Mariners Church
Encyclopedia
Mariners Church is a non-denominational, Evangelical Christian megachurch
located in Irvine, California
, situated in central Orange County
. The church is a member of the Willow Creek Association
.
studies in homes in the Newport Beach area starting in 1963. In 1964, this group organized the first Newport Beach Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast, an event that has occurred annually ever since. As the church grew, it moved from holding services in a family home, to a series of rented locations, including Monte Vista School, Mariners Elementary School (the location from which the church derives its name), Corona Del Mar High School, and a small office building on Pacific Coast Highway in Newport Beach.
In 1967 the first full time pastor was hired. The church purchased and built its first owned facilities at the corner of Bison and Jamboree in Newport Beach. In 1980 the church split, and a portion of the church formed a new church called South Coast Community Church on a portion of the property where the church is located today. In 1996, the church reunited. For several years, services were held in both locations.
In 1998, the church swapped the Bison property with Liberty Baptist Church, which had a property adjoining the South Coast Community church property. Finally, the church purchased another adjoining property from the Irvine Company for $18 million, expanding the campus by 18 acres (72,843.5 m²) to reach its current size. The church built and opened Port Mariners children’s building in June 2005 and the new Worship Center, bookstore and café in November 2005 at a cost of approximately $35 million. In November 2006, the church raised initial funds to build a new student ministries facility (Student Center), a chapel, a parking garage (completed October 2007), and remodeling of the administrative building, at an expected cost of $33 million. The project was completed in October 2008.
In November 2009, Mariners became a multi-site church
when it launched a second campus location in Mission Viejo.
On 3 October 2011 Mariners' "Live Boldly" started airing on KBRT
weekdays at noon Pacific Time.
(this ranking includes multi-site churches) and the second-largest church in Orange County, after Saddleback Church
.
, Kenton graduated with his bachelor's degree
from Biola University
in L.A. and his master's degree
from Biola's Talbot School of Theology
. In 1978, Kenton came to Mariners as a college pastor. He loved Mariners' dream to reach out to those who weren't currently attending church - for whatever reason - and share the truth that God loved them more than they could ever know and, in 1984, he became Mariners' Senior Pastor. He has overseen Mariners stunning growth from a church of less than 300 to one of 15,000. In 2008, Kenton marked his 30th year at Mariners.
Megachurch
A megachurch is a church having 2,000 or more in average weekend attendance. The Hartford Institute's database lists more than 1,300 such Protestant churches in the United States. According to that data, approximately 50 churches on the list have attendance ranging from 10,000 to 47,000...
located in Irvine, California
Irvine, California
Irvine is a suburban incorporated city in Orange County, California, United States. It is a planned city, mainly developed by the Irvine Company since the 1960s. Formally incorporated on December 28, 1971, the city has a population of 212,375 as of the 2010 census. However, the California...
, situated in central Orange County
Orange County, California
Orange County is a county in the U.S. state of California. Its county seat is Santa Ana. As of the 2010 census, its population was 3,010,232, up from 2,846,293 at the 2000 census, making it the third most populous county in California, behind Los Angeles County and San Diego County...
. The church is a member of the Willow Creek Association
Willow Creek Association
The Willow Creek Association , a 5013 not-for-profit ministry, is an international, evangelical Christian association of more than 9,000 member churches from 90 denominations and 45 countries.-Mission:...
.
History
Mariners Church began as a small group of Christians who met for BibleBible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
studies in homes in the Newport Beach area starting in 1963. In 1964, this group organized the first Newport Beach Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast, an event that has occurred annually ever since. As the church grew, it moved from holding services in a family home, to a series of rented locations, including Monte Vista School, Mariners Elementary School (the location from which the church derives its name), Corona Del Mar High School, and a small office building on Pacific Coast Highway in Newport Beach.
In 1967 the first full time pastor was hired. The church purchased and built its first owned facilities at the corner of Bison and Jamboree in Newport Beach. In 1980 the church split, and a portion of the church formed a new church called South Coast Community Church on a portion of the property where the church is located today. In 1996, the church reunited. For several years, services were held in both locations.
