Carlton Oaks Baptist Church is in a peaceful neighborhood of Santee, California, at 9225 Carlton Oaks Drive. This Southern Baptist congregation is known for verse-by-verse expository preaching, active congregational singing, Bible-centered discipleship, and a sustained commitment to missions and service. Its threefold purpose - Worship God, Grow in Christ, and Serve the World - expresses both its identity and the way it organizes life together.
From Carmen’s Café to Carlton Oaks Drive
On Easter Sunday, March 29, 1959, Pastor Harry Coats held the congregation’s first service at Carmen’s Café for 17 people. By October 1, the church was officially constituted with 38 charter members and was meeting at 9598 and 9600 Halberns Boulevard. Those early gatherings set in motion a history marked by successive pastors, building milestones, and a transition to elder-led governance.
Jerry Harris was installed as pastor in August 1960, and construction began on the current building on December 2, 1961. Seth Anderson became pastor in October 1965. A fire gutted the building on October 22, 1980; the congregation rebuilt and dedicated a new church building on February 17, 1981, just 60 days later. A mortgage-burning ceremony on October 27, 1985 marked another milestone.
Terrell Eldreth was called as pastor in September 1991, Eric Maggio in September 2011, and Craig Barnett on August 27, 2017. The church’s name became Carlton Oaks Baptist Church on March 4, 2019. On April 4, 2021, it transitioned to government by a plurality of elders. Bill Rossman became the first lay elder, and four individuals were appointed as deacons and deaconesses after more than 20 years without those offices.
A Lord’s Day of Study, Worship and Spanish Ministry
Carlton Oaks gathers on the Lord’s Day for three recurring gatherings:
- 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. Sunday Morning Bible Study, with adults meeting in the Fellowship Hall
- 10:30 a.m. Lord’s Day Worship Service
- 12:30 p.m. Spanish Worship Service
Greeters assist people as they arrive and can help them find the Fellowship Hall. First-time visitors are invited to complete a contact card in the back of the pews, giving the church a way to welcome them and connect with them. The 10:30 service includes the reading of Scripture, a blend of traditional hymns and contemporary praise music, 35 to 40 minutes of expository preaching, and corporate prayer.
Families are welcomed to worship together in the main service, and children are considered an important part of the church’s life. The church’s approach to attire is deliberately relaxed: guests are invited to dress casually and focus on worship rather than worry about what they wear. A separate Spanish-language service follows at 12:30 p.m.
Expository Preaching and Singing as One Church
Expository preaching is central to Carlton Oaks’ pulpit ministry. The goal is for the biblical text to remain the message of the sermon, with the passage explained in its historical, cultural, and linguistic context and then applied to everyday Christian living. The church works through books of the Bible and topical subjects with the aim of producing spiritual growth, unity in doctrine, and effective service. Its sermon library organizes messages under Scripture, speaker, and topical collections.
Congregational singing is equally important. The church emphasizes active participation and the singing of psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, joining an older hymn tradition with contemporary praise. Livestreaming has been discontinued, while the sermon library remains available for accessing the church’s biblical teaching.
Bible Study That Moves Into Daily Life
Carlton Oaks treats Bible study as essential Christian practice rather than simply a religious exercise. Scripture is approached as God’s inspired instruction for teaching, correction, training in righteousness, and practical wisdom. The study groups seek to deepen understanding, strengthen faith, encourage one another, and apply biblical truths in daily life.
- Adult Bible Study: A diverse group studying the Bible together. Its study has included Deuteronomy, 1 Corinthians, and 2 Corinthians.
- Men’s Discipleship: A community centered on Scripture, personal transformation, developing leaders, community engagement, and fulfilling the Great Commission.
- Women’s Bible Study and Discipleship: Active classes that provide opportunities for women to study God’s Word and grow in faith together.
- Meeting the Christian Life: A Monday-night community devoted to discipleship, fellowship, and spiritual growth through the study of J.I. Packer’s Knowing God.
Sunday fellowship adds worship, study, prayer, encouragement, accountability, service, and breaking bread to the church’s life together. Service is also expressed through practical roles: the church lists ride-share assistance, its work crew, early-morning men’s coffee discussions, book reviews, Bible-study leaders, the sound room, choir, nursery, children’s Bible study, and hospitality among its opportunities for participation.
