God Had a Plan for 2020
“In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.”
Proverbs 16:9 (NIV)
At Saddleback Church, we’re always talking about discovering God’s plan and purpose for our lives. This year really put that value to the test. Would we be a church that would trust God’s plan and purpose ... even in a global pandemic? Even when our weekend gatherings had to be cancelled?
Looking back at 2020, the pain, loss, and fear have been overwhelming, and still continue to be. But even though our plans can fail, God’s plans never will. What he had in store for us this year was beyond what we could have imagined, and we wouldn’t have made it through without the generosity and perseverance of our church family. Keep scrolling to see what God did through you in 2020!




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The Church Never Closed
On March 13, 2020, Saddleback Church announced that all weekend services would be moving online until further notice due to stay-at-home orders from our government officials. But while our buildings have been closed, the church has remained wide open. Here's a quick overview of the amazing things that happened this year.




Over 24,000 people have accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior



A Quick Look at 2020

7,421,172
lbs. of food provided

575
grocery distribution events

26,921
volunteers

5,965,326
meals served

46,398
Care Calls made

1,405
people baptized

“It's incorrect to say that Saddleback has been closed during COVID-19. It's just incorrect. We're very, very open. The only thing that's closed is the weekend worship and it's temporarily closed. Everything else we are doing. We're doing ministry to literally hundreds of thousands of people. We're doing outreach ... We're doing discipleship and fellowship in our small groups. Even in our weekend worship, we're growing.”
Pastor Rick Warren
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Spread Hope, Not Fear
At the start of the pandemic in March, over 2.6 million people in California lost their jobs. People were short on money, short on food, and short on hope. We knew God had called us — the church — to help provide for people's physical needs.
Food Distribution
575
food distribution events or pop-ups
26,921
volunteers who served
7 million
pounds of food donated
50,000 square foot
Grocery Distribution Center opened in Foothill Ranch
609,418

People Served
Care Kits
2,717
Care Kits made and delivered by ...
1,031
volunteers
PEACE Farm
2.5 acres
of crops
15 acres
cleared for future farm projects
12,000 +
volunteers
21
different fruits and vegtables
14 tons
of food, equal to ...
18,666

Meals
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Outshining the Darkness
When you saw a need, you stepped in to fill it in many different ways. You used the gifts God has given you and sacrificed your time and resources to help serve people in pain. Here are just a few examples of how Saddleback worked hard to outshine the darkness this year.
Mask and Card making
Saddleback Members Use Unique Abilities to Serve in Unexpected Ways
first aid for families
Saddleback Provides Practical Resources at a First Aid for Families Event
176,014
Care Calls made and recieved by ...
33,307
people. With the help of ...
592
Care Caller volunteers
608
volunteers Career Coached ...
865
participants from ...
7 states
and around the world including Japan and Switzerland

