Saddleback Irvine

  Last year, we held our first year of Kids Small Groups ( KSG ) in Irvine. We had a great experience in the midst of moving and all kinds of transitions! In spite of these, the kids kept coming and the relationships kept building!

  KSG is a midweek discipleship program built to take kids through the Bible and through Children's 101-401. They have the opportunity to meet with the same leaders and kids over a 24 week period that has proven time and time again to be a wonderful part of a firm foundation. The foundation that is built on Knowing Christ, Growing in Christ, Serving Christ and Sharing Christ.

  Come by the Children's Ministry table on the weekends to find out more and how you can get your child involved!

Registration ends August 22, 2010

Hi Friends,

 

As always when I write you, I will keep this as brief as possible.  I know how much must come through your inbox!

 

-          You are a flexible church and I am incredibly proud to serve with you!  As I have been getting up to speed on who you are and hearing the history of this church campus, I am blown away at your faith and flexibility.  In the little over 2 years that Saddleback Irvine has existed, you have remained dedicated through moves, transitions, and change ... and all while continuing to grow!  This reminds me that God has BIG things on our radar for our future!

 

-          I have been sneaking around in conversations and meetings around our church and I want to tell you that I think we are about to enter the MOST EXCITING era in the history of Saddleback Church.  Without knowing everything about where we are headed this fall, Pastor Rick is calling it our Decade of Destiny, our most important stretch in the history of our church.  At the same time, as I get to know our campus, my heart is swelling in anticipation for where we are headed.  As summer continues, please be in prayer about reaching our community as we head towards fall.

 

-          Finally, I wanted to thank our parents of children and teenage students here at Irvine and pass on a note about our summer calendars. It has been such a blessing to meet the many families who support our All-Stars and Student Ministry programs.  Thank you, and I look forward to continuing to get to know you!  Please be aware that in light of the transition to our staff over the last few months, our summer calendars have gone through some major transition too, and we apologize if we have caused you any inconvenience.  Please be sure to check out our website at www.saddleback.com/irvine for updated info on all our summer events and thanks for your patience and support.

 

Thanks for your friendship and support, and please shoot me a note with a family picture so I can continue to get to know you!

 

Pastor Jake

Jaker@saddleback.com

Make sure you come this weekend to see Pastor Rick commission Pastor Jake Rutenbar as the next Irvine Campus Pastor!

They will be at the END of the 9am service and beginning of the 11am service so make sure you arrive early!

THIS WEEKEND SERVICES-PASTOR ERIN AND FAMILY GETTING COMMISSIONED! Celebrate, support and send out Erin, Joy and Autumn as they follow God's call to plant a new church in Tustin! Don't miss this opportunity to pray over them as a church family and say your good-byes. Erin will be helping the Irvine campus transition until his last day on July 2.

Here are some frequently asked questions regarding parking, activities for the family and admission fee.

Our vision for Saddleback Irvine at this event is to serve our community, make new friends, if interested, invite them to Saddleback and have fun!

Time:11-6pm

Where is our booth?
Our BOOTH is located on El Camino Ave and is #113.
Our banner says "OC CHILI CORRAL - Saddleback Irvine"

Where can I park?
Parking is available at the following locations:

1. Civic Center, 300 Centennial Way (two blocks from the event)
2. B Street (behind Peppertree Park)
3. Columbus Tustin Activity Center, 17522 Beneta Way
4. (Prospect & Irvine Blvd., two blocks from the event)
5. Surrounding side streets

What kind of activities are there?
This is a family-oriented event. There is something for everyone, from young children to teenagers to adults to grandparents.
This event features chili cook-off, craft vendors, community groups, food, Battle of the Bands, wine and beer gardens, community performances, live entertainment, carnival rides, contests, car exhibition and much more!
In addition, there will be a sports zone so that you don’t miss out on your favorite sports!
New this year will be a Kids Sports Zone.

Enjoy the live Webcast of our financial seminar on June 4 and June 5.

Invite some friends over and watch it together!

