Pastor of Saddleback Yorba Linda

On December 3rd, we’ll be launching our 19th campus, Saddleback Yorba Linda! 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 Santosh Swamidass, who will be serving as the new campus pastor of Saddleback Yorba Linda.

Leadership at Saddleback Church is nothing new to Pastor Santosh, who has been serving as Anaheim’s Pastor of Ministry and Missions since 2016.His passion to share the love of Christ started in high school and college, where he was a leader for their Christian Club, Athletes in Action, and Campus Crusade. He attended the University of California Irvine where he helped develop a network of student-led prayer groups and Bible studies on campus that put on their own retreats with over 80 students attending and finding hope in Christ.

After graduating with a Computer Engineering degree, Pastor Santosh accumulated 10 years of experience working in the aerospace industry. He stepped away from aerospace more than once to live overseas and pastor churches in South East Asia for a number of years. Even while working in California as an engineer, Santosh was serving as a pastor and teacher for different churches.

“I was moving up in the aerospace industry,” says Pastor Santosh, “but my heart was for ministry. All during that time, I was still teaching the Bible, working with nonprofits, and connecting with churches throughout Orange County and overseas. I continued balancing work and ministry until God gave me the green light to focus on ministry full-time.”

Coincidentally, Saddleback Anaheim was located directly across the parking lot from the aerospace company where he was working as Program Director. When he learned of the need for a Pastor of Ministry and Missions at Saddleback Anaheim, he walked across the lot and met with Campus Pastor Jeremiah Goley.

As a father of three little girls—and a wife who was pregnant with a fourth at the time—the career move didn’t make financial sense. But the major shift was a long-awaited step of faith to follow God’s calling.

The moment Pastor Santosh stepped into the role at Saddleback Anaheim, he felt it was the perfect fit. Both locally and globally, he brought over 20 years of ministry experience to Saddleback Anaheim—from planting churches and developing leaders, to growing communities and building nonprofits. During those years as Program Director, God developed Pastor Santosh’s skills to understand strategy and processes from a systematic point of view. When God called him to make the move, Santosh was able to use that training to bring process and strategy to impact lives, build people up, and send them out.

“I love Saddleback Anaheim,” he says. “We have an amazing church family and have seen people grow in Christ. Once again, we have another opportunity to step out of our comfort zone and do something new. I feel blessed to have this huge opportunity to help people live missionally in Yorba Linda.”

Pastor Santosh’s vision for the Yorba Linda community is to help people find hope and life in Christ, and to share the Saddleback Church model that has thrived for 36 years. He wants to help people recognize their true value and live out God’s purposes for their lives. His long-term goal is to see a transformed community impacting the world.

“There’s nothing greater than saying ‘yes’ to God,” says Pastor Santosh. “He takes us on the greatest adventures in life. I’m excited to see how God will use Saddleback Yorba Linda to help bring hope, healing, and abundant life to the community.”

To learn more about the new campus launching on December 3, join the Yorba Linda Vision Lunch on Sunday, September 10 at 1:30 PM at Saddleback Anaheim. It will be a time of worship, food, and opportunities to get involved in this new addition to our church family. Stay connected to all Yorba Linda campus news, updates, and reports by visiting saddleback.com/yorbalinda.