Expectation Is Faith

"According to your faith let it be done to you." —Matthew 9:29

What is God doing in your life . . .? He’s doing exactly what you expect him to do. Confident expectation IS faith. When we expect God to move and we thank him in advance, that’s faith. When we thank him after the fact, that’s gratitude.

The Bible has countless examples of God acting because somebody believed. When we believe, miracles happen. When we don’t believe, we limit what he can to do in our lives.

On this basis of our faith, God says we get to choose how much he blesses us. Our heavenly Father is honored when we do things that cannot be done in the power of the flesh, and when we are destined to fail unless he bails us out.

That is exponential faith! It’s adding a zero to the end of our goal and relying on HIS power to achieve the impossible. It means thinking so big that we’re forced to completely depend on God. It means redefining “maybe” moments and believing that HE WILL because HE IS the I AM.

That’s living by faith, not because of who we are, but because of who HE is. Now is the time to trust. Now is the time to have faith. Now is the time to have Daring Faith.

When it comes to having Daring Faith, our Saddleback campuses took giant steps this month to help FILL GOD’S HOUSE.

Campus September Milestones

• Saddleback Buenos Aires launched their 6th service. 

• Saddleback Anaheim baptized their 1,000th person.

• Saddleback Laguna Woods launched their 46 assisted living facility.

• Saddleback Anaheim launched their College Ministry.

• Saddleback San Diego grew from 9 to 50 small groups and baptized their 100th person.

• Saddleback Irvine North hosted1,074 people at their Block Party, making it their largest non-holiday Sunday attendance ever.

• Saddleback South Bay hosted their first Class 301 with 40 graduates, and officially launched Saddleback Student Ministries. READ how God worked in one man’s heart to help launch this youth ministry that is taking South Bay by storm! You’ll also learn how recent Saddleback Kids events brought over 300 kids to Christ.

Launch of Saddleback Community Ambassadors

Saddleback Church is always looking for new ways to reach the community and invite them into our church family. This month our Outreach Team launched Saddleback’s newest ministry, Community Ambassadors. This effort to help fill God’s house equips volunteers to reach new people in the community and invite them to church. With nearly 3,000 new homes being constructed, and 85% already sold before completion, the opportunity to reach more people for Christ has never been closer to our doorstep! To reach these growing regions, the Outreach Team is in need of 433 Ambassadors by the end of the year. Find out how you can be part of this exciting new ministry HERE.

Saddleback Yorba Linda Pre-Launch Vision Events

On December 3rd, Saddleback Church is launching its 19th campus, Saddleback Yorba Linda. Under the leadership of Pastor Santosh Swamidass, Saddleback Yorba Linda is already gaining momentum with vision events unveiling opportunities to reach the community for Christ. On September 10, Saddleback Anaheim hosted the Yorba Linda Vision Lunch, followed by the Yorba Linda Vision Dinner on September 24. The feedback from these initial events has been tremendous, with over 100 volunteers committed to serving in some capacity. LEARN more about these recent celebrations and how you can make an impact at upcoming Yorba Linda events.

PEACE Relief Efforts Through the Storm

This past month our nation was hit by all types of storms, from Hurricane Harvey in Texas to Hurricane Irma in Florida. Further devastation struck with two earthquakes in Mexico and yet another hurricane in Puerto Rico. In the aftermath of these disasters, Saddleback Church stepped up to ASSIST PEOPLE IN NEED—the “A” initiative of our Daring Faith goals. So far our church family has generously provided just over a million dollars, and has sent relief teams to all the disaster sites. Over 1,800 Saddleback members volunteered to help locally or on the ground in Houston, resulting in the distribution of 78 pallets of donated goods. Click HERE to read the impact you’ve made through your giving, and the ongoing need to pray, give, and go.  

Saddleback San Clemente Backpack Giveaway

For several years, our San Clemente campus has come alongside the military community at Camp Pendleton. With 50% of their members in active duty, the campus serves through PTSD counseling, monthly barbecues with Wounded Warriors, and quarterly baby showers for military wives. In an act of compassion, our San Clemente family just hosted their Backpack Giveaway, donating over 500 free backpacks to military families in need.