Go to: http://www.saddleback.com/financialseminar

Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. - Ephesians 3:20

It’s been a joy and privilege to serve for FOUR years at Saddleback Church - alongside such an amazing church family committed to reaching the lost locally and globally! Pastor Rick’s vision, leadership and teaching, not to mention your own, have been a huge influence in my understanding of ministry. The love and bonds we have with the Irvine Campus team and congregation are difficult to express. This season of ministry has been full of personal growth, emotional memories, life change and new friends. But God has called my family and I into a new season of ministry. God has called us to plant a church in our home town of Tustin!

We have the blessing and support of Pastor Rick and the Elders! I cannot tell you how grateful Joy and are for the support and love we have felt as we shared what God was doing in our lives with the leadership and staff. We are being sent from Saddleback - not leaving Saddleback!

We hope to have a Commissioning Weekend on June 13th. Our official last day on staff is July 2 – allowing us time to say our good byes and help the campus transition smoothly.
 
We "launch” Mission Hope Covenant Church (aka Mission Hope) Aug 1, will start preview services in November and have a Grand Opening in Jan/Feb 2011! We don't have a space yet but will be looking for different options in the near future. Because the church isn't a building, we will focus on developing our core team and launch team, while building relationships and partnerships in the community. 
 
God is amazing and Saddleback has played a huge role in preparing us for this. The staff and leadership team at Irvine are like family to me and I could not have asked for a better group of people to serve with in this season of ministry. This is why I am so confident that best times for Irvine are YET TO COME... God has great plans because of these faithful servants, committed to serving, loving and equipping people as they find Christ.
 
Your prayers and support are much appreciated!
Erin
 
Acts 20.24

We're hosting a Ministry Fair this weekend at the Irvine Campus. 

“God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another.” ~ 1 Peter 4:10 (NLT)

“Your attitude must be like my own, for I, the Messiah, did not come to be served, but to serve.” ~ Matt 20:28 (LB)

God did not design ministry for just a few with seminary degrees.  At Saddleback, we believe that every member of our church is a minister.  Use your Spiritual Gifts, your Heart (passions), your Abilities, your Personality and your Experiences to minister to the needs of others and to build up His Church. Spend some time at the Ministry Fair on the Patio after either service checking out the various serving opportunities here at the Irvine Campus.  We hope that everyone will sign up to serve in a ministry.

For some of you, you NEVER knew we had a church campus in IRVINE!

Same message!
Same great quality core ministry programs!
Yet, with a more intimate feel...
We are so excited for you to get connected into relationships with others who are seeking to know more about God as well!

Here are some suggestions to help you get connected and grow in your faith:

1. Sign up under EVENTS, CLASS 101
This is our Discovering Membership Class which goes into detail the FIRST purpose God has for YOUR life. Sign up today, it's free, we provide dinner and it will be in our NEW OFFICE location!

2. Sign up to JOIN A SMALL GROUP
If you didn't sign up yet at Easter, click on our web page heading ADULTS > SMALL GROUP LIFE > FILL OUT THE FORM and you will get a prompt response from our Small Group Team to share with you a group that will fit your needs.

We look forward to meeting you and helping you grow in Christ.

Erin
Campus Pastor

As we prepared for this weekend's fantastic Easter Celebration at Angels Stadium (Sat 6pm and Sun 10am) we decided it ALSO might be fun to squeeze in an OFFICE/MIDWEEK FACILITY move today (wink).

We survived. I do not know how we did it but in one day, with one semi-truck trailer, a box truck, a mother's mini van and a flatbed truck, we moved out of our original launch location/office at El Camino Real Elementary School in Irvine. We moved our OFFICE/MIDWEEK location to 3002 Dow St Unit 514 which is just north of Jamboree/Walnut in Tustin.

We are taking a break for a week after Easter to get settled for the most part.
But we will open our office doors, officially April 12. Ofcourse, you can stop by if you'd like - we'd love it, but we will be unpacking, organizing and preparing for our midweek programs to return (Kids Small Groups, Men's, Women's, C.R.).

HUGE THANKS TO OUR VOLUNTEERS & SVCC STAFF
We have to share our special thanks with the FANTASTIC VOLUNTEERS who showed up to do and DID MORE THAN THEIR FAIR SHARE of loading and unloading. Ron and Coco, Ruth, Glenn, Nancy, Ann, Dexter, Veeland and Fred were huge helps!!!! Thank you so much friends.

