Saddleback Church sits on Saddleback Parkway in Lake Forest, in the heart of Orange County, California. The church's own story begins not with a building or a denomination, but with two young church planters, a dream, and a map. Rick and Kay Warren felt called to plant a church for people who did not like church, and God led them to Southern California. Their first service was held on April 6, 1980. Over the next forty-three years, Saddleback moved through multiple locations, raised funds for permanent buildings, launched campuses in California and around the world, and baptized more than 50,000 people. In September 2022, Saddleback welcomed Pastor Andy Wood as its new lead pastor, opening a fresh chapter in the church's story.
Today the church describes its mission with a single sentence: "We exist to urgently lead people to say 'yes' to Jesus and his purposes for their lives." That sense of urgency, paired with the Warrens' original impulse to welcome those who had given up on church, still shapes the way Saddleback talks about itself.
From a Dream and a Map to Fifty Thousand Baptisms
Saddleback's founding story is the kind the church returns to often. Rick and Kay Warren were young church planters with a vision for a congregation aimed at people who had written off church entirely. The first service gathered in Southern California on April 6, 1980. Over the decades that followed, Saddleback grew by relocating, building permanent facilities, and planting campuses - first across Southern California, then across the country, and eventually across the world. More than 50,000 people have been baptized in Saddleback's name.
Pastor Andy Wood and his wife Stacie moved to Orange County in the summer of 2022 with their three children, Caedmon, Sammy, and Karis, to follow what they describe as God's call to lead Saddleback. Saddleback describes Pastor Andy as someone with "a deep passion for developing leaders and planting life-giving churches around the world." The church's own framing of the transition is unembarrassed about looking forward: "As we step into the future, we're believing God will do more than we could ever ask for or imagine. Our best days are ahead."
A Family of Churches on Four Continents
Saddleback is no longer a single congregation on a single street. The church describes itself as having "locations on four continents, dozens of extensions, and a thriving online community." In Southern California, Saddleback runs locations in Anaheim, Brea, Corona, Huntington Beach, Irvine North, Irvine South, Lake Forest, Laguna Woods, San Diego, San Juan Capistrano, South Bay (Lomita), Temecula Valley, and Whittier, plus a Mandarin Community fellowship. The South Bay campus meets at 24730 Narbonne Avenue in Lomita, the Whittier campus at 15315 Leffingwell Road, and the Huntington Beach extension meets at Grace Church on Edinger Avenue.
East Asia includes the Hong Kong campus at The Sparkle, 500 Tung Chau Street in Cheung Sha Wan, and Saddleback's work in the Philippines, with campuses in Davao and Santa Rosa. In Argentina, Saddleback Buenos Aires meets on Mario Bravo in the Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires. The international line-up also includes Saddleback Berlin in Germany and the Vancouver Community in British Columbia, a gathering that operates under the Saddleback Hong Kong Vancouver umbrella.
Every Saddleback campus is treated as a real congregation with its own office, its own email, and its own pastoral contact. The Online Community is treated as a campus in its own right, with its own pastor, Charissa Goulard, who has been part of Saddleback her entire life. Charissa joined the Online Community team in 2021 and now leads a church family that Saddleback describes as spanning the world.
A Weekend at Saddleback
A typical weekend service at Saddleback runs about sixty to seventy minutes and includes live worship and a message. The church's own answer to "What should I wear?" is characteristically relaxed: "Most people dress very casually when they attend a service - t-shirt, jeans, and tennis shoes. But you are welcome to wear whatever you'd like." Visitors arriving on a weekend are met at what Saddleback calls The Hub (or, in the Spanish version of the site, the Centro de Conexión), where Welcome Team members walk first-time guests to the right room, including the Saddleback Kids check-in desk.
The whole church is offered in five languages: English, Spanish (Español), Filipino, Simplified Chinese (简体中文), and Traditional Chinese (繁體中文), with full localized versions of the main pages in each language. Saddleback Kids and Saddleback Student Ministries both offer services for kids and students at every campus, with greeters ready to point families the right way.
For people who cannot get to a physical campus, the Online Community holds live services on Saturday at 4:00 PM and 6:00 PM Pacific time, with the recorded Online Community worship service made available on demand at 10:30 PM Pacific on Saturday and running through the following Saturday afternoon. The full livestream is also available in the Saddleback app and on YouTube.
