At 615 W. Citracado Parkway in Escondido, New Life Presbyterian Church gathers under a simple weekly rhythm: Sundays at 9:30 a.m., in person and online, to hear from God's Word, worship together, and build community. New Life is known for its gospel-centered teaching and places Jesus Christ at the center of its preaching, ministries, counseling, service, and mission work.
Sunday at 9:30 on Citracado Parkway
Each Sunday, the congregation gathers for what New Life describes as warm community, heartfelt worship, biblical preaching, and a practical sermon. Those worshiping in person are invited to stay for coffee on the patio and meet the people of the church. The church's goal for those attending is to help them grow closer to God as part of a community where they are fully known and fully loved.
New Life offers one especially welcoming rule for newcomers: ask anyone for that person's name as many times as needed. The emphasis is not on knowing everything at once, but on becoming known through regular gathering and genuine conversation.
The in-person gathering is at 615 W. Citracado Pkwy, Escondido, CA 92025. Worship is conducted in English and may be joined in person or through the church's live stream. Previous messages remain available in a sermon collection that can be filtered by speaker, Scripture, and date.
Jesus Christ at the Center of New Life's Mission
New Life describes its mission with three verbs: worshiping the God of the gospel, growing in grace together as a church, and communicating the changeless Christ to a changing culture. Jesus Christ is the focus of all the church does because, as New Life explains, the congregation is grateful for the gift of salvation he earned and has given.
Seven values give practical shape to that mission:
- Biblical: Scripture is the infallible authority and defines everything the church says and does.
- Unity: The church pursues unity over efficiency and leads through consensus.
- Respect: Everyone is esteemed and embraced as an image bearer of God.
- Humility: Others are counted more important.
- Integrity: Truth and grace drive the church's work.
- Service: Everyone uses God-given gifts and skills to serve others.
- Excellence: The church seeks excellence in everything it does.
New Life connects these values with the historic Christian faith while giving expression to the particular people and leadership of its Escondido congregation. Its Christ-centered emphasis is joined to a distinctly Reformed theology, and the church's study collection includes the Westminster Confession of Faith, the Shorter and Larger Catechisms, the Heidelberg Catechism, the Apostles' and Nicene Creeds, and materials on Calvinism and covenant theology. Resources on infant baptism and preparing children to profess faith in Jesus support the church's work with families.
New Life Kids: Each Child Taught, Welcomed, and Included
New Life Kids partners with families to teach children the Gospel so they can be presented mature in Christ. The church's goal is for children to know how to worship God, respond to his love, and follow him. Biblical instruction, singing, hands-on activities, and group interaction are central to that work.
Sunday programs begin with the 9:30 a.m. worship gathering and cover four age groups:
- Nursery, newborn to 2.5 years: Competent, screened adults and teens care for these children during the worship service.
- Toddler's Church, 2.5 to 3.5 years: This optional program begins once the sermon starts and helps children learn to worship through singing.
- Children's Church, 3.5 years to kindergarten: Children are also welcome to remain in the sanctuary so they can worship with the congregation as a covenant family.
- Sunday School, grades 1 through 5: Classes meet after worship. Grades 1 and 2 meet in Room 6, and grades 3 through 5 meet in Room 4, except on first Sundays.
Wednesday Family Night continues the teaching through Gems and Cadets, a program for grades 1 through 5 that meets from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. from September through May. Bible study and faith-based activities give children another way to engage with the Gospel during the week.
Children can also follow along with the sermon through a child-friendly youth bulletin designed to highlight the main points in a format suited to younger listeners.
Youth Built Around Gospel Teaching, Fellowship, and Outreach
New Life Youth serves students in grades 6 through 12 with the stated aim of presenting them mature in Christ. The Sunday program follows the 9:30 a.m. worship service, except on the first Sunday of the month. Middle school and high school students have separate lessons designed to deepen their knowledge of the Bible, grow in love for Jesus, and help them articulate and defend their faith.
The Wednesday gathering runs from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. during the September-through-May season. Games, singing, small groups, and biblical teaching around issues faced by middle school and high school students make the evening a combination of instruction and fellowship. The summer schedule varies.
Three priorities shape youth ministry:
- Teaching: God's Word is treated as the ultimate authority in faith and life, sufficient to teach, reprove, correct, and train people in righteousness.
- Fellowship: Students are encouraged to build relationships, support one another through trials, and grow together as a family in Christ.
- Outreach: Youth participate in activities that support both local and global mission work, learning to love and serve the people around them.