In 1998, the church swapped the Bison property with Liberty Baptist Church, which had a property adjoining the South Coast Community church property. Finally, the church purchased another adjoining property from the Irvine Company for $18 million, expanding the campus by 18 acres (72,843.5 m²) to reach its current size. The church built and opened Port Mariners children’s building in June 2005 and the new Worship Center, bookstore and café in November 2005 at a cost of approximately $35 million. In November 2006, the church raised initial funds to build a new student ministries facility (Student Center), a chapel, a parking garage (completed October 2007), and remodeling of the administrative building, at an expected cost of $33 million. The project was completed in October 2008.
In November 2009, Mariners became a multi-site church
Multi-site church
A multi-site church is one church that meets at multiple locations. Churches began to use the multi-site church model in the mid 1980s...
when it launched a second campus location in Mission Viejo.
On 3 October 2011 Mariners' "Live Boldly" started airing on KBRT
KBRT
KBRT is a Christian radio station. It airs Christian talk radio programming from Santa Catalina Island to Los Angeles, Orange County, the Inland Empire, San Diego, and Santa Barbara. The station broadcasts at 10,000 Watts sunrise to sunset at 740 kHz from the hill above Avalon on Catalina Island...
weekdays at noon Pacific Time.
Attendance
Mariners currently averages 9,000 in attendance per week, making it the 58th-largest church in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
(this ranking includes multi-site churches) and the second-largest church in Orange County, after Saddleback Church
Saddleback Church
Saddleback Church is an evangelical Christian megachurch located in Lake Forest, California, situated in southern Orange County, affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. The church was founded in 1980 by pastor Rick Warren...
.
Facilities
The church campus sits on 46 acres (186,155.6 m²) of land at the corner of Newport Coast Drive and Bonita Canyon Drive in Irvine, California. Church facilities include an 81000 square feet (7,525.1 m²) worship center that seats 3,300, bookstore, café, a 63000 square feet (5,852.9 m²) children’s ministry building named Port Mariners, the Student Center middle/high school and college ministry facility, a wedding/funeral chapel, a three story church administrative building, parking structure, and play fields. Proceeds from the "Global Bookstore and Café" go toward the church's international missions and outreach programs. The church also operates a separate Mariners Resource Center located in Santa Ana, which sells used items donated by church members.Statement of Faith
“We believe Jesus is the only Son of God, who came to earth as a man, died for our sins, and came back to life again. We believe in all who in faith trust in Him as their Lord and Savior to forgive their sins are part of the worldwide body of Christ”Guiding Values
- Teach God’s Word;
- Be God’s Loving Family;
- Every Believer is a Minister with a Ministry;
- Be Innovative in our Ministry and Relevant in our Community;
- Be Contagious in Sharing Jesus Christ
Kenton Beshore
Raised a pastor's son in La Canada Flintridge, CaliforniaLa Cañada Flintridge, California
La Cañada Flintridge is a small and affluent city in Los Angeles County, California, United States whose population at the 2010 census was 20,246, down from 20,318 at the 2000 census. According to Forbes, as of 2010, La Cañada Flintridge ranks as the 143rd most expensive U.S...
, Kenton graduated with his bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
from Biola University
Biola University
Biola University is a private, evangelical Christian, liberal arts university located near Los Angeles. Biola's main campus is in La Mirada in Los Angeles County, California. In addition, the university has several satellite campuses in Chino Hills, Inglewood, San Diego, and Laguna Hills.-...
in L.A. and his master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
from Biola's Talbot School of Theology
Talbot School of Theology
Talbot School of Theology is a non-denominational, conservative evangelical Christian theological seminary located near Los Angeles. Talbot is one of the seven schools that comprise Biola University, located in La Mirada, California.-History:...
. In 1978, Kenton came to Mariners as a college pastor. He loved Mariners' dream to reach out to those who weren't currently attending church - for whatever reason - and share the truth that God loved them more than they could ever know and, in 1984, he became Mariners' Senior Pastor. He has overseen Mariners stunning growth from a church of less than 300 to one of 15,000. In 2008, Kenton marked his 30th year at Mariners.