Saddleback Church

Saddleback Church is a Baptist Evangelical megachurch located in Lake Forest, California, situated in southern Orange County, affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. The church has several campuses in California and around the world. Weekly church attendance was 23,494 people in 2020. The senior pastor is Rick Warren.

Saddleback Church
Saddleback Valley Community Church
Saddleback church Lake Forest, worship center
LocationLake Forest, California
CountryUnited States
DenominationSouthern Baptist Convention
Weekly attendance23,494
Websitewww.saddleback.com
History
Founded1980
Founder(s)Rick Warren, Kay Warren
Architecture
StyleContemporary/Modern
Years built1985
Administration
DivisionCalifornia Southern Baptist Convention
Clergy
Senior pastor(s)Rick Warren

History
Saddleback Church Children's Building in Lake Forest, California.

In 1979, Rick Warren recently graduated in theology, settled with his wife Kay in the area of Saddleback Valley, in Orange County, California.[1] He began to probe the people in his neighborhood to find out what prevented them from coming to church.[2] The answers that emerged were boredom, distance from everyday life, lack of welcome for visitors, insistence on money and inadequate programs for children. It is with these concerns that the church began in 1980, with a Bible study group, with seven people, the pastor Rick Warren and his wife, in their condo.[3] The first worship service took place in the gymnasium of a high school on Easter Day in 1980.[4] In 1995, it opened its main building in Lake Forest, with a 3,500-seat auditorium. [5]

In 2018, the church said it had baptized 50,000 people since its founding.[6]

According to a church census released in 2020, it claimed a weekly attendance of 23,494 people. [7]

Programs

The church offers various programs, such as The Purpose Driven Church (PDC) curriculum[8] and Celebrate Recovery, an addiction recovery support group program.[9]

PEACE Plan

In 2003, Saddleback Church, Kay and Rick Warren founded the P.E.A.C.E. Plan, a humanitarian development program for churches. [10][11]

Campuses
The driveway to Saddleback Church of Rancho Capistrano campus in San Juan Capistrano.

In 2006, the church inaugurated a second campus in San Clemente, California.[12] Other campuses have opened in Irvine South, Irvine North, Corona, San Juan Capistrano, Anaheim, Laguna Woods, Los Angeles, San Diego, South Bay, Newport-Mesa, Yorba Linda as well as four international campuses in South Manila, Philippines; Hong Kong; Buenos Aires, Argentina; and Berlin, Germany. Saddleback also offers an online worship service.[13]

Global Summit on AIDS

In November and December 2006, Saddleback Church played host to the second annual Global Summit on AIDS and the Church. The summit featured 60 speakers, including Senators Barack Obama and Sam Brownback.[14]

Civil Forum on the Presidency

On August 16, 2008, Rick Warren arranged a meeting between Senators John McCain and Barack Obama at Saddleback called the Civil Forum on the Presidency.[15] The format of the forum was structured such that Warren first asked Obama a series of questions; he then asked McCain very similar ones subsequently. It was broadcast live on national news networks and streamed online. Tickets were distributed to the public through a raffle with seats listing as high as $1,000 and the event was sold out.[16]

See also

References and notes
  1. Malcolm Gladwell, The Cellular Church, newyorker.com, USA, September 12, 2005
  2. Malcolm Gladwell, The Cellular Church, newyorker.com, USA, September 12, 2005
  3. Robert D. Putnam, Lewis Feldstein, Better Together: Restoring the American Community, Simon and Schuster, USA, 2009, p. 119
  4. Justin G. Wilford, Sacred Subdivisions: The Postsuburban Transformation of American Evangelicalism, NYU Press, USA, 2012, p. 9
  5. Bob Allen, Saddleback Church pledges $71 million over three years, baptiststandard.com, USA, June 12, 2015
  6. Stoyan Zaimov, Rick Warren's Saddleback Church Becomes First in US to Baptize 50,000 People; Pastor Hails 'Miracle', christianpost.com, USA, August 13, 2018
  7. Lifeway research, Largest Churches List, outreachmagazine.com, USA, retrieved January 16, 2021
  8. "What is Purpose Driven?". Purpose Driven. Archived from the original on 2013-10-04. Retrieved 2007-09-01.
  9. Warren, Pastor Richard ‘Rick’. "Message". Celebrate Recovery Website. Archived from the original on 2007-12-02. Retrieved 2007-12-18.
  10. Nicola Menzie, Saddleback Pastor Rick Warren Visits Rwanda to Advance PEACE Plan, christianpost.com, USA, August 29, 2013
  11. Justin G. Wilford, Sacred Subdivisions: The Postsuburban Transformation of American Evangelicalism, NYU Press, USA, 2012, p. 115
  12. ERIKA I. RITCHIE, Megachurch megaplanners: Rick and Kay Warren set out with a road map and a dream 35 years ago, ocregister.com, USA, March 21, 2015
  13. "Saddleback Church Online". Online Campus. Saddleback Church. Retrieved 2015-03-11.
  14. Jill Serjeant, U.S. evangelicals strive to change attitudes on AIDS, reuters.com, UK, November 28, 2007
  15. Barboza, Tony (July 21, 2008). "John McCain, Barack Obama will appear together at Orange County church". The Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 2008-07-22. Retrieved 2008-07-23.
  16. "Saddleback Civil Forum". Retrieved 2010-09-29.
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