450
people enrolled in Financial Freedom Workshop
Mask and Card making stats
74
mask-making volunteers
1,077
card-crafting volunteers
7,327
masks made
First aid for families stats
223
events
24,780
families served
6,345
volunteer hours served
82
people accepted Jesus as their Savior
Active Duty and Veteran Care
Volunteers Send Care Kit Overseas to Saddleback Soldier
For the past eight months, some members of our church family and community have been struggling with issues like isolation and food insecurity. For some, it's been months since they've seen friends and relatives. Others have faced financial hardships due to layoffs, making it hard to afford groceries. Despite these challenges, Saddleback is filling the gaps and treating the "dis-ease" around us.
One man, whose family attends our church, is facing both isolation and food insecurity during this pandemic - but for different reasons than most during this time. The man is a member of the military and was deployed to the Middle East a few months ago.
While our church has been working with the man's wife and kids to make sure they are cared for during his deployment, we have also been doing everything possible to meet his needs. Friends and neighbors who attend Saddleback have been praying for him regularly as he works to keep our country safe.
The COVID-19 crisis has not just led to food insecurity for civilians, it's also caused a ration shortage at his base in Iraq. So, some of our volunteers and leaders from Saddleback Irvine North rallied together to send him a Care Kit with food and other supplies. He decided to share the much-needed resources with his troop.
He told his wife over a video call that he was so excited to receive the gift from our church and said that it was a good way to show the soldiers he serves alongside that our church loves everyone and wants to meet the needs we see in the world.
The man will be deployed for a few more months and is expected to return home early next year. Saddleback will continue praying for his safe return, as well as the security of all our military members overseas. We will also continue to help meet any of his needs that we can assist with until he comes home
Care Callers
Saddleback Care Caller Gets Care Called
Throughout the course of the COVID-19 crisis, Saddleback volunteers have faithfully served our church and those who are in need despite facing their own struggles during this difficult season of life.
One of our volunteers recently shared how God helped her find meaning and purpose in life through serving with Saddleback after being laid off from work as a result of the pandemic. It was clear to her that God wanted her to volunteer so she signed up to be a Care Caller — she absolutely loves it now.
“I've had the privilege of meeting some beautiful church members over the phone,” she said. “One woman answers her phone, ‘Hello,’ and says my name. She says she looks forward to our regular call and she's always eager to share all the wonderful things God is doing in her life that week. I think I look forward to our call more than she does.”
A few weeks after she began making care calls, our volunteer connected with a young woman who was pregnant. She immediately opened up about her financial struggles, like not having a car or internet, not having easy access groceries, and hardly being able to afford public transportation fees to get to and from work.
After the two women prayed together for the first time, our volunteer spoke with her team leader as well as her small group to ask for additional prayer and brainstorm ways to help the woman.
“The next two weeks that followed, the body of Christ showed up,” she said.
There were offers of bus passes, a refrigerator, as well as clothes and other items for her unborn child. One person from our volunteer's small group even donated a huge bag of groceries so our volunteer could give them to her new friend. When she delivered the groceries, the woman was so moved she burst into tears of joy and they prayed together once more. The two continue to talk over the phone and pray together on a regular basis. An authentic Christ-centered friendship is growing.
“[Recently] I called to check on her and when I asked how I can pray for her the woman said, ‘I want to pray for you this time,’” she recalled. “Tears welled in my eyes as I lifted my hands up to receive her tender prayer.”
Financial Freedom
Career Coaching Ministry Prepares World Changers
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, many people have lost their jobs. Approximately 25 percent of Americans have been, or know someone who has been, laid off this year as a result of the virus. In the aftermath, searching and applying for jobs can prove to be daunting, but Saddleback's Career Coaching Ministry is helping people get back to work.
One man who recently moved to California was searching for community. He soon found Saddleback and decided to get connected. He joined the Career Coaching Ministry hoping to help others find jobs. Through his time in the ministry, he recommitted his life to God and became a member of our church family.
"God uses different vessels to get us where he needs us," he said. "This ministry has helped get me where I needed to be."
Because of the pandemic, the man was laid off from his job earlier this year. While he grieves the loss of his own career, he has been committed to searching for a new occupation. He rests easy knowing that he has the skills and knowledge to jump back into job searching thanks to the Career Coaching Ministry.
Another Saddleback member explained how the positivity and support from the ministry encouraged him when he was unemployed. He took the classes that they offered, and it helped him refresh his skill set and find jobs. He currently works as a volunteer with the ministry, leading the LinkedIn workshops and wanting to give back to the ministry that gave him so much.
The Career Coaching Ministry helped him with career management. He soon found job opportunities on his doorstep, which greatly helped during the pandemic. Because of this, he was able to find a job that better fit him during this season.
"It's amazing what these courses can do," he said.
Searching for a job can be intimidating, but Saddleback's Career Coaching Ministry has helped many people overcome those obstacles and build strong careers. Finding your calling can be hard; finding a job that fits the description can be even harder. God created us to work, sometimes we just need a little help getting there.
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Staying Connected to Your Church Family
Since we moved our weekend services online, attendance has almost doubled to an average of 76,000 online attenders each week. We've also moved all of our ministries online to keep serving our church family.