PEACE Center Grows Through Giving

On a local level, Saddleback’s PEACE Center is ramping up its giving thanks to donations from two more Target and Costco stores. Additionally, our PEACE Farm has completed the 1.5-acre garden project with 40 raised planter boxes. The vegetable farm is slated to harvest 20,000 pounds of fresh produce for our eight Food Pantries. READ our recent story about how you can serve at this new addition to Local PEACE.

Spiritual Maturity Launches New Website

This month our web and tech teams have been busy working on exciting new projects to INTERCONNECT OUR GROWING FELLOWSHIP THROUGH TECHNOLOGY. Working behind the scenes, they’ve recently launched the new Spiritual Maturity webpage where you can access Doable Discipleship, a weekly podcast with 1,500 listeners. On the redesigned website are other online training tools including Foundations which is broadcast live. The site is also home to DriveTime Devotions and Daily Hope, now accessible through voice-activated Alexa.

Saddleback Hong Kong’s Vision for Daring Faith 2.0

Right now, the Saddleback Tech Team is developing a new church management system that is being alpha-tested at Saddleback Hong Kong. Not only has the campus embraced the challenge, but they’re including it in their campus-wide strategy for Daring Faith 2.0. After surviving three typhoons last month, and growing as a church family through the storm, Saddleback Hong Kong launched phase two in working toward all five FAITH goals. Click HERE to read how Saddleback Hong Kong is wholeheartedly dedicated to carrying out the Daring Faith vision.

Training Members to be Global Leaders

This month, we’ve been preparing our hearts for the all-church campaign 40 Days of Prayer. Over the next month we’ll learn how to pray with confidence, pray for a breakthrough, and preserver when God doesn’t answer the first time we pray. Through this process we’ll learn how to trust in him and strengthen our faith. As one of our five FAITH goals, TRAINING 25% OF OUR MEMBERS  is key to shaping leaders in everything from prayer to ministry.

That’s why this month we hosted dozens of training events including PEACE Leader Training, Empower for small group hosts, Teaching to Save Lives, Men’s Ministry Man Up, and Pray, Love, Lead attended by 3,000 women. To develop spiritual growth, Class 201 training was held at every campus this month.

From September 7–10, Saddleback’s HIV/AIDS team attended the United States Conference on AIDS in Washington DC. The event brought together community leaders, HIV advocates, and researchers to discuss the latest developments related to HIV prevention and treatment. As the only represented church with an event booth, Saddleback's HIV/AIDS team was able to network with attendees interested in launching an HIV ministry in their own church. They were also able share the Good News that the church cares for people living with HIV. Over 1,000 people were given copies of Purpose Driven Life booklets, and information on what the church can do in the area of HIV. 

Pastor Rick Shares the Vision for PEACE

The PEACE Plan’s success in Rwanda has sparked international interest from other countries that long to implement the same training and national strategy. On September 17, Pastor Rick attended the Presidential Advisory Council (PAC) meeting in New York where he joined international leaders including Rwandan President, Paul Kagame. There he shared the vision for building Purpose Driven nations and sharing PEACE around the world.

The PEACE Plan Goes Global

Those committed to launching the PEACE Plan in their own nations include Brazil, Cambodia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, India, Mexico, The Philippines, and Russia. Implementing the PEACE Plan not only builds and unites healthy Purpose Driven (PD) Churches, but it transforms lives across entire communities and HELPS TAKE THE GOOD NEWS TO THE LAST UNREACHED TRIBES—the “H” goal of Daring Faith. In the past year alone, Saddleback Church has sent 1,600 members on 165 PEACE trips to 25 countries.

PEACE Training in Four Countries

Laying the groundwork for this global movement are key leaders from Saddleback’s Purpose Driven and PEACE teams that traveled to various PD headquarters around the world. In one week, they visited Hong Kong, The Philippines, Indonesia, and India to train church leaders in PEACE and the Purpose Driven movement. READ how lives are being changed, communities impacted, and nations transformed through this global strategy.  

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Thank you for your ongoing commitment to Daring Faith. YOU are the reason we can make a difference through these five God-inspired goals. HERE is just one story that represents hundreds of lives that are being transformed because of your sacrifice.

To start giving to Daring Faith, make changes to your commitment, or simply learn more about how Saddleback is making a difference around the world, visit, saddleback.com/daringfaith.