Pastor Rick Announces Jeff Gonzalez as San Diego Pastor

It’s official! With the exciting news of our new full service campus and San Diego pastor, Saddleback San Diego is gearing up to launch Sunday, October 23 at Canyon Crest Academy!

Over the past few months, our church family has been praying for direction on expanding our reach deeper into Southern California. Once again, God has demonstrated his faithfulness by opening the doors to our new facility in Carmel Valley. Just days after locating the campus, Pastor Rick announced that Jeff Gonzalez will be overseeing the full service campus as the San Diego pastor.

“Saddleback San Diego is one we’ve been wanting to do for a long time,” says Pastor Rick. “We have members who drive every week from San Diego to our other campuses, but there’s no reason for that in the future, because we’re starting Saddleback San Diego! We’ve been waiting for the right pastor, and I’m happy to say that Jeff Gonzalez is coming back on our staff to become the new campus pastor at Saddleback San Diego.”

As a former marine, Jeff previously served as a volunteer at Saddleback San Clemente and even started leading services in Afghanistan while deployed. Jeff was called to full-time ministry at Southwest Church, and is now back to Saddleback to serve in a greater capacity in San Diego. Between the Camp Pendleton Marine Base in Oceanside, and the Naval Base at Point Loma, Jeff’s experience will resonate with the spiritual needs of our retired military and those in active service.

To celebrate this new season of growth, Pastor Rick extended a personal invitation to our entire church family, and San Diego residents, to connect with Jeff and his wife Christine during our “Meet the Pastor” event on Sunday, August 14. Over 200 people showed up for a time of worship, fellowship, food, and friendship at Encinitas Community Center. The evening started with a free dinner at 5:30 PM, followed by Jeff sharing his heart and vision for Saddleback San Diego.

As Pastor Jeff explains, "It was an amazing night filled with great food, great company, exciting news, and most importantly, the presence and power of the Holy Spirit."

In addition to meeting Jeff, Christine, and their four children, attendees also learned about our new location and launch date slated for October 23.

"People were so excited to sign up for serving opportunities," says Pastor of New Campus Launches, Kyung Lee. "Nearly everyone filled out serving response cards!"

Saddleback San Diego also hosted their first beach baptism and BBQ on Sunday, August 28 at Moonlight Beach in Encinitas. You too can be part of the incredible legacy to fill God’s house, one of our five goals of our Daring Faith campaign. We are well on our way to meeting this goal as San Diego residents boldly commit to join the new campus. From attending pre-launch gatherings to helping build community, locals are coming out to show their support for the new Saddleback campus. Come be part of the mission to fill God’s house in the San Diego community by making a deeper commitment to reach one more for Christ.

“We can look back and see that we were part of something that God had in hand in,” says Ron Keck, Pastor of International and Regional Campuses. “I want a new generation to be challenged by history and legacy. This is an opportunity to get in on the ground floor and leave our mark. We only get one shot to say ‘I was there at the beginning.’”

To sign up for a serving opportunity at Saddleback San Diego, click HERE or contact Pastor of New Campus Launches, Kyung Lee at kyungl@saddleback.com.