New Song Church in Irvine and Saddleback Church in Lake Forest

[PANDA DREAMING OF IRVINE_IHB]

I have heard great things about both of these churches. Does any one attend either New Song or Saddle Back? What has your experience been in terms of community? I plan to move my family to Irvine and am deciding on attending either one of these churches.



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[25inIrvine_IHB]

I attend Saddleback church regularly and also grew up at Calvary Church in Santa Ana (www.calvarylife.org). Be prepared, Saddleback is a massive church, so it is easy to feel disconnected if you don't get yourself involved. I am also interested in that Irvine branch of Saddleback Church they just started.



I don't have a family or kids so can't comment on Saddleback's but I can say Calvary was awesome to grow up in although it may be tough for children that don't attend school there.



Other churches I have heard good things about in Irvine are Voyagers and Mariners. I have never heard about New Song though.

 

[QHBruin_IHB]

I play on a softball team with New Song, and they're a bunch of great guys. My cousins also go to New Song and they only say good things about it. The only issue I have heard about them is their size. Correct me if I'm wrong, but they have three sessions on Sunday? It is a huge church, but it seems they have great small groups to make it more personal.

 

[IrvineLocal_IHB]

The children's ministry at NewSong is very good...but the children's ministry at Saddleback is AMAZING.



Either church, you need to get involved with the small groups in order connect with other people. Both churches are too big to be able to develop a sense of community just by showing up on Sunday mornings.



Demographic makeup:



-NewSong says it is multicultural...but you look across the service and it feels like 85% asian. If you're an asian that likes to hang around other asians, you'll probably feel very comfortable. Also keep in mind that NewSong's average age is like 27 or something. There are not very many people who are over 50 at this church. As such, it has a pretty edgy vibe.



-Saddleback is predominantly caucasian and attracts a pretty wide age span.



Sunday Sermons:



-I would describe both churches as very seeker-friendly churches. If you're looking for intellectually/theologically challenging sermons, these two places are probably not going to get you what you want. Although both churches have programs for you to dive into to get deeper into doctrine.



Service:



-Saddleback and its initiatives and programs seem pretty amazing (e.g. their AIDS outreach), although I haven't gotten involved, so I couldn't tell you how effective they are.



-NewSong has launched a bunch of initiatives of its own, but they don't seem as well organized as Saddleback. But they are very good at targeting topics that are peculiar to the Orange County culture. For example, NewSong recently had a whole series about money and God and have actually launched a whole bunch of support groups and classes to help people understand and manage their financial stituations. Seems like the series resonated a lot with people...many of which were trying to live the "OC Lifestyle." For example, I heard that there actually is a support group full of folks who bought more than they could afford in Woodbury and are now struggling with the consequences.



We've checked out Saddleback several times and are interested, but it is just too dang far. We haven't checked out the Irvine remote location yet. In the meantime, we keep going back to NewSong because we've been there so long and it is so close.



My fantasy is that Tim Keller of Redeemer Church (NY) realizes that he too wants to live the OC Lifestyle and relocates here to start a new church.

 

[PANDA_IHB]

Thanks guys,



I think that both chuches are awesome! Both my wife and I have read Rick Warren's book "Purpose Driven Life and have been blessed by it, and Pastor Gibbons is a pretty radical pastor within the asian community. Thanks for all the inputs, my wife and I will definitely give both churches a try when we get there. It is funny because my wife likes predominately white mega churches like Saddleback while I really like the radical, hip asian churches like New Song. Hopefully we will come to an agreement which church we will attend.



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