Saddleback Kids: Birth Through Fifth Grade
Saddleback Kids, often shortened to SK, is the children's ministry for kids from birth through fifth grade. The program is structured around three classrooms. Infants and Toddlers (birth through age 2) focus on building trust through consistent care, with time for singing, bubble popping, and age-appropriate toys. Early Childhood (age 3 through kindergarten) introduces a curriculum built around movement, play, and a Bible story, with space to color, dance, and join in the teaching. Elementary (grades 1 through 5) is designed to help kids problem-solve, think deeply, and process the questions they are starting to ask, in an environment where church is fun and safe.
Every SK classroom has at least two adult leaders who have completed Saddleback's volunteer orientation, an interview, a comprehensive background check, and training. If the church needs to reach a parent during a service, the team sends a text to the phone number provided at check-in. A separate track within Saddleback Kids, called Super Kids and Teens, offers sensory and language-enriched lessons for children with special needs. Parents can reach the team at SaddlebackKids@saddleback.com.
Beyond Sunday morning, Saddleback Kids runs Kids Small Groups, a mid-week discipleship program for kindergarten through fifth grade that meets at campuses including Anaheim, Brea, Lake Forest, Irvine North, Santa Rosa, and Whittier. The ministry also marks two family milestones: a Kids Baptism Class for children who have expressed interest in being baptized, and a Child Dedication ceremony, which begins with a Child Dedication Class for parents. Each summer, Saddleback runs Summer Blast, a day-camp style week for kids entering kindergarten through fifth grade the following fall.
Saddleback Student Ministries and College
Saddleback Student Ministries (SSM) is the umbrella for everything the church does with teens and young adults, organized into three age groups. Junior High covers sixth through eighth grade, High School covers ninth through twelfth grade, and College Ministry is for ages 18 to 22. Junior high and high school students are invited into weekend services, Life Groups, and a calendar of special events. The college ministry is described as "the perfect place to find community to help navigate our understanding of identity, our purpose in Jesus, and find belonging in the church."
SSM weekend services consist of a biblically based and age-appropriate message, worship, and time to hang out. Every student ministries adult leader has completed the same volunteer orientation, interview, background check, and training required of Saddleback Kids leaders. Summer camps are offered throughout the year for students to get away and learn about Jesus together, and a baptism interest path is available for any student who wants to take that step.
Activate: The Front Door
For adults who are new to Saddleback, the front door is a one-hour class called Activate. Saddleback describes it as "a one-hour experience designed to help you connect with Jesus, find community at Saddleback, and take practical next steps to grow in your faith." Activate is offered in all five of the church's languages - English, Spanish, Filipino, Simplified Chinese, and Traditional Chinese - so newcomers can take the first step in the language they pray in.
Activate is designed to be approachable. It runs one hour. Anyone can attend. Participants only need to bring themselves; the church provides a booklet and a pen. Pre-registration is encouraged but not required, and walk-ups are welcome. Childcare is available through Saddleback Kids on campus during the experience. The end goal of Activate is the same as the end goal of the church: people move from "I want to follow Jesus" to "I'm part of this family." Activation is also a prerequisite for formal church membership at Saddleback, along with baptism by immersion and a signed Membership Agreement.
Small Groups and Dream Teams
Beyond Sunday, the small-group system is Saddleback's primary engine for adult discipleship. Small groups meet during a defined semester (the current semester runs from mid-September through mid-December) and are organized around shared interests, life stages, and neighborhoods. The church publishes a Talk It Over guide each week so groups can discuss the weekend message, and Saddleback has partnered with STUDYGateway to give group leaders access to dozens of video Bible studies. A separate Small Group Leader Training is offered for first-time leaders, and an On Purpose Parents podcast and other resources are available for parents who want to use the small-group model in their parenting.
For people who want to serve, Saddleback organizes its serving opportunities into Dream Teams. The named teams include Kids, Students, Connections (greeting, usher, baptism, and Hub teams), Worship (music), Production (audio, video, lighting, and stage direction), Communications (photography, videography, design, marketing, and storytelling), Care (prayer, pre-marital preparation, counseling, and support groups), Ministry Support (administration, data, accounting, and special projects), and Missions (local service, teaching skills, and church planting). Each Dream Team has its own sign-up path through the Saddleback app or website.
To help people find their place, Saddleback offers a SHAPE tool. SHAPE stands for Spiritual Gifts, Heart, Abilities, Personality, and Experiences, and is the framework the church uses to match volunteers to a Dream Team.