Saddleback Kids
Over 900 kids
attend Kids Small Groups at home on Zoom each week
105 kids
have been baptized since March
882 volunteers
serve every week

11,000 households
watch the Saddleback Kids “Church @ Home” program each weekend
Saddleback Students
Over 2,000 students
attend Life Groups every week
Over 5,000 students
have attended our COVID-friendly special events
412 volunteers
are currently serving as small group leaders every week

760 students
have served at grocery distributions, Light of the World, and other ministry opportunities
Celebrate Recovery
17,000
people attended the Celebrate Recovery Online Summit
Over 1,000
people attended the Celebrate Recovery Cultural Communities “Come and See” event
35
Celebrate Recovery Crisis Response (CRCR)
online groups were formed with over 300 participants from all campuses every week
While major changes to Celebrate Recovery had to be made, the mission and purpose have remained the same. People are still finding hope and freedom from their hurts, hang-ups, and habits.
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Light of the World

This year our church hosted Light of the World, a free drive-thru Christmas lights experience. We strung up over 500,000 lights, poured about 144,000 cups of hot cocoa, and hosted over 31,000 cars! 1,729 of you volunteered to dress up in a fun costume, go ice skating, or help with parking. Not only that, but 69% of attenders were brand-new to Saddleback!
Campus Outreach Events
We are one church, many locations. From southern California to Buenos Aires to Hong Kong, all of our campuses hosted COVID-safe hosted events to meet the needs of their communities.
Anaheim
12
Berlin
2
Buenos Aires
37
Corona
13
Espanol
20
Hong Kong
105
Irvine North
11
Irvine South
65
Laguna Woods
25
Los Angeles
17
Newport Mesa
5
Rancho Capistrano
8
San Clemente
22
San Diego
18
Santa Rosa
10
South Bay
21
Yorba Linda
15
23,159 Total Salvations

