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Saddleback Church (or simply Saddleback) is an Evangelical Christian megachurch located in Lake Forest, California, situated in southern Orange County. The church was founded in 1980 by senior pastor Rick Warren and has become one of the most famous and influential churches in the world. The church is autonomous and is independent of any denominational control. However, Saddleback recognizes the benefits of cooperation with other churches in world missions, and voluntarily affiliates with the Southern Baptist Convention in its national, state and local expressions. Weekly church attendance exceeds 22,000, making it the largest church in California and the 4th largest church in the United States.

History

According to Rick Warren, his call to full-time ministry came as a 19-year-old student at California Baptist University when, in November 1973, Warren and a friend skipped out on classes and drove 350 miles to hear pastor Dr. W.A. Criswell preach at the Jack Tar Hotel in San Francisco. Rick Warren stood in line to shake hands with Dr. Criswell afterwards.

When my turn finally arrived, something unexpected happened. Criswell looked at me with kind, loving eyes and said, quite emphatically, “Young man, I feel led to lay hands on you and pray for you!” He placed his hands on my head and prayed: “Father, I ask that you give this young preacher a double portion of your Spirit. May the church he pastors grow to twice the size of the Dallas church. Bless him greatly, O Lord.”

Saddleback's first public service was held on Easter Sunday, April 6, 1980, with two hundred people in attendance at the Laguna Hills High School Theater. Warren's innovative church growth methods led to rapid growth and the church has used nearly eighty different facilities in its 28-year history.

Saddleback famously did not build its first permanent building until it had 10,000 weekly attenders. When the current Lake Forest campus was purchased in the early 1990's, a 2,300 seat plastic tent was used for worship services for several years, with four services each weekend. In 1995, the current Worship Center was completed with a seating capacity of 3,500. The multi-million dollar Children's Ministry Center (housing the All Stars children's ministry) and staff office building were completed over the next few years. In June 2008, a $20 million, state-of-the-art student ministry facility called the Refinery, was completed. The Refinery houses the middle school (Wildside) and high school (HSM) ministries, consisting of nearly 1,500 students.

The Purpose Driven Church (PDC) curriculum and Celebrate Recovery program were founded at Saddleback Church. Saddleback currently has 3 regional campuses: San Clemente, Irvine, and Corona. Several more campuses are planned in the next few years.

Lake Forest Campus

Global Summit Controversy

In November and December 2006, Saddleback Church played host to the second annual Global Summit on AIDS and the Church. The summit featured some 60 speakers, including U.S. Senators Barack Obama and Sam Brownback. The controversy was rekindled during the 2007 summit when U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton also spoke at the church.

2008 Civil Forum on the Presidency

On August 16, 2008, Rick Warren arranged a meeting between Senator John McCain and Senator Barack Obama at Saddleback called the Civil Forum on The Presidency. The format of the forum was structured such that Warren first asked Sen. Obama a series of questions; he then asked Sen. McCain very similar ones subsequently. Held inside Saddleback's Worship Center, the event is notable as the first time the two Presidential candidates met during the campaign. It was broadcast live on national news networks and streamed online. Tickets were distributed to church members through a raffle with seats listing as high as $1,000 and the event was sold out.

• video in 9 parts from 1001BG
• transcript from RickWarrenNews.com

See also

• Rick Warren
• Doug Fields
• P.E.A.C.E. Plan
• Purpose Driven
• Megachurch

References and notes

1. "The Saddleback story" (HTML). Saddleback Church. Retrieved 2007-12-18.
2. "100 Largest U.S. churches" (PDF). Outreach Magazine. Retrieved 2007-12-18.
3. ^ "Interview with a Missions Leader" (HTML). Woman's Missionary Union Website. Retrieved 2007-12-18.
4. Saddleback Church
5. "What is PurposeDriven?". Purpose Driven. Retrieved 2007-09-01. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
6. "Message By Pastor Rick" (HTML). Celebrate Recovery Website. Retrieved 2007-12-18.
7. Ross, Larry. "Press Release: Statement by Saddleback Valley Community Church Regarding Senator Barack Obama as One of Nearly 60 Featured Speakers at the Second Annual Global Summit on AIDS and the Church". ChristianNewsWire. Retrieved 2007-09-01.
8. Barboza, Tony (July 21, 2008). "John McCain, Barack Obama will appear together at Orange County church". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2008-07-23.
9. http://saddlebackcivilforum.com/index.html

External links

• www.saddleback.com - Official web site
• The Saddleback Vision
• www.rickwarren.com Senior Pastor Rick Warren's official web site
• Purpose Driven Church
• Purpose Driven Life

• Churches in California
• Baptist churches in California
• Religion in Orange County, California
• Southern Baptist Convention
• Megachurches
• Lake Forest, California
• California culture
• Religious organizations established in 1980