Escondido United Reformed Church has been a steady Reformed presence in the Escondido Valley since 1953, when sixteen families gathered to worship God according to the teachings of the Protestant Reformation. Three generations later, the congregation still gathers at the same corner of North Broadway, where morning and evening worship, catechism classes for children, and a wide range of Bible studies and fellowships fill out the week. The church identifies itself as a congregation of the United Reformed Churches in North America and ascribes to the Three Forms of Unity, the historic confessions that have shaped Reformed worship since the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
Founded by Sixteen Families in 1953
The story of Escondido United Reformed Church begins in the early 1950s, when a small group of sixteen families in the Escondido Valley shared a common conviction that they wanted to raise their children in a church that confessed the historic Reformed faith. They organized the congregation in 1953, and in the decades since the church has grown into a community of about five hundred and fifty members. The aim has not changed. The members continue to gather around the Bible as God's complete written revelation for salvation and life, and around the doctrines summarized in the Three Forms of Unity: the Belgic Confession, the Heidelberg Catechism, and the Canons of Dort.
The congregation's stated mission is to glorify God by worshiping Him according to His Word, calling people to repent and believe the gospel of Jesus Christ, grounding them in the historic Reformed faith, and equipping them to serve Christ in the church, the home, the workplace, and every area of life. Pastoral ministry centers on the faithful preaching of the Law and the Gospel, the administration of the sacraments of Baptism and the Lord's Supper, and the shepherding of God's people through ordained pastors and elders.
The Three Forms of Unity and the Ecumenical Creeds
Escondido United Reformed Church takes its doctrinal bearings from three Reformation-era confessions written in the Netherlands. The Belgic Confession (1561) is the congregation's full statement of Reformed belief, set out article by article, declaring who God is, what Scripture teaches, and how Christ saves and builds His church. The Heidelberg Catechism (1563) is a question-and-answer guide to the Christian faith, divided into sections on guilt, grace, and gratitude, and organized around the question of what is the only comfort in life and in death. The Canons of Dort (1619) defend the Bible's teaching that God chooses, calls, and keeps His people in Christ, a defense written in response to the controversy over the doctrines of grace.
Alongside the Three Forms of Unity, the congregation confesses the three ancient creeds of the undivided church: the Apostles' Creed, the church's ancient baptismal confession of the Triune God; the Nicene Creed (325), the church's confession of the full deity of Christ and the doctrine of the Trinity; and the Athanasian Creed, a careful confession of the Trinity and of the two natures of Christ, true God and true man.
Sunday Morning and Evening Worship
The center of church life is the Sunday gathering, and Escondido United Reformed Church holds two services each Lord's Day. Sunday morning worship begins at nine-thirty, followed by Sunday School for all ages at eleven o'clock. Sunday evening worship convenes at five o'clock. Both services follow the same Reformed pattern: the reading of Scripture, the preaching of the Word, corporate prayer, the singing of the Psalms and hymns, and, on the Sundays appointed for it, the celebration of the Lord's Supper. Baptism is administered as families bring forward their children or as adults make public profession of faith.
The worship is intentionally ordered. The congregation believes that God has prescribed how He is to be worshiped in His Word, and the services are shaped by that conviction. Psalms are sung along with historic hymns, and the preaching runs through books of the Bible, often week by week, with sermon series on books such as Romans, Matthew, John, Genesis, Exodus, Acts, 1 Corinthians, Hebrews, and many others. The sermon archive runs back more than two decades and numbers over twenty-seven hundred individual sermons, so visitors can listen online before they ever set foot in the sanctuary.
Plan a Visit: What to Expect
Escondido United Reformed Church welcomes visitors warmly. The dress at the morning service is generally modest and respectful, but there is no dress code: come as you are, ready to hear the Word. After the morning service, cookies and coffee are served outside, a relaxed time to meet members of the congregation and to introduce a family. Nursery care is available for children from birth through age three during both morning and evening worship. Children from age three to five may be brought to Little Lambs, an age-appropriate class that runs during the morning sermon; the children begin in the sanctuary with their parents and are dismissed to the classroom after the morning offering.
Sunday School follows the morning service at eleven o'clock, with classes for all ages from preschool through adult. Adult Sunday School meets in the sanctuary and is open to anyone. Sunday School takes a brief recess over the summer and on certain holiday weekends, and the rest of the year it functions as the congregation's main hour of catechetical instruction: younger children learn the Bible stories and basic doctrine, while students in grades six through twelve work through catechism material drawn straight from the Reformed confessions.
The church building stands at 1864 North Broadway in Escondido. The office is open during the week for anyone with questions about the services, the ministries, or how to get involved.
The Pastoral Staff
The pastors of Escondido United Reformed Church are Rev. Christopher Gordon and Rev. Angelo Contreras. Reverend Gordon serves as the Preaching Pastor. He is a native of Central California who taught high school Bible before entering the ministry. He was ordained to the Ministry of the Word in October 2004 and served as pastor of Lynden United Reformed Church in Washington from 2004 to 2012 before coming to Escondido. He is committed to preaching the whole counsel of God and to leading the congregation in Reformed worship.
