Story

This September, 2022 will mark 10 years since this church’s first ever giving campaign.

In 2012 men and women from over 100 households gave sacrificially to launch what we now know as Watermark OC Church.
This “first fruits” campaign raised over a million dollars.

Fast forward 10 years and a hundred new families later, there is a coffee shop (reaching 200-300 average customers/day); half a dozen churches and non-profits that meet on campus every day of the week and 4 church plants that have been birthed all because of the grace of God and a “building for sending” vision.

None of this would be possible without folks like you giving generously out of all that God has provided.

Ten years later and despite recession fears, global wars and pandemics, we believe God is calling us into a sacrificial giving season once more-to build up the Church’s rental property and to send people from this place where they live, work and play equipped to share the hope they have in Jesus.

Why

After 6 months of prayer and seeking counsel from generational mentors, we believe in a “giving campaign” for the following reasons: (and in this order)

More hearts tied to God (through giving for the first time)
More people on mission (because we care more when we give)
More ministry generated (through new building plans)

During the past 6 months we prayed one simple prayer: “God, what are you doing and how do we join you?”

We called. He answered. And his answer contained the following 5 life-changing initiatives.

Q&A

Year to date a little over $640,000 dollars has been pledged (and donated) to “Building for sending.” Our goal was somewhere around $1.5 million. One way we, as an elder board, determined God had provided additional funds for this kingdom expenditure was to pull from the amazing stock pile of “non-designated” cash reserves, to the tune of $480,000. We believe this is a solid amount to at least break ground on the MEC/theater space renovation as well as the growing kids ministry space needs. (With totally YTD expenses for this campaign totaling about $39,000 the lions share of dollars will go toward renovating these to spaces (kids and MEC).

The short answer is: “no!” We heard God loud and clear about all 5 building for sending campaign items and here’s how we know: (1) our ministry business partner (“Burn Bootcamp”) opened Easter, 2023 and about a month later an entire family from the gym was baptized as new members of the church. (2) Mision El Camino has re-opened on campus with us and the amount of unity and diversity that has taken place is a powerful testament to the Gospel. This space will also be “multi-purpose” with our intention to rent the MEC worship center as a theater/playhouse venue. And as as witness to how God spoke, we already have a dozen theater groups who are passionate about renting the space upon opening day! As for the (3) church plant in our future, we are still developing elders and leaders who could one day fill that role and we have 15 co-ed leaders in training cohorts this year alone. Keep praying about our (4) co-working space idea as the unit next door to watermark (approx 5k square foot of finished office space) could finally match this need/vision! As mentioned above, we plan to break ground on (5) new kids space possibly even this year.

Because of our great partner Christy Hernandez (“Dance for Joy” Christian dance ministries) and her dear friend Rick Stein (“Arts OC”) we were put in touch with yet another phenomenal partner/consultant in the form of Craig Holland from the “Wayward Artist” (a theater group). As a man of faith himself, Craig has been a huge encouraged to focus our efforts around kid-friendly, family-friendly theater, which he says is a hugely underserved population. It is our hope to vet the content of any playhouse production that is featured on our campus and to use those rents to support the ministry of MEC and the church at large. As aforementioned we have 10 other theater groups expressing interest as well as the the city of Costa Mesa who would like to renew from us in the future!

What

ONE: Build a fund for a future church plant to serve the city in need of the Gospel.

Watermark’s strategic vision is to become a medium sized multiplying church movement. In other words, we want to see a Gospel-centured, healthy-culture church in every city that needs one. Our unique vision for church planting is not to build a church where 10 great faith communities already exist. We want to really reach lost or “de-churched” (those who have been hurt or disillusioned by Christian institutions) souls in new cities and towns -wherever God calls. Would you consider helping us fill our “church-planting war chest” for the next location that is in need? This is a cosmic battle-‘a battle not against flesh and blood, but against rulers, authorities and powers’ (Ephesians 6:12). There are individuals and families who desperately need to be a part of a vital faith community.

TWO: A newly built Spanish-speaking Sanctuary to bridge the cultural divide in Costa Mesa.

