New ministers come to Endicott church

Fred and Cinda Tribble came to Endicott Bible Church from California. They began their duties as full-time ministers in Endicott Jan 20, after arriving in Jan. 17.

Through Village Missions, an organization which is dedicated to keeping rural churches alive, the Tribbles found the Endicott church. They have not worked as full-time ministers before, but felt that was the direction their lives were going.

“From going from a large metropolitan city being a professor to being a small town pastor is quite a change,” Fred said. “We’re actually pretty excited.”

Neither one of the Tribbles had been in Endicott or even the Pacific Northwest before, Fred said.

“I never laid eyes on this territory in my life,” he said.

“Endicott people are very nice,” Fred said. “They are very helpful. It’s a wonderful little town. There’s lots of good people here.”

Fred was born in Santa Monica, Calif., but from five years of age until about 13, he lived with his grandparents on a farm in Kern County, Calif., before returning to the Simi Valley to finish high school and join the Navy. After serving in the Navy, Fred graduated from Pacific Christian College, and then he began to attend church. He went to Bible college. During this time, he served his church as a youth pastor, children’s ministry leader and Sunday school teacher.

Fred has held a variety of different jobs including recreation director, police officer, janitor and mechanic. Most of his work has been in manufacturing, working in the areas of management and quality control. In addition to serving in the Navy, he is active in the National Guard and has achieved the rank of Lt. Colonel. His work with the Guard has been in disaster relief.

Cinda was born and raised in southern California around the Los Angeles area. Cinda has specialized in working with children. She attended Westmont College and graduated with her California state teacher’s certification at California State University, Fullerton, where she earned her B.A. in speech communication disorders. Most recently, she was on staff at Biola University.

Fred and Cinda met through a friend at a church function and had a very interesting courtship. After they married, Fred completed a Master of Arts in management at Redlands University.

The Tribble’s ministry experiences have prepared them for service. Fred said he accepted Christ through a campus life ministry at the end of high school. But he realized that he was not ready for full-time ministry. Since then he has served in several capacities at churches. He has taught college and career classes and conducted senior’s ministry including services at live-in care facilities. He has been an elder and served recently as children’s ministry director and the interim pastor.

All the while, he and Cinda had an urging to enter into full-time service in the church or in missions but Fred said “the Lord closed those doors.”

Recently some friends urged them to reconsider full-time service. Someone recommended that they check out Village Missions.

“It seemed to be the perfect fit for our call,” Fred said.

The Endicott church has a congregation of eight.

“That congregation has gone through major ups and downs, and this is one of the downs,” Fred said.

He said the church even was closed at one time, but when Village Missions was engaged, a pastor was found and the church is moving on with a bright future.

Village Missions will take care of the pastor’s salary and benefits as the church regains its strength. Eventually the church will take over the payments as it can afford it.

“The object is to grow the congregation,” Fred said.

The couple is in their mid-50s. Their children, Seth, Rebekah and Sarah, are grown and out on their own. Their son, Seth, and daughter-in-law and grandson live in Tacoma. Their daughters live in Oklahoma and Texas.

Cinda’s hobbies are domestic arts, including gardening, sewing and quilting.

“This was a blind leap of faith,” Fred said. “We had no idea what we were getting into.”

No matter what faith an Endicott resident may be, Fred said he wants to serve the whole community.

“Being a friend is more important to me,” he said. “I’m here to represent Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, and to serve the community of Endicott.”

“We are excited to serve the Lord and congregation at Endicott,” Fred said.