Who We Are
City Church Phoenix aggressively reaches out to people who are far from God. Rather than run from culture, we have chosen to harness it to connect with people and show them God’s timeless truths. Although our approach is anything but traditional, we believe in and maintain theological position.
Ministry is meeting the needs of others in a real and tangible way; at City Church PHX, we are dedicated to meeting the needs of both individuals and families in every way possible.
The secret to experiencing a life filled with purpose and contentment is to live for something bigger than yourself. We’re not here to take up space or simply fulfill the daily, monotonous duties that we are all faced with. We are here to live a life of purpose and passion as we meet the needs of others and, in doing so, draw closer to our creator.
Check out our ministries to learn more about how you can become involved in ministry at City Church PHX. Through your involvement, you will not only make a difference in the lives of others, but you will find that ministry to others will make a difference in you!
Serve Team:
Our Serve Teams function to make your visit to City Church as enjoyable as possible. From parking to meeting our pastors in the after service, this team is dedicated to providing you with the information and assistance needed so that you feel welcomed, loved, and included.
If you need directions to a specific room, service times, or information on a particular ministry, please stop by the welcome Desk in the lobby or locate someone with a City Church name tag. They will make sure that you receive the information you are looking for. If you have a special need or request, don’t hesitate to ask. We will do our best to ensure that you have everything you need so that you can enjoy your visit with us.
Leadership
ROBERT (Bob) and Laura Sainz
LEAD Pastor
Pastor Bob has an incredible testimony coming to Christ on September 15, 1985 after 10 years of dealing drugs and an addiction to cocaine. God delivered him miraculously and he dedicated his life fully to Christ.
Pastor Bob began working in Youth Ministry with his now wife Pastor Laura. They both met in church and began doing ministry together. In 1989 Pastor Bob and Pastor Laura were married now celebrating 30 years marriage and Ministry!
In 1990 Pastor Bob became a Youth Pastor where he served for almost ten years and in the latter of the decade became an Assistant Pastor.
In 2000 Pastor Bob and Pastor Laura pioneered a church in New York where they served as Lead Pastors. The church grew 150% in the 11 years of their ministry and the power and gifts of the Holy Spirit were present. In 2012 Pastor Bob and Pastor Laura sensing God releasing them from New York began as Lead Pastor of First Assembly of God in Morenci AZ. In six years of Ministry God enabled them to credential and send out 15 Pastors. Morenci AG grew over 50% with thriving ministries. Pastor Bob and Pastor Laura were the visionary’s in the rebooting of three AG churches in the Arizona Network.
In November of 2018 Pastor Bob and Pastor Laura being lead by God answer a call to Phoenix AZ and began Pastoring City Church PHX believing for an incredible move of God.
Both Pastor Bob and Pastor Laura are Ordained Ministers with the Assemblies of God. They have four Children... Their eldest son Sean and his wife Katy are the Associate Pastors here at City Church PHX. Their eldest daughter Mady is a mother of two boys; Sylas and Jackson.
Victoria and her husband Jake are also ministers in New York. Their youngest son Robert is attending Radiant Bible College in Arizona studying Media Ministry and also Pastoral Ministry.
What We Believe
The Assemblies of God was founded in 1914 in Hot Springs, Arkansas with 300 people at the founding convention. Today there are 13,017 churches in the U.S. with over 3 million members and adherents. There are more than 69 million Assemblies of God members worldwide, making the Assemblies of God the world’s largest Pentecostal denomination.
The U.S. Assemblies of God national office is located at 1445 N. Boonville Avenue, Springfield, Missouri. It houses the denomination’s executive and administrative offices, service divisions and departments, and the Gospel Publishing House printing plant which ships over 6 tons of literature daily.
16 Fundamental Truths
Two years after its founding, the AG established 16 doctrines as a standard to reach, preach and teach its people. These doctrines became our Statement of Fundamental Truths. Four of these truths are considered our core beliefs due to the key role they play in reaching the lost and building the believer and the church both now and for the future.
For more information about the Assemblies of God you can visit their website at ag.org.
Our Four Core Doctrine
Salvation
Salvation is the foundation stone for who we are. God has called us, as a Fellowship, to be in the redemption business. Jesus said, “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3).1 It is through God’s plan of salvation that people come to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.