Also a huge thanks to our Lake Forest Operations team who were amazing... thanks for all you do. And the Irvine staff - you guys were awesome today... simply awesome. Thanks for being a great team.

See you at Angels Stadium this weekend - He has Risen, He has Risen indeed!

Yes, we need YOU to help us tomorrow, Wednesday, March 31st as we move our Ministry Office out of our digs at El Camino Real School. We've loved our first two years here but it's time for us to move on! If you can help, please meet us at 9:00 a.m. at El Camino Real. We'll be moving all our mid-week materials/furniture from inside the school building, as well as the office. Questions? Please call 949-235-4979. Thank you!

We will begin distributing tickets for both Easter services this Sunday, March 21st, at 8:30 am. We'll set up our distribution tables at the Upper Courtyard, by the big oak tree towards the All Stars buildings (900 and 1000). Please plan to fill out the Reservation for Priority Passes form that you got last week in the bulletin (we'll have them again in this week's bulletin) with the names of your unchurched friends that you're inviting! If there is a line, please know that our volunteers will do their best to move it along. Lines will close 10 minutes before services begin and we will not distribute tickets during the services, but if you're in line, you'll be assigned a number so you can be back in the same spot after the service is over. Ticket availability is on a first-come, first-served basis and unfortunately, we won't have a choice in where we sit - but by picking up your tickets here at the Irvine Campus, we will be able to sit closer together as a campus community! Pray for our volunteers, pray for our leaders, and most of all, pray for your friends that you will bring to this exciting celebration, that they may come to know Christ!

I wanted to take a moment to inform you about an upcoming series we will be teaching in Student Ministries at Saddleback Church Irvine.  Beginning the weekend of February 14, I will be teaching a series entitled The Sex.  This two-week series is designed to give students an overview of God’s plan for sex.  Here are the two subjects we will cover:

        

February 14: What We Hear and See about Sex

 

February 21: Answering Tough Questions (Pornography, Abuse, Oral Sex and How Far is too Far)     

 

This series is not designed to be a sex education course, but rather an attempt to give students a Biblical understanding of sex. 

  

I’m sharing these insights with you so you will know what your student will be hearing, and so you can use them as launching pads for discussion. I also wanted to give you this “heads up” because I recognize some of you may not feel the timing is appropriate for your child. If this is the case, please feel free to have them attend the adult worship service for the two weekends of this series.

 

If youhave any questions please feel free to contact Leo Galarza at 949-573-8733 oremail leog@saddleback.com

 

Thanks for allowing our Student Ministries team to play a small part in God’s plan for your student’s life!

Leo Galarza

Director of Student Ministries

 

Pastor Rick continued our message series last week with a powerful message on the role that small groups play in our life following Jesus. If you missed it, check out his message here. Like many of you, I have experienced the gamut of small group experiences. Total failures to lifelong impact. Regardless, a small group is vital for our spiritual growth - don't give up!

Some of the most important elements that have made my small group experiences LIFE CHANGING AND NOT LIFE DRAINING have been:

1. Bible based - 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NLT) All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.

The group's that have been most impactful have been committed to do a bible based study or book. This can be a topic with biblical teaching integrated or a study of a book in the bible. Either way, lasting life change for me has happened as I have learned and applied His word into my day to day life.

2. Humility - Philippians 2:3-5 (NLT) Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.

I have found that having an attitude of humility within the group opens up the level of trust and unifies the group around the purpose of mutual growth. With the Spirit of God and His Word being our authority, it's vital that the small group leader models humility to the rest of the group. The small group leader is looked upon as more of a knowledgeable and caring facilitator rather than a teaching expert who has all the right answers... at least this has been the best experience for me.

3. Commitment - Hebrews 10:24-25 (NLT) Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.

Someone wise once said "You are what you are committed to" (Pastor Rick!). Throughout the NT, words like discipline, training, athlete, prize, marathon remind us that spiritual growth is a choice and requires effort (not earning). I grow best in community with others. I find that half of the Christian life then is simply "showing up" - to Sunday mornings, to small group, to serving opportunities to local mission projects. There is something about structure that helps us overcome our fleeting emotions to facilitate growth. It isn't commitment for me until it is on my schedule.

