My name is Phil Swingle, and it is a great privilege to be a part of this Firm Family Church. My wife Elizabeth and I have been living in Chico with our three children, Eva, Elaina, and Ezra, since 2012. I first came to Chico in 1992 to study Recreation Administration and spent many of my days leading groups into the wilderness for adventures such as whitewater rafting, mt. biking, climbing, etc. In 1999 I earned a multiple subject teaching credential and taught 5th and 6th grade for 22 years. I continue to love outdoor adventure and teaching children about the great news of the Gospel.

I currently lead the Childcare, Sunday School, Junior, and Senior High school programs here at Firm Family Church. Should the Lord grant me the opportunity, I look forward to encouraging the youth in their pursuit to follow Jesus while also growing closer to Him myself. I feel very blessed to be on this journey with such a Godly wife, who helps and encourages me every day. I look forward to getting to know you better!

In eighth grade, at a church summer camp, I responded to an altar call to “accept Jesus into my life”. In high school I attended church, went to youth group, and generally tried to behave myself and assumed this was the full extent of being a Christian. In college I stopped going to church and, while not specifically rejecting Christ, I actively engaged in a sinful lifestyle that reflected how far I had strayed from Him.

Through an invitation from a friend I attended a college church service called The Edge at the Neighborhood Church here in Chico. It was there that I soon realized how rich and full life could be through an earnest pursuit of Jesus, learning how to read and understand the Bible for myself, and actively engaging my faith by putting it into action by serving others. What a powerful difference it was for me! Jesus wasn't something to “accept”, but a King to serve, whose commands are for His glory and our good. I eventually met my beautiful wife Megan as we served together in a Welcome Team ministry. We have now been married 18 years and have three sons, Obie, Jack and Eddie.

My prayer life and interest is often drawn to the struggles, hopes, disappointments, and dreams of missionaries who are serving Jesus all over the world. My desire is to minister to the ministers. I love Firm Family Church's ethos of “every member a minister” and I prayerfully look forward seeing the great good that God is doing through and to our group.

Hello! What a privilege and honor it is to serve you and Him here at Firm Family Church. So you might know a bit about myself and the other elders, we are giving you a brief bio on each of us.

I have been married to my wife, Lindy, since 1978 and God has blessed us with 4 children, 3 “sons by choice” who married our three daughters, and one “daughter by choice” who married our son. He has also blessed us with 15 grandchildren. I came to understand God's love for me, my need for a savior and His provision of Jesus as my savior while in Japan on a wrestling team the summer before my senior year of high school.

My undergraduate studies were done at Cal Poly, SLO and my Master's was earned at Biola University. While at Cal Poly I was involved in the Navigators and discipled by some men who helped me grow to love Jesus and understand Him and His ways more and more. I was involved in Christian Education for grades 7-12 for the first 19 years of my career and then I served as an Associate Pastor at the Evangelical Free Church of Chico for close to 20 years.

My passion is to know Christ and make Him known and to raise my children to know Him, love Him and serve Him. One of my life verses is Ezra 7:10: “For Ezra had set in his heart to study the law of the Lord and to practice it and to teach His statutes and ordinances in Israel.”

By God's grace, Taryn and I were married in 2016 and since then God has blessed us with 4 daughters, Grace, Scout, Kit and Marley. We got married just as I finished school at Chico State and then about 2 years later we moved to Central America to serve the Lord with an organization called Students International. After 3 years overseas, we moved back to Chico and have been on staff serving the Lord through Firm Family Church.

I grew up in Chico, blessed to be raised in a Christ-centered home with 2 parents who loved each other and loved God more. Following my father's example from a young age, I started to read God's Word regularly on my own and throughout high school, college, early marriage to now, I can confidently say there has been no other way in which Christ has so greatly transformed me as through His Word. In that book I have learned that true, lasting joy is found only in Jesus; He is our only hope in life and death. I exist to treasure and trust Him above all else and to lead others to do the same.

I love being outside in whatever capacity (walking with my daughters, backpacking, gardening), I love reading (applied theology, sci-fi, fantasy, historical fiction), and I love the band twenty-one pilots.