Children and Families in the Worshiping Church
Children’s ministry is led by Janet Brent, and Carlton Oaks places high value on teaching children God’s Word. Families are invited to remain together for the main worship service rather than treating children as separate from the church’s central gathering. Nursery and children’s Bible study are among the volunteer ministries through which the church includes younger generations in congregational life.
A quiet Family Training Room is available from 10:30 a.m. until noon. Located at the back of the sanctuary and furnished like a cozy living room, it gives families with babies or young children a calm place to follow the service. The combination of family participation, age-specific volunteer ministries, and a quiet room reflects the church’s stated welcome for families.
A Covenant Family in Santee
Carlton Oaks describes the church as a family united through the redemptive work of Jesus Christ, not as a business or club. Its members enter a covenant to support, love, challenge, and assist one another on the spiritual journey. Membership is active rather than merely nominal: members covenant to worship, pray, pursue holiness, encourage one another, participate in the church’s life, and bear one another’s burdens.
The church covenant begins with repentance and faith in Jesus Christ and baptism by immersion. Members promise to sustain an evangelical ministry through worship, discipline, doctrine, believer’s baptism, and the Lord’s Supper; to contribute regularly to the ministry and the spread of the gospel; not to forsake gathering together or prayer; and to pursue unity in the bond of peace. The covenant also calls on adults to bring up children under their care in the faith, to care for spiritual and material needs as they are able, and to live as representatives of Christ.
Biblical Leadership Shared by Elders and Deacons
Carlton Oaks is governed by a plurality of elders. Pastors, elders, and overseers represent the same biblical office while emphasizing different aspects of the same responsibility: faithful preaching, teaching, shepherding, spiritual oversight, and wise governance. Craig Barnett serves as pastor and elder, Bill Rossman as a lay elder, and Fred McCleskey as an elder. Together, they provide collective pastoral care and accountability for the congregation.
Deacons and deaconesses serve the church’s practical needs and model servant leadership. The congregation participates in decisions under godly leadership, exercises biblical authority in matters of church discipline, makes decisions by majority, and bears responsibility for guarding doctrine. Janet Barnett leads women’s ministries, Sandee Rossman directs music ministry, and Janet Brent leads children’s ministries. Staff and volunteers also serve in areas including outreach, hospitality, sound, and the daily work required to sustain church life.
The Gospel Carlton Oaks Proclaims
Carlton Oaks holds the Bible to be its primary, authoritative, infallible, and inerrant source for faith and practice. It affirms the Baptist Faith and Message, 2000, and also values the Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy and the Statement on Social Justice and the Gospel. The Apostles’ Creed, Nicene Creed, Chalcedonian Definition, and London Baptist Confession are recognized as historical defenses of foundational Christian truth rather than as new sources of doctrine.
Its statement of the gospel begins with God as Creator, perfectly holy and just, and with human beings who were created good but became sinful by nature and choice. Because of that sinfulness, people are alienated from God and subject to his judgment. Yet God loves humanity. Jesus Christ is fully God and fully human, lived a sinless life, died on the cross to bear God’s wrath for those who believe, and rose from the grave. His death and resurrection provide forgiveness and eternal life, and God calls everyone to turn from sin and trust in Christ.
Salvation is a gift accomplished by grace through faith, not a result of human works. Regeneration, justification, sanctification, and glorification are central to the church’s understanding of salvation. The church is described as an autonomous local congregation of baptized believers associated by covenant in the faith and fellowship of the gospel. Christian baptism is immersion in water in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, while the Lord’s Supper is a symbolic act of obedience through which the church remembers Christ’s death and anticipates his return. The first day of the week is the Lord’s Day, and the Great Commission to make disciples is central to the church’s mission.
Missions Reaching From Santee to Fiji and Thailand
Missionary support is a defining part of Carlton Oaks’ outward ministry. As a member of the Southern Baptist Convention, the church participates in the Cooperative Program, which supports evangelism, relief work, church planting, and leadership development through the North American Mission Board and International Mission Board. The church also works with the Pillar Network, a community of Southern Baptist and International Baptist churches focused on being doctrinally aligned, missionally driven, and active in church planting and renewal.