4. Relational - John 15:17 (NLT) This is my command: Love each other.
 
We all come to a small group with agendas - it could be a desire to learn something on the topic we are studying or a place to share our hurts. Both are important. If I don't know the other people in the group or commit to understanding what they are seeking, I may have unrealistic expectations for the purpose of the group. As Paul writes in 1 Cor 13, knowleldge without love leads to pride. My best small group experiences have a good balance of growth in knowledge and love > relationships are the best context to process and practice that love.

IF YOU'RE NOT IN A SMALL GROUP > JOIN ONE TODAY! Sign up here!

Kingdom Come
Men's Conference January 29 - 31, 2010
Murrieta Hot Springs All the information is right here!

BUILD your FAITH on a SOLID FOUNDATION

God’s TRUTH brings freedom and transformation. FOUNDATIONS is a class designed to explore the essential truths of our faith to help you develop a biblical perspective of God, the world, and our relationships. FOUNDATIONS has helped change the lives of thousands of people over the last 15 years at Saddleback. Everyone’s life is built on something, and God’s truth is the only foundation that will last. Is it time to take your faith to a new place? We invite you to join us at FOUNDATIONS!

“You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” –JESUS (Jn 8.32)

WHO–This class is for anyone who wants to explore essential truths of the Bible
WHEN – Wednesdays 6:30 to 8:30 PM starting January 27th
WHERE– The Refinery Gym (LAKE FOREST CAMPUS)
COST– $20 (this covers the cost of the materials)
WHAT ELSE – Come to the refinery early for dinner or coffee
QUESTIONS–contact Matt McGill (mattm@saddleback.com or 949.609.8691)

If you had photos taken at our Unforgettable Christmas Eve services, please check them out at:

http://saddlebackpics.smugmug.com/Saddleback-Irvine/2009-Christmas-Portraits/Allen/10713745_HpqQE#755965169_My6a5

If you are unable to view them, please contact Yukie at the ministry office, 949-235-4979 or yukiem@saddleback.com. We hope you enjoy them!

Join us for one of our Christmas Eve Candlelight Services, 5pm or 7pm, at Northwood High School.

This is not going to be just another service! We want to celebrate the birth of Jesus and have a party! Please plan to come early (4:30pm) and stay late so your entire family can enjoy the experience on the worship patio. There will be hot cocoa and cider, cookies, awesome music, Christmas caroling, family portraits by our PICS ministry, an outdoor movie ... it is going to be fantastic!

Please invite your friends, neighbors & family - this is a wonderful opportunity for you to reach out and bring them to our church and learn how we love one another and our Lord Jesus Christ!

Hello Saddleback Irvine Family and Friends!
 
Yep, it's a SoCal Christmas... 72 degrees and a few red/yellow trees.

My friends and family across the state and country groan in jealousy when I let them know that. Merry Christmas!

We Love Students & Children
Our students are going to host our services this weekend with a special performance by our children. Pastor Tom will continue his practical teaching to prepare our hearts for this Christmas season! Plus, if you'd like to be baptized, we are baptizing after the 11am service.
 
You're Also Invited to An Unforgettable Experience Dec 24
Northwood High School, Dec 24, 5 and 7pm
Our Christmas Eve services at Irvine are going to be UNFORGETTABLE!
 
Jesus was born! So we are going to celebrate: "The Savior-yes, the Messiah, the Lord-has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!" - Luke 2:11

Candlelight services, inspiring music and a relevant message plus a patio experience filled with cookies, cider, hot cocoa, free family portrait stations, white lights, classical guitarist, caroling and more! Bring the friends and family!
 
For more info and evites, click here.

We need Unforgettable Volunteers for decoration, set up, tear down, etc!
Contact Yukie if you'd like to help.

Serving Families in Need - Motel Ministry
Our team will be delivering toys and hosting a breakfast with caroling for our motel families tomorrow. To join us, click here for details.
 