Life Groups: The Center of Connection and Care
New Life intends every member and regular attender to be part of a Life Group. Each group has a leader and is overseen by an elder and deacon team. Life Groups are described as the primary places where people receive shepherding from church leaders and from one another, combining the vertical care of leadership with the horizontal care of shared community.
The groups are relationships of discipleship rather than simply classes. Their purpose is to help people become known and cared for while they experience spiritual growth. Life Group leaders can also connect people with appropriate support within the congregation.
Possible forms of help include deaconate services, meals, elderly care, transportation for people with special needs, biblical counseling, and spiritual guidance from elders and pastors. This network allows the practical care described in the church's mission to happen through close, ongoing relationships.
Women, Men, Evergreens, and the Garden
Women in the Word, Rooted Women, and Women Side-by-Side
New Life's Women's Ministry serves women of all ages and backgrounds and commits itself to spiritual growth, discipleship, and service. Its groups are multigenerational and emphasize encouragement, accountability, friendship, and spiritual growth.
Women in the Word meets on Mondays at 6:30 p.m. on Zoom and on Wednesdays from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. in the Youth Building, with childcare available for the Wednesday study. Rooted Women meets on Tuesdays from 12:30 to 2:00 p.m. in the Youth Building and on Wednesdays from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. at New Life House. Children's, youth, and men's programs run concurrently with the Wednesday evening study.
Women Side-by-Side meets twice monthly on Fridays from 9:30 to 11:00 a.m. in a New Life classroom, and childcare is available. The ministry also hosts occasional park gatherings for mothers with young children and other women interested in fellowship, along with hikes and brunches. A women's encouragement team makes itself available for conversation by phone, a visit, or a meeting over coffee.
Men's Bible Study and Practical Work
The Men's Ministry serves men of all ages and backgrounds through weekly Bible studies, occasional Hot Topics series, and studies shared with women. Its aim is both spiritual growth and service, helping men use their abilities in the life of the church and community.
The New Life Men's Work Group assists individuals and families with practical projects such as yard work, basic home repairs, and moving household items. The group is coordinated by Brad Lawhorn, and volunteers can share their availability and skills.
Evergreens for Senior Members
The Evergreens gather for retired and retired-from-career members who want to remain active in mind and body. Their monthly gathering takes place on the fourth Thursday from September through May, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the Youth Building.
Evergreens study God's Word, encourage one another, serve when there is work to do, comfort one another in sorrow, lend a hand when help is needed, and celebrate together in joy. Their threefold pattern is to grow in love for God, care for one another through the challenges of aging, and share their time, interests, talents, and experience with the church when they are able.
Garden Group
New Life's Garden Group grows produce, flowers, and citrus for members and regular attenders. The garden also creates opportunities for groups to serve, enjoy fellowship, and grow in discipleship together.
Enfold: Belonging for Every Mind and Body
Enfold exists to help individuals with intellectual and physical disabilities engage with the Gospel in meaningful ways. Its work includes fellowship, adapted Bible study, service opportunities, friendship, classroom support, and accommodations during worship. The aim is to welcome people and their families into the full life of the church rather than separating them from it.
Friends of Jesus is an adapted Bible study designed specifically for individuals with cognitive disabilities. It meets weekly on Thursdays from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. in the Youth Building. Enfold Ministry Director Pastor Kevin Daane leads this ministry and has also taught on the Gospel and disability, including the history of the church and its scriptural responsibilities.
New Life describes Enfold as a small but valued ministry that supports people with physical and mental disabilities while preparing to reach neighbors with disabilities. It also recognizes the importance of caring for an aging congregation so that older members can remain included and supported.
New Life House: Biblical Counseling
New Life House is the church's counseling ministry and is described as another environment for growing closer to God, one another, and neighbors. The counseling team provides biblical counseling free of charge to members and regular attenders.
The ministry addresses personal challenges such as anxiety, depression, questions about life direction, grief and loss, loneliness, chronic illness, and pain. It also supports people dealing with marriage, family and parenting, caregiving, blended families, and adolescent issues. The scope reflects the reality that people need help through many stages of life, not only during a crisis.
New Life's approach looks to Scripture as the ultimate source of wisdom. Biblical counseling considers people as saints, sufferers, and sinners and directs them toward hope and practical change through a deepening relationship with Jesus Christ. The counseling team includes Kristen Bons, Dianna Huston, Kendra Fabel, Jason Barrie, and Ji Hee Kim, with Jason Barrie also serving as Staff Director of the Counseling Center.
