the fosters

The Journey of E. J. Foster: From Ambition to Mission in Fairfield.

​After college, a high school friend reintroduced me to intentional discipleship, and reading Fathered by God reshaped my view of God as a loving, holy, and merciful Father. Though I pursued graduate studies and dreamed of wealth and fast-paced city life, those plans never materialized. In surrender, I asked God to send me wherever He willed—and soon received a job offer in Birmingham.

Urban living wasn’t my vision, but the seed for Fairfield had been planted early. I grew up in a home where money was scarce, yet my parents modeled deep faith, prayer, and hospitality. In 2011, a mission trip to rural Honduras convicted me: people in Birmingham were suffering too and deserved the same love we gave abroad. That moment sparked a calling to serve locally.

I began volunteering in Fairfield, forming relationships and sensing the city’s potential for revival. Driving past abandoned buildings on Gary Avenue, I felt the echoes of a once-thriving community. Around 2013, I connected with Urban Hope Community Church through Pastor Alton Hardy and my roommate’s testimony. After visiting and praying, I transferred my membership, drawn by its biblical teaching and commitment to discipleship.

Since then, I’ve grown spiritually in ways I never imagined. One verse that anchors me is 2 Corinthians 4:16–18, reminding me that eternal things matter most. Today, I serve as a ruling elder at Urban Hope and live in Fairfield with my wife—grateful for the redemptive journey that brought me here and hopeful for the city’s future.

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