17,618@ Grocery Distributions
5,541@ Online Services
Baptisms
Two Best Friends From Saddleback Kids Small Groups Baptize Each Other
Despite not having in-person weekend services, thousands of people have come to know Jesus and have been baptized at Saddleback this year. God is working in wonderful ways to expand his family — a family with members of all ages.
Two of our Saddleback Kids Small Group (KSG) students have been friends since kindergarten. Last year, one of the girls invited her best friend to join her in KSG. Together, they are involved in school, soccer, and Girl Scouts. One of the girls had a desire to be baptized ever since she started growing in her faith. When she voiced her interest, her friend also echoed the wish.
The two girls made plans to be baptized in March, but because of the sudden closures due to COVID-19, their baptism was postponed until November, when they were finally able to share their big day together.
“We were thinking that we know Jesus pretty well now and that we should get to know him better and get baptized — to have that experience together,” one of the nine-year-old girls said. “I got a little nervous about it being cold, but I was excited that we got to do this together.”
When the time came to publicly declare their faith, one of their mothers asked if it was alright to let the girls baptize one another. The request was approved, and the girls were thrilled. Not only were they able to share in this life changing experience, they were able to baptize each other.
“It was great,” one of the moms said. “There were a lot of tears.” Those tears of joy were very fitting as the families shared in their excitement and joy for their daughters' baptisms.
“I hope a lot of people will be inspired and be comfortable to get baptized,” one of the girls said. “We were definitely proud of each other. Anyone can obey God, and best friends can go through [baptism] together.”
Even though KSG has been continuing remotely, the girls enjoy joining in virtually, where they are able to play games, have fun, and learn more about Jesus.
CLASS stats
7,456 people took their next steps online to belong to our church family, grow in their faith, serve in ministry, and share the good news of Jesus with others.
Celebrate Recovery
Celebrate Recovery Hosts Drive-Thru Chip Event
Many people have been dealing with fear and anxiety during these unprecedented times. At the start of this global pandemic, Saddleback launched Celebrate Recovery Crisis Response groups so people could have a safe and confidential place to express themselves and work through unhealthy habits or feelings brought on by the pandemic.
While these groups have been meeting virtually for the past several weeks, Celebrate Recovery (CR) Lake Forest recently had an opportunity to host a drive-thru chip event so members could celebrate their sobriety from hurts, hang-ups, and habits in person while social distancing. Roughly 30 CR leaders showed up to serve at the event.
There was a gauntlet of cars that honked for every person who came to get a chip. Many of the people who came held up signs with the length of their recovery on it. Some were celebrating days or months of sobriety while others celebrated years of freedom from past addictions. There was even someone who came and took a “newcomer” chip, symbolizing a step out of denial and the start toward a recovery journey.
One CR leader named Blake received his five-year chip at the event —— he marked five years of sobriety just days before stay-at-home orders were issued. He said it has been a huge blessing to continue meeting virtually during the pandemic. But being able to fellowship in person, even at a distance, was overwhelming.
“Turning the corner into the parking lot and seeing everyone there was like turning a corner into a parking lot of love,” he said. “It felt like a parade, and it was a way to publicly acknowledge all of the changes God has made in my life.”
Volunteers
Saddleback Volunteer Leads 400+ People to Jesus
Saddleback has been meeting the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of tens of thousands of people throughout this pandemic, thanks to all of the volunteers who show up day after day to serve God by serving others at our grocery distribution events.
Our church wants people to leave these events with more than just a trunk full of food. We also want them to leave with a renewed hope and faith in God. Since the start of the COVID-19 crisis, thousands of people have started a relationship with Jesus at our grocery distribution events, because so many volunteers have stepped outside of their comfort zone and joined our evangelism teams.
One volunteer who has made a tremendous impact for God during this difficult season of life is named Emi. At the beginning of the pandemic, Emi was ready to move back to her home country of Argentina, but was unable to do so due to travel restrictions. She ultimately decided to stay in Southern California and spend her days serving at Saddleback grocery distribution events.
At first, Emi served behind the scenes but was asked to use her Spanish-speaking skills to share the gospel at one of our events. She was very nervous, so she prayed that God would use her and give her the right words so she could spread his love. God answered Emi's prayer, and by the end of the day she had led one person to Christ.
“It felt so great, I can't even describe it,” she said.
It quickly became clear to Emi that God wanted her to stay in Southern California for a reason. She felt a calling on her life to continue sharing Jesus at our grocery distribution events. As a result, she has helped 418 people start a relationship with Jesus over the past three months.
“It is not me, it's all God,” she said. “I couldn't do this by myself.”
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Your Impact Around the World
Our local communities aren't the only ones in need of hope and healing right now. We've been reaching out all over the world with our global mission initiatives and have seen incredible growth this year!
The PEACE Plan
Our mission strategy empowers ordinary people to create sustainable transformation in communities around the world by doing the things Jesus modeled during his ministry on Earth.
The PEACE Plan is now in all 55 countries of Africa
517 PEACE Training Churches were established in 61 countries around the world
2,177 participants in the PEACE Training System from 617 churches in 50 different countries
peace plan
Helping Others Help Others: Saddleback Partners With Local Church to Launch New Food Pantry
Watch StoryPurpose Driven Church
It is one of our core values as a church to help other churches around the world become healthy and empowered to make a difference in their own communities. As churches around the world scrambled to serve their communities in the midst of a global pandemic, we walked alongside many of these partner churches.
Over 1 million pastors across the globe took part in the virtual Easter Pastor Prayer Gathering
We launched coronavirusandthechurch.com in partnership with Ed Stetzer in order to assist churches and ministry leaders as they prepare for and respond to the effects of the pandemic in their congregations and communities
4 new COVID ministry toolkits were distributed and translated into five languages to over 1,500 churches across the globe
Finishing the Task
Did you know there are still groups of people around the world who have no access to the Bible, no believers, and no local church? There is a global movement of churches and leaders called Finishing the Task, led by Pastor Rick, that is aimed at reaching every last people group with the good news of Jesus.

13,450
full-time workers
2,554
additional part-time workers
17,004
churches planted
458,815
new believers
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Thank You, Saddleback Church
This year you sacrificially gave your time, money, and talents to show God's love to people who were in pain. You stepped outside of your comfort zone to outshine the darkness that 2020 brought us. The ways you have ministered to the people around you will have an eternal impact!
But the work isn't over yet. As the future still remains uncertain, we are pressing forward to see what God has in store for Saddleback Church. We are still serving people in every way we can — whether it's a box of food, a word of encouragement, or a hope that will last forever — and we want you to stay on this journey with us.

Give Help, Get Help
Saddleback Church is all about seeing God transform lives — even now, when we can’t meet face to face. There are ways you can be a part of seeing life change by volunteering, donating food, giving, or praying.
And if you or someone you know has a need — physical, emotional, spiritual, or otherwise — Saddleback is here to help.