Serving God and the community will be the guiding factors for Elder Marc Scarborough in his tenure as the new pastor of Zoe Christian Fellowship of Los Angeles.
Appointed to the position in June, Scarborough aims to draw upon all of his past ministry experiences to fulfill his goals. With more than 25 years in the field, he has served in various capacities in churches including the music ministry, worship leader and instructing classes for new members and for graduates and professionals.
In addition, Scarborough served as a chaplain for Hoffmann Hospice and as assistant pastor at Total Deliverance Church of God in Christ, Greater Harvest Fellowship and the Mojave Assembly of God in the Antelope Valley.
Also, he and his wife Tanya established and conducted a Bible study for more than four years and as director of Spiritual Care for Procare Hospice and Traditions Health Hospice, Scarborough supervised and trained other chaplains, performed community service, and facilitated grief support groups.
“But, this is my first time serving as senior pastor and I am very excited,” said Scarborough as he admitted to “a little element of nervousness as well.” Citing the reason behind his slight anxiety, he explained, “My wife and I desperately want to do well and to be successful. We want to serve the people of God the best we can, but we know God’s got it!”
Scarborough’s strong faith in God and concern for the community should serve him well at Zoe. Located in the West Adams district of L.A., the church already conducts a series of vibrant outreach programs, which gives the pastor a firm foundation to carry out his vision.
Under the administration of Bishop Frank L. Stewart, Zoe’s founder and recently retired spiritual leader, the ministry operated a community center, a pre-school program and the Zoe Christian Leadership Institute, a training course to aid adults in discovering their purpose, leadership potential and divine calling. No doubt, those activities will continue and provide a viable platform for Scarborough, a graduate of the International College of Bible Theology, to reach his goals.
“Part of what I’d like to do – because I believed that there are a lot of doctrines that aren’t sound doctrines –I’d like to make sure that people know the absolute truth about God and the truth about the Bible. [I want to] help people to understand the knowledge of who they are in the light of the scriptures,” said Scarborough in outlining his main focus.
“Also, we just want to serve the community. I grew up in Los Angeles, so I love this city and I want to make sure that we are meeting the needs of our community, making sure that they have whatever it is that they need and being instrumental in bringing that to them,” he added.
Considering that people are still navigating life in a pandemic, Scarborough said he is mindful of the trials that folks are facing and he is emphasizing the importance of maintaining faith in the midst of perilous situations.
“Of course, the pandemic presented us with the set of many challenges that many of us hadn’t seen before and never had to deal with,” he acknowledged. “However, I think that the primary message I teach to the people is to continue to be faithful regardless of what is going on around us, continue to be faithful to the things of God and also, to not walk in fear.
“Of course, use wisdom, but do not walk in fear. God knew all of these things would happen, even before the foundation of the world and so we continue our faith and our trust in Him.”
As part of keeping his faith intact, Scarborough relies on the Word of God and often refers to his favorite scripture for solace when things get rough.
“My favorite scripture is Psalm 27. I really like the entire scripture but the first verse is really what pulls you in – ‘The Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear?’ It just shows us to not be afraid because God is our light and our saving grace and He is our deliverer.”
He has another saying that keeps him inspired and on track, which he borrowed by Wayne Gretzky, the famed L.A. Kings hockey player.
“Wayne would always say, ‘You miss 100 percent of the shots that you never take.’ So, that always stuck with me,” Scarborough said. “If you don’t take a shot at doing something, whether it’s fulfilling your purpose or going after your dream or getting closer to God, you will miss every shot if you don’t take it!”
Zoe Christian Fellowship is located at 2521 West View St., in Los Angeles. To learn more, visit zcfla.org.