Celebrate Recovery: A Twelve-Step Path to Freedom
Celebrate Recovery is a centerpiece of Saddleback's care ministry, described by the church as "a Jesus-centered, 12-step program open to anyone looking for freedom from their hurts, hang-ups, and habits." A typical Celebrate Recovery evening has three parts: a Large Group gathering for worship and a teaching or testimony, Open Share groups that break out by gender and by specific issues, and Step Studies that meet separately as year-long, weekly, gender-specific groups for people who want to go deeper into the "why" behind their habits and behaviors.
Celebrate Recovery meets at Saddleback campuses every day of the week. On Sundays at 6:00 PM the South Bay campus gathers at 24730 Narbonne Avenue in Lomita. Mondays at 7:00 PM bring meetings at Anaheim (2095 E. Katella Avenue) and San Juan Capistrano (29251 Camino Capistrano). Tuesdays at 6:30 PM the San Diego campus hosts a meeting at 15015 Avenue of Science. Wednesdays at 6:30 PM Whittier meets at 15315 Leffingwell Road; the Hong Kong campus meets at The Sparkle in Cheung Sha Wan at 7:30 PM; and the Santa Rosa campus in the Philippines meets at 7:00 PM at 8001 Laguna Boulevard. Thursdays at 7:00 PM the Huntington Beach extension meets at Grace Church on Edinger Avenue, with a women-only Laguna Woods Open Share on Zoom at 3:00 PM. Fridays at 7:30 PM the Buenos Aires campus hosts a Spanish-language meeting on Mario Bravo, and at 7:00 PM the Lake Forest campus gathers at 1 Saddleback Parkway. On Saturdays at 12:30 PM, the Brea campus hosts a women-only Open Share at 3230 E Imperial Highway.
Prayer as the First Response
Prayer sits at the center of how Saddleback talks about itself. "Prayer is our first response, not our last resort." Prayer is how the church communes and communicates with God, and the way Jesus himself regularly stepped away to pray is the model.
The weekly rhythm is built around Wednesday Prayer, a 7:00 AM Wednesday gathering that combines worship, Scripture, and guided prayer, with a livestream available for those who cannot attend in person. Saddleback also runs a 21 Days of Prayer season each January, with daily Monday through Friday gatherings at every Saddleback location from 7:00 to 7:50 AM, and a 21 Days of Prayer for Kids podcast that families can listen to together.
Saddleback publishes a library of free prayer guides to support the prayer life of the congregation. The set includes a Prayer Guide for Building a Stronger Home, An Invitation to Fasting, a Fasting and Prayer Guide, a Local California Prayer Guide, a Neighborhood Prayer Guide, a Personal Prayer Guide, a Praying Scripture Prayer Guide, a Tabernacle Prayer Guide, and a Warfare Prayer Guide. Prayer requests can be submitted through the church, and a Prayer Team is open for volunteers who want to pray for the requests that come in.
Counseling, Support Groups, and Pastoral Care
Beyond Celebrate Recovery and prayer, Saddleback runs a broad care ministry. The Counseling and Mentoring team offers premarital mentoring (an eight-week study for engaged couples), marriage mentoring, marriage counseling, and individual counseling, all from a Christ-centered framework. A Church Counseling Training is offered for people who want to learn how to walk with others through personal struggles.
Support groups cover both relational and medical needs. Saddleback currently lists support groups for depression, anxiety, mental health, chronic pain, divorce, grief, first responders, single moms, families with LGBTQ children, veterans, and widows. Some groups meet in person at physical campuses; others meet online.
In addition, Saddleback runs a number of practical-care ministries for members and the wider community. Grief Support is led by parents who have walked through similar losses, providing care, compassion, and tools for healthy grieving. The Hospital Visitation team visits members in hospitals, care facilities, or at home with prayer and encouragement. The Meals Ministry delivers dinners to members recovering from illness, grieving a loss, or adjusting to life with a newborn. The Memorial Services team helps families plan and coordinate memorial services at no cost. For parents of children with mental health challenges, Saddleback runs BREATHE events that combine emotional, spiritual, and relational support, available in person and on Zoom. The Career Coaching ministry helps job seekers with search strategies, tools, and personal marketing plans, and the Personal Finances ministry offers free classes, seminars, and individual coaching on budgeting, saving, debt, investing, giving, and estate planning. For people in immediate material need, the Community Resource Center provides basic-needs support, including food, educational workshops, and trusted referrals. A Ministry of the Day is reachable by phone for anyone who needs to talk to a minister that same day.