Reverend Contreras serves as the Pastor of Congregational Life. A native Northern Californian raised in a Christian home, he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from CSU Stanislaus and worked as a high school teacher before responding to the Lord's call to pastoral ministry. He graduated from Westminster Seminary California in 2011 and has served Escondido United Reformed Church with a focus on discipleship, pastoral care, and the spiritual growth of the members.
The ordained ministry of the church also includes a consistory of elders and deacons elected from the congregation. The elders and deacons care for the spiritual and practical needs of the flock, and alongside the pastors they share in the oversight of the church. Administrative staff support the work of the office, and the church is governed by members who have taken the public vows of profession, baptism, and submission to the government of the church.
Children, Cadets, and GEMS
Children's and youth ministry is one of the most visible parts of life at Escondido United Reformed Church. Little Lambs (ages three to five) meets during the Sunday morning service, and a full Sunday School program runs after the service for ages three through grade twelve. On the first and third Wednesdays of the month, the church building fills with young people from three different programs that meet from six-thirty to eight-thirty in the evening.
GEMS (Girls Everywhere Mentoring and Studying) gathers girls in grades three through eight for Bible lessons, badge work, and crafts, all centered on a saving relationship with Christ. Calvinist Cadets gathers boys in the same age range for Bible study, handcrafts, and outdoor activities, with men of the congregation serving as mentors. The high school youth group meets on the same evenings for games, singing, Bible teaching, a winter retreat, the annual Reformed Youth Services convention, beach nights in the summer, and other gatherings through the year.
Bible Study and Discipleship for Adults
Adult discipleship at Escondido United Reformed Church happens in a number of smaller settings throughout the week. Coffee Break, a women's Bible study, meets Thursday mornings at nine-thirty in the Fireside Room. A second women's Bible Study meets the second and fourth Saturdays of each month at eight o'clock in the morning. The men's Bible study gathers Thursday mornings at nine-thirty in the Council Room. Christian Fellowship, open to all adults, meets the second and fourth Thursday evenings from seven to nine in the Great Room for fellowship and the study of God's Word. Adult Sunday School meets in the sanctuary after morning worship from September through May.
Impact gathers young adults and young marrieds on the first and third Sunday evenings of the month, right after the evening service, for discipleship and gospel fellowship. Thursday Morning Prayer meets the first and third Thursdays at six-thirty in the meeting hall for prayer for the church, the community, and the country.
Two longstanding groups round out the adult ministry. Willing Hands is a women's sewing group that meets on the third Wednesday of each month at nine o'clock in the Great Room, producing items for local charities and missions. Youth of Yesterday, for members fifty-five and older, gathers monthly for coffee at ten-thirty, a program at eleven, and a shared lunch, often joined by students and friends from Calvin Christian School.
Mission: Escondido, Italy, Latin America, and Beyond
Escondido United Reformed Church has long understood itself as a sending congregation. Four main mission efforts are supported directly by the members.
The first is Mission Milan, where Rev. Mike Brown works alongside Chiesa Riformata Filadelfia, preaching, teaching, and providing pastoral care in a city the church describes as needing the gospel, with the goal of planting sound, Christ-centered churches in northern Italy. The second is the Costa Rica and Latin America work coordinated through MINTS, led by Rev. Bill and Aletha Green, who have served for more than thirty years in Reformed missions across Costa Rica and Latin America with church planting, Christian education, leadership training, and Reformed publishing.
The third is a local Hispanic ministry called Misión Vida Nueva, led by Rev. Juan Arjona, which proclaims the gospel and worships Christ right in Escondido in Spanish, addressing the surrounding community in their own language and culture. The fourth is Abounding Grace Radio, a broadcast ministry that teaches historic Protestant theology and the gospel of grace alone through faith alone to unbelievers and strengthens believers. A fifth outreach supports Reformed Presbyterian churches and orphanages in Baja California with construction, training, and outreach.
Becoming a Member
Membership at Escondido United Reformed Church is a public profession of faith in Jesus Christ before the congregation. Those received as members take vows: they believe and confess the doctrine of salvation as summarized in the historic Creeds and Confessions; they rest in Christ alone for salvation, accepting God's covenant promise as it is signified and sealed in baptism; they declare their love for the Lord and their heartfelt desire to serve Him according to His Word; and they promise to submit to the government of the church, and to submit to admonition and discipline if they should become wayward in doctrine or in life.
Anyone considering membership is invited to speak with one of the pastors, beginning with Rev. Angelo Contreras. Prospective members then take a New Members Class covering the gospel and the membership vows, the doctrinal standards of the Three Forms of Unity, the church's church order and how the congregation is governed, and the life and ministries of the church. Members are then received by public profession of faith before the congregation, or by transfer from another Reformed church.
Steady on the Corner of North Broadway
More than seventy years after sixteen families first gathered in the Escondido Valley, the work of preaching the Word, administering the sacraments, shepherding the flock, and sending missionaries near and far continues at the corner of North Broadway. Sundays bring two distinct worship services around the same confessional center. Wednesdays fill the rooms with GEMS, Cadets, and the high school youth group. Weekday mornings and evenings gather women, men, and adults of every age around the Bible. And the mission budget stretches from Escondido to Milan to Costa Rica to Baja, supported by members who pray, give, and go.
Those who would like more information about any of these ministries, or who would like to plan a first visit, are welcome to contact the church office at 1864 North Broadway, Escondido, California 92026, or by telephone at (760) 745-1679 during the week.