St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church plans expansion to south O.C.

St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Newport Beach plans to open a campus in south Orange County early next year.

The Newport Beach location at 600 St. Andrews Road, which the church has occupied for about 70 years, will remain open.

It’s not clear what city St. Andrew’s is considering for its new campus, but it is looking at existing church sites as well as commercial locations, according to lead pastor Richard Kannwischer.

Join the conversation on Facebook >>

The expansion plan is part of St. Andrew’s vision to create a church for the Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians to serve Orange County. ECO is a religious denomination that spun off from the Presbyterian Church in 2012 amid concerns about declining church membership and denominational disputes over theology, according to the ECO website.

“We want to put all that behind us and instead say, ‘How can we accomplish God’s mission?’” Kannwischer said.

Kannwischer said it’s important for the church to grow to meet the needs of different communities throughout Orange County and beyond.

In its early years, St. Andrew’s was much more active in helping other churches take root, Kannwischer said, and he looks at the move into south Orange County as a way to revive a goal that’s been dormant for years.

“God is on the move in the world, and we seek to join him. Discipleship is inherently an active and externally focused pursuit,” he said. “It is not so much that we have a mission as a church, but that we follow Jesus Christ in his mission. This calling pushes us beyond meeting our own needs and sends us into new communities to reveal God’s goodness.”

--

Hannah Fry, [email protected]

Twitter: @HannahFryTCN