our story
Sandals Church just shouldn't be here, plain and simple. Planting a church is not easy, and we started in all the wrong ways. We had no money, no support, no people and no long-term plans. We weren't even a real church for two years. We started out as an uncomfortable eight people meeting in Matt and Tammy Brown's living room. Since then, we have since met in an apartment community room, office complex, fellowship hall, two different sanctuaries, and a college gym. Sandals' is the story of God's blessing through strategic relationships and partnerships. Phil Busby from the Bible Fellowship of Riverside, Magnolia Avenue Baptist Church, Tom Lance at the Grove, and California Baptist University. God has worked miraculously to take us from eight to over 2000. We have great people to love on your children and youth and over 125 small groups to encourage authentic relationships and spiritual growth. Since the first meeting Sandals has existed to "be real with ourselves, others, and God." Thanks for considering making Sandals your home church.
vision definitions
In order to be real with ourselves, others and God, we are seeking:
• With Ourselves - to encourage authentic community through small groups where we share our stories, confess our sins, love, serve, & challenge each other so that we can become our God-intended selves.
• With Others - to embody Christ through compassionate activism by ministering to people's spiritual, emotional, and physical needs.
• With God - to embrace biblical spirituality by joining in a relationship with the Triune God who desires to be worshipped, followed, and known for our ultimate benefit.
core values
We seek to practice the following virtues in everything we do:
• Biblical - The Bible is the only book that tells us who God is and how to worship Him. It is our road map for living, our guide to true spirituality, and a reliable witness to the life of Jesus Christ. As a church we seek to live our lives under the authority of the Bible. This means Scripture shapes our motivations, beliefs, actions, and goals.
• Authentic - Our desire is to go beyond typical, shallow, churchy answers to life's problems. At Sandals we share real temptations, real struggles, and real pain so that we can begin to experience real community. In becoming real we break through our masks and deceptions to discover our core strengths and core sins. With Jesus and other believers we are learning how to live in our strengths and grow away from our sins.
• Relational - Christianity is a "with" others religion. It cannot be intentionally lived out alone. God has designed us to be intimately connected to Him and to His Church, which is so much more than just a service one attends. The Church is a community of strangers becoming friends who purposely choose to do life.
• Missional - Our Missional task is threefold: 1) We obey Christ's mandate to go to the entire world. 2) We represent Jesus at all times, in everything we do, and for everyone around us. 3) We adapt everything but the message to connect new generations to Jesus Christ.
• Simple - Following Jesus is hard but not complicated. We desire Jesus to consume your life. Sandals Church seeks to follow its vision without distraction. We measure opportunities and say no to everything that does not fit this vision or our calling from God.