People need to understand they are sinners. Some churches today are uncomfortable with saying to the unsaved, “You are a sinner.” But Scripture says, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Peoplecannot know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior until they first realize they are sinners and that their sin separatesthem from God. Pastors do unsaved people a disservice when they allow them to become comfortable in church, con- tinue to live in their sin, and never confront them with the claims of Jesus Christ. Jesus’ death at Calvary purchased our salvation and atoned for everyone’s sin.
When people are saved, they become a new creation in Christ Jesus. “Old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Salvation is a life transforming experience. The things we once loved, we now hate; and, the things we once hated, we now love. Every person must have the life transforming experience called salvation.
Salvation is not found in church membership; it is found in a relationship. Scripture says “all we like sheep have gone astray” (Isaiah 53:6). Pastors must give people opportunity to accept Jesus Christ as Savior. Pastors cannot assume people in their churches are saved. Pastors often look at their congregations and say, “Everybody here is saved.” We do not know that. We are only looking at the veneer. We do not know their hearts. Only Christ knows their hearts. TheHoly Spirit brings people to realize they need Jesus.
Divine Healing
In Mark 2, Jesus healed a man who was lowered through the roof. Jesus said to the man: “Thy sins be forgiven thee”(verse 5).1 The scribes and Pharisees murmured in their hearts. Jesus exposed their murmuring and their faultfinding:“Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk?” (verse 9). The point is: There are not two kinds of faith; there is one faith. The faith a person needs to be saved is the same faith a person needs to be healed.
In the Book of James, James wrote, “Is any among you afflicted? Let him pray” (5:13). We can pray when we are afflicted. But then James continued, “Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let thempray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up” (verses 14,15). We are instructed to lay hands on the sick, anoint them with oil, and pray the prayer of faith. I do not heal; you do not heal.
The sovereignty of God is difficult to understand. Why does He heal some and not heal others? I do not know. But this is not for me to figure out or question. My responsibility is to do what I have been instructed to do as a minister of thegospel: pray for the sick, anoint them with oil, and leave the results in the hands of the Lord.
Divine healing was provided for in the Atonement. When Jesus died on Calvary, the provision for healing was made.Scripture says, “With his stripes we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5). A pastor does not need to question or wonder about that.God has already made this provision possible. Our responsibility is to come in faith and pray, believing that the Lordwill raise them up, and that He will perform the miraculous. As a result, He gets the glory.
Baptism in the Holy Spirit
When many people think of the Holy Spirit’s power, they usually envision visible, spectacular works. Most of the time, the kind of power we need in everyday life is neither spectacular nor sensational. But it is supernatural. Accomplishing God’s purposes in the world requires divine help beyond our natural abilities. Supernatural living is not always outwardly dramatic.
The word translated “power” in Acts 1:8 (dunamis) is wonderfully comprehensive. It simply means “ability” and applies in practical ways to all of life. The power Jesus promised His followers is for every aspect of Christian living, enabling His followers to do and be whatever our Lord has purposed in our lives.
The fruit of the Spirit in the believer’s life — love, joy, peace, patience and all the other characteristics Paul describes in Galatians 5 — may not seem spectacular. But they certainly can be supernatural, beyond our natural capacities.
We are empowered by the Holy Spirit to live the life to which our Lord has called us. The supernatural working of the Spirit will not always be spectacular or sensational, but it is convincing evidence of the presence and life of the Spirit within us.
The Second Coming of Christ
The next great event for our planet will be the rapture of the Church — when Jesus comes again. At His ascension, the angel said to Jesus’ disciples, “Why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11).1 What a marvelous promise.
Scripture is filled with admonitions and instructions concerning Christ’s return. Jesus said, “When these things begin
to come to pass.” What things was He talking about? Wars and rumors of wars, pestilences, earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, famines, and natural tragedies. Jesus continued, “And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh” (Luke 21:28). The Bible tells us that He is coming for those that look for His appearing.
Matthew 25:1–13 tells the story of the five wise and the five foolish virgins. The five wise virgins had oil in their lamps. To what is that referring? It refers to preparedness, being ready. The five foolish virgins did not take oil in their lamps. When the bridegroom came and the 10 virgins arose, only the five who had oil in their lamps were ready to meet the Lord. The five foolish tried to buy oil from those who had oil. This tells us that we must be ready.