Leadership

Julia Matallana-Freedman

Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara Free Methodist Church

Briefly describe your testimony of coming to Christ…

I grew up in a Christian family. Reading, writing, and theology have been a mode of great spiritual nourishment. Christian Professors, pastors and teachers have influenced my coming to Christ and my call to ministry. I look forward to giving back to others in a similar way.

Briefly describe your understanding of God’s calling on your life…

As a daughter of an immigrant from South America and a first generation college graduate I never could have imagined a calling as a professor, teacher, writer and theologian. My fundamentalist childhood meant that Pastor Colleen Hurley-Bates was one of the first women I saw preach behind an actual church pulpit. During my junior year of college I signed up for a course with Kelly Soifer and looked forward to learning a lived theology (not just head theology). These preachers and teachers have expanded my imagination of what God’s call on my life might mean.

How did you come to the Free Methodist Church?

My professional life in the Free Methodist Church began as a pastoral intern at in Santa Barbara in 2011. I was hired on as an assistant pastor for Children and Families shortly after. Mentors and teachers encouraged me to continue my Wesleyan education at Duke Divinity School.