Parents as the Primary Spiritual Influencers
Saddleback's Parents ministry frames its work around a single conviction: "We're all about helping parents win at raising their children to become interdependent, life-long followers of Jesus who desire to make a Kingdom contribution." The church backs that up with a range of free resources, including the On Purpose Parents podcast, two-minute parenting tips, and a blog. Parents are encouraged to join a small group with other parents who are being purposeful about their parenting, and counseling is available for parents who need extra support through difficult seasons.
Generosity and the Heart Behind Giving
Saddleback teaches that tithing, giving the first ten percent, is the starting point of biblical generosity, and frames anything beyond the tithe as "Beyond the Tithe," an opportunity to support specific projects such as Overflow and Mission. "We give not because we have to, but because God first gave to us, and we do so with a joyful heart and generous spirit."
The church accepts gifts online by credit or debit card, by bank account, and by cryptocurrency, and also accepts stock, IRA, and Donor-Advised Fund gifts. The church can be named as a beneficiary in an estate or trust, and the giving team can be reached at giving@saddleback.com or by phone at 949-609-8138. Gifts can also be mailed to 1 Saddleback Parkway, Lake Forest, CA 92630, Attn: Giving Operations, or dropped off in person at a service or church office.
For international campuses, Saddleback provides local giving details for Berlin, Buenos Aires, Davao, Santa Rosa, Hong Kong (with autopay, cheque, PayMe, and FPS options), and Vancouver (Interac e-Transfer and cheque). The church is transparent that gifts given to a US entity for the benefit of an international campus may not be tax-deductible in that country.
What Saddleback Believes
Saddleback teaches that God is the Creator and Ruler of the universe, eternally existing in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, who are co-equal and are one God. Human beings are made in the spiritual image of God, to be like him in character, and are the supreme object of God's creation; although people have tremendous potential for good, they are marred by an attitude of disobedience toward God called "sin," which separates humanity from God. People were created to exist forever, either eternally separated from God by sin (hell) or in union with God through forgiveness and salvation (eternal life); heaven and hell are places of eternal existence.
Jesus Christ is the Son of God, co-equal with the Father, who lived a sinless human life and offered himself as the perfect sacrifice for the sins of all by dying on a cross. He arose from the dead after three days to demonstrate his power over sin and death, ascended to heaven's glory, and will return again to reign as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Salvation is a gift from God to humanity that can never be earned by self-improvement or good works; eternal life begins the moment a person receives Jesus Christ into their life by faith. Because salvation is God's gift, the believer is eternally secure in that salvation, kept by the grace and power of God rather than by the self-effort of the Christian.
The Holy Spirit is equal with the Father and the Son, present in the world to make people aware of their need for Jesus Christ, and living in every Christian from the moment of salvation. He provides power for living, understanding of spiritual truth, and guidance in doing what is right, and the Christian seeks to live under his control daily. The Bible is God's Word to all humanity, written by human authors under the supernatural guidance of the Holy Spirit; it is the supreme source of truth for Christian beliefs and living, truth without any mixture of error.
On marriage, Saddleback teaches that marriage is a gift from God, that God's design for marriage is one man and one woman for life, and that any sexual relationship or activity outside of biblical, covenanted marriage is sinful. The church also teaches that singleness can be a gift from God and can be his call on a person's life.
The Saddleback App and Staying Connected
The Saddleback App is described by the church as "the easiest way to stay connected, take next steps in your faith, and explore what's happening at Saddleback - all in one place." From the app, members and newcomers can register for events, sign up for a Dream Team, manage giving, watch the weekend message, access the Talk It Over guide for their small group, and find a campus near them. The app is available for both major mobile platforms.
Saddleback Church remains what it has been since that first Sunday in 1980: a place where the weekend rhythm, the family ministries, the recovery work, and the global reach all point in the same direction. The dream Rick and Kay Warren began with a map and a vision for people who did not like church now stretches across Southern California, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Argentina, Berlin, Vancouver, and a thriving online congregation that meets every weekend on a Saturday schedule. The story Saddleback tells about itself is the same one it has told for forty-five years: there is a place for everyone here, and the work of leading people to say yes to Jesus continues.