From Stanford Law to the Escondido Pulpit
Senior Pastor Ted Hamilton is a native Southern Californian who completed his undergraduate work and law degree at Stanford. After law school, he joined O'Melveny & Myers and practiced there for 14 years, serving as a partner during his final five years. He resigned from the firm in 1997 and enrolled at Westminster Seminary California in Escondido.
Hamilton graduated in 2000 and then served as Pastor of Adult Ministries at Voyagers Bible Church in Irvine. After a year in that role, he received the call to become New Life's Senior Pastor. His background gives him both legal training and theological preparation for the work of shepherding a congregation, while his love of the outdoors has also produced interests in fly fishing, backpacking, and skiing.
The church's pastoral and ministry leadership includes James Kwak as Worship and Youth Pastor, Brian White as Assistant Pastor, Allison Van Egmond as Women's Ministry Coordinator, Irene Lee as Children's Ministry Director, and Kevin Daane as Enfold Ministry Director. Jason Barrie, Kevin Daane, Julius Kim, and Peter Jones serve as teaching elders. Together, this team reflects the church's priorities of biblical instruction, worship, discipleship, care, service, and inclusion.
Sharing the Good News from Escondido to the World
New Life's mission work is both local and global, carried through prayer, financial support, personal encouragement, and hands-on care. The church describes those it has received the Bread of Heaven as people who want to share God's amazing grace with others. Its stated areas of focus include:
- carrying the message of new life in Christ to distant places and different cultures to plant churches;
- translating the Bible for people who have never read God's Word in their own language;
- training, educating, and mentoring pastors and evangelists;
- nurturing adolescents and young adults into strong adult followers of Christ;
- exposing and critiquing current threats to the church's faith;
- caring for pregnant women;
- promoting God-glorifying reconciliation among Christians; and
- meeting the material and spiritual needs of Spanish-speaking neighbors on both sides of the United States-Mexico border.
The congregation provides financial support for a wide circle of missionaries and ministry partners. Among them are Antonio Coppola with Mukhanyo Theological College in Pretoria, South Africa; CJ and Angelina Francis with RUF Lehman College in New York; Dave Eby in Uganda; David and Dawn Diaso with MTW Hispanic ministries in San Diego and Baja California; David and Eowyn Stoddard with MTW in Germany; John and Aimee Gordon with SportXChange in Panama; Vincenzo and Judit Coluccia with a church plant in Lecce, Italy; and Luke and Sokha Smith with MTW in Cambodia.
Financially supported organizations include Alternatives Medical Clinic, Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation, Haven Today, Hope for San Diego, PCA Covenant College, PCA Mission to North America, PCA Mission to the World, PCA South Coast Presbytery, PCA Committee on Discipleship Ministries, PCA Reformed University Fellowship, Rafiki Foundation-Africa, Redeemer City to City, TruthXchange, Westminster Seminary California, Teranga Village in Senegal, Mision Vida Nueva in Escondido, and Covenant Waterfall Church in Durban, South Africa.
The local and global strands of this work are closely connected. Support for Mision Vida Nueva in Escondido, Haven Today, and Hope for San Diego places the Escondido congregation alongside ministries serving people in its own region, while mission partners extend that same fellowship into other cultures and countries. Financial support for missions is available through online giving, including one-time and recurring gifts.
Growing in Grace Between Sundays
New Life's online library supports the church's emphasis on growing in grace. It brings together Reformed theology, covenant theology, Calvinism, creeds, confessions, catechisms, and additional Christian literature. The collection also includes resources for infant baptism and helping children make a profession of faith in Jesus.
A mobile app keeps the church calendar, service opportunities, and other resources connected for congregants. It is available through the App Store. The same emphasis on connection extends through the church's ministry groups, where study, service, prayer, friendship, and care are woven together.
Service opportunities range from children's ministry and youth activities to the Men's Work Group, Garden Group, Life Groups, missions, worship, and counseling support. Volunteers can indicate the area in which they want to serve, while a spiritual-gifts assessment is offered for those looking for a place where their abilities can be used.
Membership follows a deliberate path. Those seeking to join New Life take part in an interview with elders and pastors, connecting the church's formal membership process with its larger pattern of known relationships, shepherding, and service.
At its core, New Life's life in Escondido moves from a 9:30 a.m. Sunday gathering into the classrooms, homes, counseling rooms, gardens, workplaces, and neighborhoods where the church's people live. At New Life Presbyterian Church, that whole rhythm remains anchored in the conviction that shaped its mission: Jesus Christ is the focus of all that they do.