FRENCH VALLEY -- Last April, Melanie Rischer Bernard had a big chunk of cancerous skin removed from her back. In late September, Paul Bernard had 18 inches of his cancer-ridden colon removed.

Yet the French Valley couple said they did not interpret their medical battles as a sign from God to put the brakes on their ongoing efforts to launch a new church.

Just the opposite.

In December, only a few months after being declared cancer-free, the husband-wife team debuted Ten27 Church, a nondenominational Christian congregation emphasizing love and acceptance.

The way the Bernards see it, their bouts with cancer are just another way to reach more people as they expand their church.

"It makes our stories that much more compelling," Paul Bernard said. "We can relate more to what other people are struggling with."

The Bernards said Ten27 will prioritize reaching out to people who are hurting and need comfort and encouragement.

"This is a church where you can be real," said Melanie Rischer Bernard. "You don't have to come in and pretend everything's great."

Paul added, "I hope we can be a church where anyone can come and feel comfortable."

"Ten27" references a verse in the Gospel of Luke that reads: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind. And love your neighbor as yourself."

The church's mission statement focuses on the importance of worship, reading the Bible and growing spiritually through life's experiences.

The church met in the Bernards' living room for several months before launching publicly in early December.

It now meets at 5 p.m. Sundays in the Temecula Valley Fitness Center, in French Valley. Services are held in an aerobics room sandwiched between the basketball gym and weight-lifting area.

The room is small, and the space allows members to feel up close and personal with the church's band and whoever is giving the sermon that week.

Besides the Bernards, who are the founding and lead pastors of Ten27, guest pastors and other church leaders may give sermons. Having rotating speakers is somewhat unconventional, but it ensures the sermons are always unique and that the church is not "personality driven," the Bernards said.

From sermons likening a God-filled life to eating healthful cereal, to offering iPods, gift cards and other prizes during their monthlong grand opening, the Bernards said they are also taking other different but "culturally relevant" approaches to relate to the community and drum up interest in the church.

"We want to be very creative in how we market and approach the community," Paul said. "That was part of our strategy. We want to be innovative, so people get a glimpse of who we are."

The Bernards have been married for 14 years and have four children ages 2 through 10. They each earned bachelor's and master's degrees from the private Christian Azusa Pacific University, she in music and he in clinical psychology. Their schooling also included four years of Bible classes and ministry training.

Melanie, 36, has made a career of working at churches, including a position as worship and arts pastor at Mariners Church in Irvine, then holding the same job at South Hills Church in Corona. She resigned her job in August to concentrate on launching Ten27.

So far, Ten27 averages 35 adults per service, with a similar number of children attending a concurrent service in the fitness center's children's area.

"Even though we are small in numbers, we want to act like a big church," Melanie said.

To that end, Ten27 boasts a self-described "rockin' " band, a flashy Web site, promotional materials with professional graphics, and high-tech audio and visual equipment, including a large screen for song lyrics and other videos to be displayed during services.

With his degree, Paul, 39, has pursued a career as a middle and high school counselor. For many years, he also worked on the side as a "life coach," helping struggling teens, families and even business professionals get back on track.

Both come from large Christian families, and Melanie's father, Paul Rischer, is a pastor at Skyline Church in La Mesa.

The two said they moved to French Valley almost four years ago and soon after felt that God wanted them to open a church in the area. In the five-mile radius roughly considered French Valley, just northeast of Temecula, there are more than 22,000 single-family homes and about 100,000 residents, Melanie said.

"So many people commute to their jobs, but don't want to commute to their church on Sundays," she said.

The Bernards said they ultimately hope to provide the French Valley area with a large church with lots of programs for struggling families, and services and places to keep local teens busy and engaged, such as a youth center and Christian skate park.

The Bernards acknowledge those plans are likely to be years in the making, but said they feel confident that over time, their vision will become a reality.

"Ten27 -- we want to be a church that lives out that verse," Melanie said. "We want to connect with each other, love each other, and provide a place where people can connect with God."