follow the church model as depicted in the Book Of Acts 2:42-47. We believe this snapshot of the church was given to us by God, it is a church in community, we see that the guidance in the Epistles is designed for this church model.

We also feel called to be an "organic church" or "God grown" meaning that we seek God first in all things and want to be led and grown by God. We are not in a hurry to appear successful, but instead, rooted in truth and love for one another; we do not look to modern church growth programs or human ideals of success but set our sights on obedience to Gods Word for priorities, identity, role models and doctrine.

By His grace we seek to align our fellowship with God's word and serve the whole body of Christ. We are mission minded and believe in taking the gospel to the ends of the earth. In the power of the Holy Spirit we seek to DO what the Bible says believers and churches do and leave the results in the Sovereign Hand of The Almighty God. 

We are in agreement and adhere to both the Apostles and Nicene Creeds.

We are Evangelicals and in agreement with the doctrinal statement of the National Association of Evangelicals.

 We also believe the Bible to be the inspired and the only infallible, authoritative Word of God.

We believe in the Trinity. That there is one God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

We believe in the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, and according to the scriptures: In His virgin birth, His sinless life, His miracles, His vicarious and atonement through His shed blood, His bodily resurrection, His ascension to the right hand of the Father, and in His personal physical return in power and glory.

We also believe that for the salvation of lost and sinful people, regeneration by the Holy Spirit is absolutely essential.

We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit, and His indwelling the true believer, with His power the Christian is enabled to live a godly life.

We believe in the resurrection of both the saved and the lost; they that are saved unto eternal life and they that are lost unto judgement and damnation.

We believe in the spiritual unity of believers in our Lord Jesus Christ.

We are Reformed in our Soteriology (doctrines of salvation).

 We believe that God created the heavens, the earth.

We believe that God created man and woman in a state of sinless perfection with particular dignity as His image bearers on the earth.

We believe that marriage is between one man and one woman as revealed in the second chapter of Genesis.

We believe the man and the woman are a profound picture of Christ and the Church, the soft and strong attributes of God and the diversity and unity in the Trinity.

We believe a wedding ceremony is in itself a worship service of God and is to be officiated by a minister who properly understands and honors Gods design for marriage from the scripture.

 We believe that the heads of the race sinned against God and that everyone since is a sinner by nature and choice. Sin has totally affected all of creation including marring human image and likeness so that all of our being is stained by sin (e.g. reasoning, desires, and emotions).

We believe that because all people have sinned and have separated themselves from the Holy God and that He is obligated to save no one from the just deserved punishments from our rebellion.

We also believe that God in His unparalleled love and mercy has chosen by His mercy, a people for himself predestined for salvation.

We believe that the salvation of the elect was accomplished by the sinless life, substitutionary atoning death, and literal physical resurrection of Jesus Christ in place of His people for their sins.

We believe that the salvation of the elect is by God's grace alone, manifested and displayed forth in the believer by the ongoing repentance of sin and faith in Jesus Christ which lead to good works.

We also believe that God's saving grace is ultimately irresistible and that God does soften even the hardest heart and save the worst of sinners according to His will. We believe that the gospel should be passionately and urgently proclaimed to all people so that all who believe may be saved through the preaching of God's Word by the power of God's Spirit.

We believe that true Christians must be born again of God's Spirit will be kept by God throughout their life, as evidenced by personal transformation that includes an evergrowing love of God the Father through God the Son by God the Spirit, love of brothers and sisters in the church, and love of lost neighbors in the culture.

We believe that God is Lord over all of life and that if we have received His life there is nothing that can separate us from God. We have passed from death to life.

We believe that the worship of God is the end for which people were created and that abiding joy is only to be found by delighting in God through all of life, including hardship and death which is eternal gain.