Rooted in Christ: How One Young Couple Found Love and Community at Saddleback

Sometimes love comes in the most unexpected of times — but in the most expected of places. Carl and Ana met at a relationship course hosted by Saddleback’s Singles Ministry last year. Today, they are married, seeking to get connected to a couples’ small group, and looking forward to continuing growing as a family alongside the community they have at Saddleback. 

THE BEGINNING

Ana moved to the U.S. from Brazil six years ago to get her MBA (Master of Business Administration) degree. She said she remembers feeling overwhelmed with doubts and anxiety at first. 

“I was looking for a community because I didn’t have anyone here, I didn’t have my family,” she said. “I barely knew the language. I didn’t know the culture.”

Ana started listening to Saddleback weekend messages online and eventually got connected to a campus. One weekend, when she heard an announcement  for an upcoming relationship course, she was immediately interested.

“I thought it was a good opportunity for me to work on myself first, and then later on find someone if that’s what God intended,” she explained. 

Meanwhile, Carl had been involved with the Singles Ministry for about a year before signing up for the course. He said he remembers appreciating Saddleback’s view on singleness during that time. 

“There were sermons that spoke directly to singles,” he said, “and [Pastor Rick] would tell us things like, ‘Hey, take this opportunity to volunteer and to explore things about yourself.’” 

While he did hope to meet somebody through the Singles Ministry, his main focus was to form a community with other Christians and to grow in his own relationship with God. He said that was how he ended up at the relationship course alongside Ana. 

Week two of the course found Ana and Carl at the same table during a discussion time. Ana said she remembers that she tried to find a table with fewer guys since she was there to focus on improving herself and her relationship with God — but there Carl was anyway. Both Ana and Carl said getting to know each other on a deeper level right away helped to light a spark and set the tone for their relationship. Carl said getting to have those conversations about faith and family so early on was almost like having gone on a few dates already. 

“For me, it was the perfect place. You can have fun; you can make friends. And hopefully,” Ana added, beaming, “you can meet the love of your life.” 

THE MIDDLE

After months of growing in their relationship with each other and in faith through watching church online, the two of them got married in the midst of the pandemic on a Zoom call. Today, they laugh over the memory of exchanging vows on the same couch where they now sit on to watch TV, but they made the best of it.

Ana and Carl have taken Classes 101–401 at Saddleback and become church members. Now that church is regathering in person again, they are looking forward to making more friends and building upon that sense of community they had before.

“Church is all about community,” Carl said. “And I think that foundation behind Saddleback is what truly makes it special.”

“Community is what brought us together,” Anna said with a laugh. “So now we are looking forward to finding community now with couples. I think it was something that was missing in my life and that Saddleback fulfilled very well.”

To get connected with your own community at Saddleback, click here.