Within the 16 square miles that constitutes Costa Mesa, there are a little over 112,000 people. According to the latest census data, 30% of this total population prefers the Spanish language. It’s no secret the single fastest growing population of our neighbors are Hispanic/Latino. Today, a “healthy” and flourishing church is defined as one whose growth rate matches that of the surrounding neighborhood. In order to better reach and serve this population with the Gospel we are building a brand new worship sanctuary and accompanying kids classrooms here at 3186 pullman street. As a church we will continue the work that Jesus started in, ‘destroying the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility… making two groups one.’ (Ephesians 2:14)

THREE: Multi-purpose classrooms to serve kids and families for the next generation.

As a part of our English/Spanish two sanctuary vision, we are counting on massive growth in kids ministry. We have already experienced explosive growth in that ministry area; our current ratio is 2:1 (adults: kids). While we want to create world class kids rooms for Sunday morning, we see an even bigger need in the broader community today. Public schools face unprecedented constraints, private/christian schools are filled to the max; parents are scrambling to figure out schooling alternatives and daycare facilities that can meet their needs. We will partner with homeschool parents; co-opts and other schooling groups to ensure their needs are met 6 days a week. The hope of the future is the next generation and we will care for them, provide for them and help form them in their hour of need.

FOUR: Building on our partnership with Lion and Lamb coffee to reach even more people, newly designed co-working space.

One of the greatest challenges-turned-opportunities in a post-pandemic world is displaced workers. We know by now that very few people can work from home 24/7/365, few can afford to rent permanent shared office space and many more face limitations with their company office. We believe we can meet the need of hundreds of workers by creating approximately 2,000 square feet of newly renovated co-working space. In partnership with Lion and Lamb Coffee Roasters we will meet the need of dozens of people who come through the coffee shop, today, looking for a quiet office or conference room. Almost 2 years ago we helped open Lion and Lamb on a hope and prayer that it would generate foot traffic and that maybe some of those would give church a chance again. That dream has now been realized as approximately 350 people are served daily through the coffee shop and many dozens of those have attended Watermark and even become members. Its not a theory anymore. It’s a tangible need of the community and we will meet that need and continue to draw people into a community of committed love.

FIVE: A new ministry business partner with a proven track record of changing lives.

The centerpiece of this giving campaign is the reclaiming of approximately 15,000 square feet for ministry use from our previous external tenants. A majority of this space will be designated for our second worship center and accompanying classrooms, but another approximately 5,000 square feet we plan tenant improvements for a new ministry business partner with a proven track record of changing lives.

How

Together we will raise 1.5-1.6 million dollars over 12 months to see even more people served with the good news of Jesus and even more people involved in the mission. Please take some time to pray about what kind of financial gift God is asking you to bring for this movement to change the world. You can give using THIS LINK.

How To Give to the Campaign

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Building Updates

Right now we have a limited supply of T-shirts and apparel that will help us do two things: 1, generate proceeds and 2, publicly represent the movement.

Faq's

1 Corinthians 11:24 says: Having given thanks, he broke it and said, This is my body, broken for you. When Jesus’ body was “broken” for all of mankind on the cross, it meant blessing for all. God’s forgiveness and grace was available to all, but Jesus’ body had to break. In like fashion we as a people, as a local church, must break. Our priorities, our investments, our very lives must break apart to be given out and spread out for God and for others.

The gift table shows different sizes of gifts and roughly how many givers in each category we will require to be successful in this campaign. By the grace of God, Watermark has always existed from the generous tithes, gifts and offerings of our people. Some people will be able to give from the top category; our hope and prayer is for people in the bottom category particularly who give for the first time to their local church. We believe that scripture shows people grow in maturity and in faith when they give their most precious things to God. “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also,” (Matthew 6:21)

Watermark leases the building in its entirety. As the master leaseholder, Watermark manages the property and subleases a portion of the building to commercial tenants. Watermark enjoys an incredibly favorable and long-standing relationship with the property owners, and looks forward to many more years in partnering with them. Recently, Watermark negotiated an option to extend the current lease an additional 5 years once the current lease ends in January 2025.

