Mariners Church
| Mariners Church | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Country | United States |
| Denomination | Non-Denominational |
| Website | marinerschurch.org |
| History | |
| Founded | 1965 |
| Clergy | |
| Pastor(s) | Kenton Beshore Kyle Zimmerman Trisha Graves Jared Kirkwood Justin Herman |
Mariners Church is a non-denominational, evangelical Christian megachurch located in Irvine, California, situated in central Orange County. It is currently the 2nd largest church in California and one of the 20 largest in the United States.
Mariners Church began as a small group of Christians who met for Bible 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 (73,000 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 in Mission Viejo. Mariners currently also has campuses in Huntington Beach and Ocean Hills in San Juan Capistrano.
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