Finding Faith and Community at Fresno Christian Schools | Erin and Jaden’s Story
When Erin Ventura first walked onto Fresno Christian’s campus as an eighth grader, she wasn’t looking for a Christian school. Her mom and grandma simply believed it would be a better environment than the public school she had attended since kindergarten.
I remember being in eighth grade, I walked into chapel and I had never ever seen people lifting their hands in worship,” Erin said. “It was such a new experience that I had never seen.
Today, Erin serves as the outreach pastor at Peoples Church. Looking back, she traces that calling back to her years at Fresno Christian, where she experienced Christian community and the Gospel in a personal way for the first time.
Erin met her husband, Jaden, at Fresno Christian. They have been happily married for four years and had their first baby last fall!
Jaden serves as a police officer, and he points to many of those same experiences as the foundation for the way he serves others today.
Early Days at Fresno Christian Schools
After spending years in public school, when Erin came to Fresno Christian, she expected another first day filled with unfamiliar faces and nerves, but that wasn’t what she found.
“I remember coming in, and my sister had come here before me, and everybody was talking to us… Everyone was so welcoming,” Erin said.
Jaden’s experience looked different because he had been at Fresno Christian since third grade. The campus wasn’t somewhere he adjusted to. It was where he grew up, spending lunch, playing soccer and wall ball with friends before heading to classes, games, and school events.
Even though they arrived at Fresno Christian at different points in their childhood, both described it as a place where people knew them personally. Teachers cared about their families, coaches spent time investing in them, and classmates became lifelong friends.
I Became a Christian Because of This Place
For Jaden, Fresno Christian strengthened a faith that had already been growing at home. Daily prayer, chapel, worship, and teachers who consistently modeled Christ helped build a foundation that has stayed with him into adulthood.
Erin’s story was different. She didn’t come to Fresno Christian for a Christian education. Her family chose the school because they believed it would be a good environment. It was through chapel, classmates, and teachers who lived out their faith that she came to know Christ.
Today, Erin serves as the outreach pastor at Peoples Church, where she has the opportunity to encourage and care for others each day.
Looking back, both Erin and Jaden describe Fresno Christian as the place where their faith took root and became something they continue to carry into adulthood.
How The Feather and Basketball Prepared Them for Their Careers
When Jaden talks about the experiences that prepared him for law enforcement, he talks about The Feather. For years, he worked alongside Mr. Stobbe and Mrs. James in Fresno Christian’s journalism program. He interviewed World War II veterans, astronauts, and community members, learning how to ask thoughtful questions, listen carefully, and communicate with people from every background.
“It was kind of like a job…It taught me a lot of conversational skills because we had to interview people… It was just a really amazing experience,” Jaden said.
As a police officer, Jaden’s conversations may look different today, but he still draws on those same foundational journalism skills—listening well, showing respect, and building trust with the people he serves.
For Erin, preparation came through relationships. She remembers her basketball coach and leadership teacher Mr. Foshee, who made sure every student felt included. Whether that meant gathering for team lunches before games or helping students participate in opportunities outside of class.
“When I think of Mr. Foshee, I think of such a wonderful man, such a wonderful father figure, such a wonderful teacher,” Erin said.
Watching the way her FCS teachers cared for students influenced the way Erin carried out her tasks in ministry. As an outreach pastor at Peoples Church, much of her work centers on making people feel welcomed, encouraged and seen, the same way she says her teachers did for her.
“It’s a place where your child will be loved”
Erin and Jaden are now carrying on the lessons they learned at Fresno Christian as they raise their own child.
To the parents considering Fresno Christian for their children, Erin shared, “I think that it is a wonderful experience. It’s a place where your child will be loved, where they’ll have the title ‘world changer’ spoken over them…I just think parents, it’s worth it!”