Our Fastest Growing Campus

In our commitment to Fill God's house with 40,000 worshipers by 2020, we’ve launched four new campuses, strengthened all our existing campuses, strategically relocated three campuses, and found permanent buildings for several of our church homes.

What many people may not realize is that Saddleback Irvine North was birthed out of our Daring Faith campaign, and actually launched just one week after Saddleback’s 35th year anniversary celebration in March 2015.

In the brief 18 months the Irvine North campus has been running, they’ve become Saddleback’s fastest growing campus and the fifth largest regional campus outside of Lake Forest! During that time, they’ve had 87 baptisms, 178 salvations, and an average 800 weekly attendance.

According to DJ Crawford, Pastor of Saddleback Irvine North, “Our campus launched the first week of Daring Faith. We hived from Saddleback Irvine South, and literally jumped right in with 147 members.”

Reflecting on how far they’ve come, Pastor DJ says it’s incredible to see how much God has done in such a short amount of time. Campus priorities have been becoming a Purpose Driven Church, and having their members round the bases to be “home run disciples.” In fact, Irvine North is the only regional campus to have balanced all 5 purposes within the first year of existence.

Purpose 1—Worship: They’ve grown from 147 people to the current average 800+ in attendance at Sunday services.

Purpose 2—Fellowship: They’ve held CLASS 101 consistently and have witnessed 120 people accept Christ in the first year. They launched 70 small groups through Daring Faith and Miracle of Mercy Campaigns, and launched SSM Youth Ministry.

Purpose 3—Discipleship: They’ve hosted Foundations Class, launched Men’s/Women’s Communities, held CLASS 201 every other month, and launched Kids Small Group which has tripled in size. 

Purpose 4—Ministry/SHAPE: Over 250 people are involved in serving through Sunday opportunities or during the week as Small Group hosts. Irvine North has held CLASS 301 every other month, and has launched stretch and strengthen ministries like Daniel Plan Basketball, Tennis, and Cycling.

Purpose 5—Evangelism: Irvine North sent their first PEACE team to Saddleback Hong Kong. They reached 3,500 people during BLOCKTOBER, and held CLASS 401 in preparation for future PEACE teams to go out on mission.

At Irvine North, the harvest is plentiful and God is certainly moving. Pastor DJ credits campus growth in part to their ideal location within the fastest growing city in Orange Country. New residents are moving to the area because of the schools, the diversity, and the community—and in the process, are introduced to Saddleback Irvine North.

“We planted our church in an area where they’re still naming roads in Irvine,” says Pastor DJ. “Outside of Saddleback Lake Forest, our campus has the most non-English speaking small groups, making us a true all-nations congregation.”

Modeling the launch approach of Saddleback Lake Forest, Pastor DJ says they consider the Irvine North campus to be reminiscent of Saddleback circa 1980—with the same vision focused on the Great Commandment and the Great Commission.

Not only did Irvine North balance all five purposes in their first year, but they’ve also made the five Daring Faith goals a major priority at their campus. At their Tustin Ministry Center, they host Foundations class and Bible Study Methods to train members—the Daring Faith “T” goal.

For the “H” goal, they sent their first PEACE team to Hong Kong to help lead a youth camp and bring teens closer to Christ. As a result, students were baptized and a partnership was formed between Saddleback Irvine North and Hong Kong.

“We consider Saddleback Hong Kong our sister campus,” says Pastor DJ. “There’s a natural connection because of our demographic. They’re a mobile campus, just like we are, so we’ve really learned from one another.”

Of all the Irvine North’s accomplishments, they’ve really hit a home run on the “F” goal to fill God’s house. Their next step is to reach the 1,000 membership mark, and possibly help launch a new Saddleback campus in Tustin.

As Pastor DJ explains, “Just like we were blessed by Irvine South, we want to seed another campus and help bring more people to Christ.”

To learn more about Saddleback Irvine North, visit saddleback.com/irvinenorth.