Hi there.
About 7…read moreyears ago I moved to the area and it was overwhelming to find a church-- not because of a lack of options, but you can't get a feel for the place from a website. Here's some info I wish I knew about a church before I went to visit...
What do we believe?
We love Jesus. And people. Stonebridge is a non denominational evangelical church. Actually, this is an area where the website can explain better than I can-- here's the statement of faith and core value outline: http://www.stonebridgecc.org/about-us/what-we-believe
What are Sundays like?
We meet in an industrial area within the Gibo Kodama Chairs building. There a few signs leading up to the church, parking is plenty and it's easy to find. There's coffee/tea/water before service that you can bring in with you. Service starts at 10:30AM, begins with worship music, announcements, and praying for people. There is a quick "greet your neighbor" time, but they don't ask new people to stand or anything that puts a spotlight on you. The message is typically given by one of our 2 staff pastors, they have pretty different styles. We have a pastor who is in his 20s and single, and another who is... well, I don't know how old (I'm not going to ask!), but all his kids are out of college. They both overflow with the love of Jesus and bring great perspectives to the Bible.
How long will I be there?
Service ends before noon, but stay for refreshments! It's a light lunch and we love getting to know people during this time. Lots of people will greet you and you definitely won't sit alone. This fellowship time wraps up around 1PM-ish, though you're welcome to leave whenever you like.
Who are they?
A loving, super casual, accepting group of about 100ish multi-generational people. I know, I'm sure all churches say that...
People come from all walks of life. I know this because they share openly on where they've been and what they struggle with now. There are people who wanted to go to church, but didn't think they could because of what they were doing in their life, and they say Stonebridge is the one church where they felt comfortable and accepted. No need to clean up your life first or put on a happy face. Just come, be real, and we want to know you for who you are. I love how our church loves people.
Most people are in shorts and flip flops even on those few days it rains. We're casual and there's no need to dress up. Come as you are!
It's such a blessing to be at a multi-generational church. We have kids, youth, young adults, and adults of all ages. I'm so blessed by the wisdom of those older than me and that I can hang out with and invest in our youth. We don't have cliques, we're not big enough to have that struggle. Everyone talks to everyone. That said, our age groupings are not big-- there's usually about 5-10 kids in our children's ministry (occurs during Sunday service, though kids are welcome in Sunday service if they like), 10-20 in our young adult group, etc.
Oh yeah, and a lot of people here like Hockey. The church used to be next to The Rinks in Huntington Beach.
When should I go?
Come for Sunday service. There are weeknight meetings as well (Small groups, youth group, college group, etc.), but it's easiest to come on a Sunday and meet a few people then. Service is at 10:30AM and there's a Bible study at 9AM if you'd like to join then.
If you come, ask for Kristen (that's me)! See? You already know someone at Stonebridge :)