Robert Cobb

Mission Valley Christian Fellowship

Contact: 6536 Estrella Ave., San Diego 619-683-7729 www.mvcf.com

Membership: 175 

Pastor: Robert Cobb

Age: 50

Born: La Mesa

Formation: Bible Study at Mission Valley Fellowship 

Years Ordained: 25

San Diego Reader: What is your favorite subject on which to preach?

Pastor Robert Cobb: If there’s one message I would like to teach over and over, it’s the importance of developing a personal relationship with God through reading your Bible on your own. Scripture tells us in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 that all scripture is inspired by God. You can get into debates with people that the Bible was written by 40 different people, or it wasn’t written for me but for people at a certain time in history. But if that was the case, why would God, through Paul to Timothy, say that all scripture is inspired by God? But he didn’t just leave it there; he also said it is profitable to know and understand scripture. So that means one the most profitable things we can do is have a knowledge of the word of God, and even go beyond that knowledge—that’s only the information—and come to wisdom: how can I apply scripture to my everyday life? St. Paul also says that knowing scripture is profitable for teaching, reproof and correction in righteousness. Then he says that man would be complete through this knowledge. That’s what everyone is looking for in life—completeness. We’re always looking toward the wrong things, and yet God is directing us to his word.

SDR: What’s the mission of your church?

PC: It’s the same mission we’ve carried on since we started: Love. Grow. Help. Love the Lord thy God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength. It’s one of the greatest commandments given to us by Jesus. To grow is to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ. You’ve got to love God and work toward growing, and that growth turns into physical and spiritual health, to equip people to go out and help—to make a difference today. This isn’t a relationship I’m supposed to keep private to myself until Jesus returns; God has commissioned us to go out and spread the good news of Jesus Christ to the whole world.

SDR: What one book has had the greatest influence on your ministry?

PC: The Cross of Jesus: What His Words from Calvary Mean for Us by Warren Wiersbe. One premise in the book always stood out for me, that the Cross always looks forward and it never looks back. We get stuck into difficulties and challenges in life that hold us back… The whole concept of the Cross is that whatever God doing in front of us he is doing to move us forward to himself. It’s called a walk with God not a standstill with God, so we should be moving forward every day.

SDR: Where do you go when you die?

PC: The Bible teaches us that there are two ways, the narrow path which leads to heaven and the wide path which leads to destruction. I believe there is a heaven and there is a hell. Nobody knows except God at the end of the day who is going to heaven. Someone could cry out in their last moments to God because someone at some point in life had taken the time to introduce God to that person. The Bible tells us there is only one way to heaven and that’s through Jesus Christ, our lord and savior. If you reject him, you are bound for hell.