Sullivan shares his journey to Socorro

Ed Sullivan is the new minister at the Family Christian Center off of Highway 60. He came to Socorro just over a month ago.

What is your role here at this facility?

I am the senior pastor. I arrived at this facility from Clovis, New Mexico.

How did you end up in Socorro?

I was looking for a place to minister as well as connect with a new community. Socorro checked off a whole lot of boxes as far as things I was looking to do.

How did you get in contact with this facility?

It was through our ministry network. That is an association which specializes in preaching the gospel here in New Mexico. I contacted the network pastor Reverend Mike Dickinson and told him I was looking for a church which is when he recommended this facility for me.

Is New Mexico the only place you have preached?

No. About four or five years ago I was preaching in a small town in Texas called Bandera, about 45 minutes west of San Antonio. It was in the hill country. Through a mutual friend in the church I was connected with Mike and was able to come to a non-denominational parish.

How was the interview process?

It was somewhat embarrassing coming to a new place when they’ve already done their research on you. But once I was able to meet Reverend Mike face to face this was clearly a great fit for me.

What has your experience been like in Socorro so far?

It’s one of those things where you’re like “good golly” coming into this new community. I haven’t even had a chance to unpack all of my boxes at the house. But I’ve already decided El Camino is my favorite restaurant. Unfortunately I have not had a chance to go out and meet with the community as much as I would like to. I look forward to interacting with the people here.

What does Family Christian Center preach?

We are affiliated with the Assemblies of God organization. This is a continuationist group when it comes to the Bible. We believe everything from the New Testament has occurred and continues all the way up to now. Our church is more conservative as far as the Bible goes. What it says is what it says. One could call us Evangelicals which is a large umbrella.

When do you host services?

We do a Sunday service that begins at 10 a.m., as well as a mid-week service on Wednesdays that begins at 6:30 p.m.

What do you preach once you are on the stage?

I always pick a book of the Bible and I work my way through it a paragraph at a time. When I’m finished I pick another book for the next service to analyze and we go through it from several different angles. Preaching for more than 15 years I have gone through every book of the Bible except for “Jude” and I can’t figure out why I always miss that one. That is a rather dark book.

What is it that draws you towards the Bible?

I believe it to be God’s word. It is historically accurate if you take out some of the supernatural portions. However, the supernatural is the definition of faith. It takes things you can’t explain in order to find God’s power.

With all of the religious beliefs around the world, why is yours the correct path?

We can turn to science and everyone believes in the “Big Bang” now. For me it’s all about causality. Everything has a beginning. Things just don’t happen, unless you’re talking to a toddler. There has to be someone who began everything. I choose to believe in the words of Jesus Christ. It you believe in Hinduism and want to reach Nirvana you have to follow those preaching. All religions center around exclusivity and how people interpret that. But it all boils down to a god that started things off.

Where were you born and raised?

I was born in Abilene, Texas. In the 70s my parents moved to the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia. While there, I got a bachelors degree in health and physical education sciences from Radford University. I lived across the state until around 2005, working as a health and physical education teacher in Spotselvania County, about an hour South of Richmond.

How did you get involved with education?

My wife Kim graduated a year before me. She found a job teaching through career placement. She moved to Spotselvania and I started to look for work through the school system during the year I was graduating college and fortunately I was able to find something in the same county. I pursued my wife for about five years and so I wasn’t going to let her go.

Do you have any children?

Two kids. Emily is 27 and Ian is 20. I’m not at liberty to say what Emily does, she’s in a sensitive country. Ian is a college student that just got accepted to West Texas A&M. I tell my kids as often as possible I love them and I wish them to succeed in whatever it is that they do. No matter what happens, I will always be there for them. Just make sure you call mom and dad every once and a while.

What is your favorite movie?

It’s been a while. When I started ministering a lot of the Hollywood movies didn’t seem very appropriate. I got to see the original three “Star Wars” in theaters as a kid and loved them. It’s your classic struggle of good versus evil.

If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?

My life is very tied to my ministry and where God wants me. So right now, God wants me here in Socorro so that is where I want to be. This is who I am.

If you won the lottery, what would you do with the money?

First thing I would do is give a donation to my ministry network. I would also love to build a school in India where my grandfather was a missionary in the 30s and 40s at an orphanage. Plus hire somebody to remodel my house.

Is there something you would like to change about Socorro County?

I haven’t been here long enough to have an intelligent answer. One thing I want to help with is running food banks for the homeless. I want to help out families in need and that includes those in jail because they are people too.