Carlton Oaks has committed to the long-term support of Michael and Jordan Seehusen, who have served in Fiji and the South Pacific since July 2019. Working with faithful leaders in local churches and the College of Theology and Evangelism, Fiji, they seek to strengthen churches throughout the region. Michael’s primary assignment is to establish a biblical counseling training program that will equip students and pastors to counsel and shepherd their congregations. The church has also formed a partnership with Jonathan and Bethany Derbyshire and their family, who are equipping and discipling students in Thailand to spread the gospel across Asia. Their sending church is Pillar Church in Washington, D.C.
Through the California Southern Baptist Convention, Carlton Oaks helps strengthen churches across California. The California Mission Offering supports church starting, disaster relief, association projects, and migrant ministry. The Annie Armstrong Easter Offering supports Southern Baptist mission work in the United States and Canada, while the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering supports international missions. This network of giving and partnership reflects the church’s conviction that making disciples, sharing the gospel, extending mercy, and supporting healthy churches belong together.
Mercy for Housing, Hunger and Life
Carlton Oaks’ commitment to love and serve people is visible in several local and global partnerships:
- East County Transitional Living Center: The church supports an organization providing housing for men, women, and children and a holistic path out of homelessness.
- Santee Food Bank: Support for this local ministry helps address hunger among neighbors in Santee.
- Operation Christmas Child: The church supports Samaritan’s Purse in sending gift-filled shoeboxes to children around the world.
- Pregnancy Care Clinic: The church supports a ministry offering life-affirming support, truth, and refuge for women considering the life of their unborn children.
These partnerships place tangible care beside the church’s teaching and preaching. Supporting people experiencing homelessness or hunger, caring for children, and offering help to women facing unexpected pregnancies all reflect the church’s stated aim of loving neighbors, doing good, and extending God’s mercy.
Giving as Faithful Stewardship
Online giving is available through a secure Church Center payment center. Carlton Oaks is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, making gifts tax-deductible. Tithes and offerings support both the church’s operating needs and its ministry in the region and beyond, while the finance team emphasizes ethical business practices, accountability, and faithful stewardship. No collection plate is passed during the service; worshipers can place tithes and offerings in the plate at the back of the main chapel at the end of the regular Sunday service. Online giving and in-person offerings are the two practical ways to contribute.
Finding Carlton Oaks and Moving Around Campus
Carlton Oaks is at 9225 Carlton Oaks Drive, Santee, California 92071. Carlton Hills Boulevard is the main north-and-south street near the church, while Mission Gorge Road is the main east-and-west road connecting with Carlton Oaks Drive. From Interstate 8, travelers take the CA-67 North exit toward Ramona, exit at Prospect Avenue, turn right, then turn right onto Mission Gorge Road. Turning left onto Carlton Hills Boulevard and then left onto Carlton Oaks Drive brings them to the church on the left.
Travelers approaching from CA-52 take the Cuyamaca Street exit and head north. A left turn leads onto Mission Gorge Road, followed by a right onto Carlton Hills Boulevard and a left onto Carlton Oaks Drive. The church again appears on the left. The campus map identifies the main sanctuary, Fellowship Hall, classrooms, and outdoor spaces, helping visitors locate worship, Bible-study, and community areas. Additional visitor information covers the worship service, children’s options, dress, and parking.
The main parking lot is directly in front of the church building, with additional parking around the campus for larger gatherings and events. Accessible routes are marked for people with mobility needs. The church office is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and the congregation’s general phone number is (619) 448-4471.
A Continuing Witness in Santee
From 17 people gathered at Carmen’s Café to a congregation worshiping at 9225 Carlton Oaks Drive, Carlton Oaks Baptist Church has grown through changing pastors, a devastating fire, a rebuilt building, and a move to elder-led governance. Its identity remains centered on the word of Christ, prayer, congregational song, discipleship, covenant fellowship, and active service. Carlton Oaks Baptist Church continues in Santee to worship God, grow in Christ, and serve the world.