Intro to Associate Pastor William Guzman

Kicking off on Easter Sunday, the official launch of Saddleback’s en Español was a huge success! As our 18th campus, the event brought in 872 people to the inaugural service held at our Lake Forest campus.

Led by campus pastor Fernando Lammoglia, Saddleback en Español has been building momentum through pre-launch celebrations and casting events. These efforts truly paid off as members from the community came to experience the vibrant new campus on Easter weekend. Also in attendance was Pastor Rick who greeted guests and welcomed them to the fledgling campus.

But Saddleback en Español wasn’t the only new campus that launched on Easter weekend. With just three short weeks of planning, the Saddleback Great Park extension opened its doors to 350 people! Among them were 100 first-time visitors who heard the true message of hope.

“These two latest launches were a tremendous success,” says Campus Launch Pastor, Kyung Lee. “It’s all due to God’s favor and the hard work of our teams.”

As we continue to grow our church family, we’re leaning heavily on God’s direction and the shepherding of our campus pastors. Among them is William Guzman, new associate pastor of Saddleback en Español. Together with lead campus pastor, Fernando Lammoglia, they will help remove language barriers within the fellowship as we unite as one big Saddleback family.

Pastor William’s background makes him the ideal leader for this partnership. Born in Guatemala and raised in Southern California, William started out volunteering in youth-and-kids ministry. With a similar upbringing, his wife was born in Monterrey, Mexico and was also raised in Southern California.

In 2011, the couple moved to Honolulu to study at New Hope Christian College where William later received his Bachelors in theology. Their two-year plan was cut short when the Lord led them to be part of the pastoral staff at New Hope Christian Fellowship in Oahu, Hawaii.

For five years, William served as New Hope’s Young Adults Pastor and Midweek Teaching Pastor, where he equipped, developed, trained, and sent out leaders to serve in the church and community. By getting young people connected, William refined his pastoral heart and aspired to see people reach God’s best for their lives.

Shortly before taking that position, William and his wife had a dream to plant a church that would reach 2nd and 3rd generation Hispanics. Ever since that day, they have been praying for God to show them the way.

“We knew that God was going to call us back to Southern California,” says William. “God had really prepared us, and spoke to us clearly that this was something he had planned for us to do. We have seen him move so much in the whole process.”

Despite the clarity of the call, William said the move still required a mighty step of faith. They had to leave behind the healthiest ministry season that had ever experienced, where people were getting connected, finding salvation, and growing in their walk with God. In addition leaving a fruitful ministry, William and his wife had to uproot their three young kids and start again.

“The whole process of relocating was definitely not simple,” William admits. “We really felt the call of God on our lives to be part of this campus, and we felt the Lord tell us to start fresh.”

In a matter of four weeks, they had sold their belongings and moved to Orange County as an act of obedience. Through this, William says he feels well-prepared for this spiritual journey—especially since the position he held in Honolulu was the same concept as Saddleback en Español, except within a Hispanic context. Jumping in fully committed, the couple is completely aligned with the vision for Saddleback en Español and considers it a blessing to be part of the team.

“We really feel that God is getting ready to awaken the Hispanic community in Orange County,” says William. “Our hope is to reach young families and help people get connected at Saddleback en Español.”

Already William is part of that awakening, and was able to start his new role on March 26, just before the official campus launch. The dedicated pastor is actively planning for the future, with goals to develop their small group community, help people grow in their faith, start the CLASS process, and ultimately impact the Hispanic community with the love of Jesus. By supporting Pastor Fernando and Celsa, and serving the Hispanic community of Orange County, William is confident that the campus will flourish for Christ.

“Our prayer is that Saddelback en Español will be a campus that will reach out to the 1.5 million Hispanics in Orange County,” he says. “I see our campus being a place where Hispanics can find hope and discover their God-given purpose.”

To learn more about Saddelback en Español, visit http://saddleback.com/visit/locations/espanol.