Praying that Jesus stay at the center of your holiday season,

Erin Kerr
Saddleback Irvine Campus Pastor
ekerr@saddleback.com

PS: Our Irvine office will be closed the week after Christmas
(Dec 28 - Jan 1)

Thought we'd share a follow up to our Saddleback Irvine Campus' effort to support Operation Christmas Child.  We, the Irvine Campus, donated more than 200 shoe boxes to OCC this year!

The first photo shows the hustle and bustle inside of the warehouse where Operation Christmas Child sorts all the boxes and then ships them.  This is where everyone's donations have gone - they will collect 8 MILLION boxes at their four hubs throughout the USA and distribute them to about 114 countries.  Our shoe boxes were headed to China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mongolia.



The second photo is a close up of the shipping boxes which contain no less than 14 shoe boxes each. =)

COURAGE AND POWER COMES FROM THE HOLY SPIRIT (third person of the Trinity, not an "IT")

As I was reading Acts 1:8 the other day I was reminded of the connection between the filling of the Holy Spirit and being a witness. There is no way Peter (and the others) could have done what they did to launch the first church without God's power. Notice the disciples had to wait for the Holy Spirit to fill them up.

"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere-in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." - Acts 1:8 (NLT)

What does this mean?
None of us NATURALLY want to share our hope - we need to be full of God's Spirit, to have the love, the compassion and the burden to do something about it. If you know Jesus already, you have the Holy Spirit already but the FULLNESS is something you must seek from Him (Eph 5:18). If you are FULL, the results will take care of themselves. Think about it this way. When we have a powerful engagement with something/someone amazing (no not like getting an iPhone - way better, like with our Creator!), we can't keep our experience to ourselves! We HAVE to share it!

So how do I experience this fullness?

That doesn't happen easily for me. It involves hammering out my will to surrender to God's will every day. I usually have to spend some time in prayer, reflecting and reading the bible, getting encouragement from my wife, friends or our staff or turning from any sin in my life to experience that fullness of God's Spirit. But when you are full, there is no mistaking that the joy, hope and peace of God will overflow out of you - you can't contain Him!

Some of the men of The HERD recently took their kids on a fun day hike to Whiting Ranch. There were 9 dads and 11 kids who joined in the fun. They kids enjoyed being outside, picking up rocks, looking for spiders, catepillars and anything else that looked interesting! There were even a couple of deer, walking along a ridge parallel to their trail, keeping a close eye on them.  

Watch for the next event and in the meantime, whether you're a dad, grandpa or just a guy, join The HERD for their weekly gatherings, Tuesdays at 6:30 pm or Fridays at 6:15am!

Take the Hope Challenge

Pastor Rick says it all the time: "We become what we are committed to." Are we people committed to bringing hope to the world, one person at a time? Yes!

Oh! May the God of green hope fill you up with joy, fill you up with peace, so that your believing lives, filled with the life-giving energy of the Holy Spirit, will brim over with hope! - Romans 15:13 (MSG)

Join the 3 month movement to transform our community - commit to bringing God's Hope to your friend, co-worker and/or neighbor this season.

It's as simple as 3-3-3.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO AND TO REGISTER.

We had a great response for the 2009 Ministry Fair.  From all the cards collected (including some from yesterday's service), we had almost 50 people express an interest in serving.  And 40 of you were not previously serving.  We love it. 

We look forward to seeing in the Worship Center, Children's, Youth, and Patio the new serving faces around campus.  And we're thrilled about how God will use your service to mold you more like Him!

Thank you for saying "Please use me" to God.

Blessings,
Derek

  Kids Small Groups in Irvine is off to an awesome start! We have about 100 kids committed to growing in Christ meeting here every Wednesday, learning and fellowshipping with one another.

  Tomorrow, we kick off our very first PEACE Project of the year- we are calling it PROJECT BUILD. Kids will be bringing in food items to donate to a local food bank- a direct impact on the Irvine and surrounding communities. Seeing God work here through them has been a wonderful thing. It is so encouraging to see how they respond to his word and put it all into action!

  Check back here for an update on this initiative soon!