| Saddleback Church | |
|---|---|
| Saddleback Valley Community Church | |
 Saddleback church Lake Forest, worship center | |
 | |
| Location | Lake Forest, California, acrossLos Angeles metro area, other locations across the world |
| Country | United States |
| Denomination | Baptist |
| Associations | Independent Southern Baptist Convention (formerly) |
| Weekly attendance | 30,000 |
| Campuses | 19 |
| Website | www |
| History | |
| Founded | 1980 |
| Founder(s) | Rick Warren,Kay Warren |
| Architecture | |
| Style | Contemporary/Modern |
| Years built | 1985 |
| Clergy | |
| Senior pastor(s) | Andy Wood |
 | |
Saddleback Church is anevangelical,non-denominational Christian[1]multi-sitemegachurch based inLake Forest, California. It is the largest church inCalifornia, and one of the largest in the United States of America. The church has several campuses[2] in California and around the world, as well as a number of extensions.[3] Weeklychurch attendance was 30,000 people in 2023. Its senior pastor is Andy Wood, and his wife, Stacie Wood, is a teaching pastor. Saddleback was formerly associated with theSouthern Baptist Convention, until 2023.
In 1979,Rick Warren, recently graduated in theology, settled with his wifeKay in theSaddleback Valley area ofOrange County, California.[4] He began to probe the people in his neighborhood to find out what prevented them from coming to church.[5] 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 six people, the pastor Rick Warren and his wife, in their condo.[6] The firstworship service took place in the "Little Theatre" ofLaguna Hills High School on Palm Sunday, in 1980.[7] In 1995, itdedicated a new building in Lake Forest including a 3,500-seat auditorium.[8]
In 2003, Saddleback Church, Kay and Rick Warren founded theP.E.A.C.E. Plan, ahumanitarian development program for churches.[9][10]
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 SenatorsBarack Obama andSam Brownback.[11]
On August 16, 2008, Rick Warren arranged a meeting between SenatorsJohn McCain and Barack Obama at Saddleback called theCivil Forum on the Presidency.[12] 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.[13]
In 2018, the church said it had baptized 50,000 people since its founding.[14] In November 2018,CBS News listed Saddleback Church as the eleventh largest megachurch in the United States with about 22,055 weekly visitors.[15]
In 2022, Andy Wood became lead pastor.[16]
In 2021, the church was audited for compliance by theSouthern Baptist Convention, after ordaining three women pastors that year and thus acting contrary to the Convention'sconfession of faith (Baptist Faith and Message) which believes that the pastoral ministry is reserved for men.[17] As of February 21, 2023, the church was removed from the SBC membership list due to the hiring of a female pastor in 2022, Stacie Wood, the wife of new senior pastor Andy Wood.[18][19][20] On May 16, the Southern Baptist Convention announced that Saddleback was seeking an appeal to be reinstated in fellowship. In June 2023, when it requested a review of the decision, church representatives present at the annual convention voted 88% to uphold this decision.[21] The church wanted to maintain its affiliation with theCalifornia Southern Baptist Convention,[22] but in October 2023, it decided to leave the state convention as well, in a desire to avoid divisions.[23]
According to a church census released in 2023, it claimed a weekly attendance of 30,000 people and 15campuses in different cities.[24]
The church has aBaptistconfession of faith.[25]
The church offers various programs, such asThe Purpose Driven Church (PDC) curriculum[26] andCelebrate Recovery, anaddiction recovery support group program.[27]
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