Covenant News

Newsong (CA) Completes Move into New Facility

IRVINE, CA (November 25, 2001) - Newsong Community Church has made the transition from a 28,000-square-foot building to one with 65,000 square feet, moving five miles from Tustin to Irvine and adding to its congregation of around 1,500.

The church celebrated its seventh anniversary October 21 after attracting 1,650 attendees for a grand opening service September 23. The church moved into an industrial park near the University of California-Irvine September 1. The new building is appropriately called "The Warehouse."

Ken Okajima, director of operations at the church, said the move was aided by a plea that raised about $100,000 within eight days. Later, another $30,000 was given to ease the costs of the quick transitioning of the warehouse into a functional worship facility.

Newsong Community Church was founded in October 1994 by pastor David Gibbons. The congregation attracted 2,300 to its Easter services, renting a dinner theater to provide the necessary seating. Gibbons and church staffers believe the increased attendance made the move well worth the risk. They estimated that $1 million of tenant improvements were completed before the move.

"These past weeks have been a faith-stretching, white-knuckle ride," said Gibbons. "(But) the transition has been a successful one as we moved from our Tustin site to the newer Irvine location. We've grown more spiritually mature, embarked on major new ministry initiatives and have grown physically larger as a congregation.

"While pondering our needs, I needed some down time to get encouraged that our hard work as a church was really worth it," Gibbons continued. "So I asked our staff to share what God was doing. It was a powerful hour. My heart raced with excitement and new energy as many shared wonderful examples of how God is changing lives in our church. I walked out of the meeting knowing that God's hand has and will continue to be on our church."

Newsong Community has more than 300 college-age students in weekly activities and has a high percentage of singles and people in their 20s and 30s (the median age of parishioners is 25). The congregation has solid core leadership and 400 are scheduled to attend a leadership conference at the church November 16-17. Newsong has many Asian Americans in its congregation, although the diversity of the church and creative worship ideas have attracted a variety of people.

Recently, a drama team performed a spoof on "The Weakest Link" television show as part of a sermon series entitled, "Reality Bites! Dealing with the Hard Realities of Life." Using I Corinthians 1 and 2, Gibbons pointed out that Christians participate in the sacrament of communion "not because we are strong, but because we are weak." The drama and sermon provided a poignant message as the church took communion together.

"We want to be a big/small church . . . a church that has a service where we can celebrate corporately as a large group, but also a place that fosters significant small-group interactions and community," Gibbons said. "Both are needed. The large platform allows us to have more resources in every area of our ministry. This large worship context is also easier for new people to check out our church in an anonymous way. The smaller group provides the intimacy that every one of us needs."

Besides its own work in Irvine, Newsong Community is helping plant two other churches. David Chae, who previously served as an associate pastor at Newsong, is launching a church in the Silicon Valley area of Northern California called Great Exchange Church. In Santa Ana, a previous intern at Newsong, David Benavides, has also started a church with assistance from Newsong. Benavides directed Kidworks, a ministry to children in Santa Ana, before being called to church planting in his neighborhood.

For more information about Newsong Community Church, call the church at 949-477-0700, email info@newsong.net or check the church website at www.newsong.net.

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