The best way to think about it is: our church is more like a “missionary training center” than a “church member repository.” The truth is we are building for seating and we are building for sending. We are building up this “sending” location so we can teach, train, equip, heal and then send… send to the places we live, work and play. And send out of town for a church plant to serve a city in need. The church is never going to stop gathering-regardless of the day of the week or time of day, regardless of whether its in a home or in a rental property, we will never forsake the gathering and we will never forsake the great commission (Matthew 28:16; Hebrews 10:25)

For months we have been planning and intentionally coordinating with MEC’s leadership to ensure a unified and thorough transition to the following model: “One Church, Two Languages.” MEC will not be a separate church “renting” on Watermark’s campus. The two staff’s will be integrated. The program and events will be integrated. The teaching series’ will be the same (but two languages). The kids and youth rooms will effectively merge. Francisco will still be the lead pastor of the Spanish-speaking church. Any other MEC staff will be integrated under WOC directors. Today, MEC has 4 major staff people in areas of worship and teaching team.

I love what one pastor said about giving campaigns: “giving campaigns are like batting in Major League Baseball... sometimes you get on first base, sometimes you get a home-run and sometimes you get a grand-slam. To raise the full goal would be equal to hitting a grand-slam, however, even getting on base means you get to ‘keep playing the game’” We are trusting God completely with this campaign. We have high hopes and faith that we will raise above and beyond our projected figure ($1.5-1.6 million). We believe that because this is HIS vision imparted to us. We believe that this is HIS will, and if that’s true, HE will be faithful and just to provide for HIS will. Hebrews 13:21, May he equip you with all you need for doing his will. May he produce in you, through the power of Jesus Christ, every good thing that is pleasing to him. All glory to him forever and ever! Amen.

One of the fun elements that will vastly improve our guest experience on campus- from our ministry business partners to Monday through Saturday church building users- is the way they enter the space. Today we see more and more people entering through the back deck parking lot; our Architect has devised a beautiful corridor space that will bridge the building from east to west. Please note the architect’s plan here.

Over the last 10 years of Watermark’s existence, we have always been a multipurpose church. The way that a small to medium size church has existed on such a large piece of property is because we have diversified income streams. Today the church makes approximately 40% of its budget from subleasing to tenants and 60% of its budget from tithes, gifts, and offerings from church members. We believe that these new initiatives will only grow those streams in both categories.

Our inspiration and conviction for this campaign is that it will accomplish two incredibly vital things: increased ministry dollars and increased number of people served. Every item on this plan is set out to secure more income for the work God has called us to and generate more people on campus that we serve with the gospel. If you look at the attached 2025 calendar year budget, you will see some of our early estimates of this project’s earning potential. Our hope is that we will have more people through the building, more programs offered, more groups and organizations renting our brand new ministry areas than ever before! “God has shown you his grace in many different ways. So be good servants and use whatever gift he has given you in a way that will best serve each other.” 1 Peter 4:10

The two sublease relationships that are in question here are namely our ministry business partners in the back of the building and Lion and Lamb Coffee, who will manage the co-working spaces. These tenant relationships will receive some cost sharing assistance from Watermark for tenant improvement costs. That is the purpose of this giving campaign: to invest our dollars> to improve the spaces >to reach and serve more people. The typical model for tenant improvements is to have a tenant pay for the majority of the expense, because these are our ministry partners, we will be using a more gracious and generous approach.

The first item we will pursue with utmost urgency is tenant improvements to the “ministry business partner” space. We have a business within the church that is ready to move in, hopefully by January 1 . The second item, in terms of urgency and simplicity to production, is the co-working space with Lion and Lamb. The space needs minimal work and can be accessed as soon as possible. The 3rd/4th areas for development will be the Spanish speaking sanctuary and the kids multi-purpose classrooms. These will take longer with city approval and overall construction, etc etc. We will keep everyone posted throughout the year with graphics and timelines of production on all items.

God has given Watermark a strategic vision to become a “medium sized multiplying church;” Watermark is a church planting movement. This means we have a value and a heart to plant churches; to start new churches in growing cities that are in need. Part of the step by step plan in this strategy is to pray for church planting “residents,” who join our staff and are eventually launched with their spouse, kids and a contingent of leaders who are called to go with them. The prayer inherent in that step is seeking the Lord for the name of a city that our hearts are “breaking” for, that we feel called to. We would like to prepare financially to get this church “start-up” going with some “seed-money” for their first couple of years.

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