San Diego is immersed in tension:
Beautiful and Broken.
Diverse and Divided.
Influential and Unreached…
Lost and Beloved of God.
In this context, the San Diego Church Planting Project strives to establish a worshipping community that seeks to be the very presence of Christ in word, deed, and lifestyle—through many people in multiple ministries doing one thing:
Following Christ in mission to renew our neighborhoods, city and world!
Rev. Matt Nault
Pastor, Church Planter
San Diego Church Planting Project,
a ministry of the Reformed Church in America
(415) 254-0826
matt[at]Renew[dot]org
1993 Ebers St. San Diego, CA 92107
SAN DIEGO IS A CITY WITH...
- 1.3 million people (4.9M in San Diego-Tijuana), the 8th largest city in America
- A bustling multi-ethnic population and the busiest international border in the world
- The 3rd largest homeless population in the country
- A majority of people who do not identify as Christians. This church will winsomely and compellingly commend the gospel to people who are not yet followers of Jesus
- Non-Christians who are asking for a church they can be part of to grow spiritually
- Christians looking for a church to which they can bring skeptical friends
The Vision
- A church in the city that exists for the good of the city. We serve our neighbors with the love of Christ and in so doing become a winsome apologetic for the reality of Jesus’ resurrection and the love of God in Christ, who calls all people to himself.
- A church that participates in Christ’s renewal in every dimension of San Diego: spiritually and physically, individually and communally, emotionally and socially, the arts, culture, business, education, innovation and every aspect of society.
- A church that proclaims the gospel in a way that is winsome and comprehensible to all our friends and neighbors, especially those who are not Christians. We cultivate the bringer mentality and grow by inviting our friends, neighbors, colleagues and family members.
- A prophetic foretaste of the coming Kingdom of God in which all people of every race, ethnicity and culture come together and are invited to find true life in Christ.
- A church that is rooted in the confessions, creeds and liturgy of the historic Christian Church and is also committed to being accessible and intelligible to seekers and skeptics of all spiritual backgrounds.
- A church that is intellectually sound and values discipleship of the mind while simultaneously being emotionally engaging and inspiring one another to changed lives and transformed communities.
The Strategy to Launch
August-December 2017
Study the community and learn as much as possible.
Network and raise start up funds. Meet hundreds of neighbors in the community, develop relationships with friends who are spiritually open as well as community leaders to get a sense of opportunities and needs to serve in the community. Make meaningful connections among neighbors who are unconvinced and convinced, wealthy and poor, people of every ethnicity and culture and place in their spiritual journey in order to thoughtfully and effectively develop a church community that serves all our neighbors.
January-March 2018
Gear up to launch and serve the neighborhood. Develop our vision, instill values, form community identity and raise up core leaders. Gather weekly for Bible Study and social gatherings as we invite all the people we have met and their friends, neighbors and colleagues to be a part of a new church for everyone in the neighborhood. Develop the bringer mentality as we show what it means to be “a church that remembers what it’s like to not believe,” a church you can always bring any of your friends to.
April 1, 2018: Easter!
Launch the new congregation with its first official service on Easter. Shortly after, we will launch community groups to grow spiritually and more deeply in community while serving the neighborhood more locally.
Launch Team
Rev. Matt Nault will be the lead pastor of the new church and Florence Nault will be the part-time director of children’s ministries.
Matt was born and raised in San Diego. He ministered with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship for five years at the Universities of San Diego and San Francisco before becoming a pastor in center-city San Francisco for 10 years. Florence is also a San Diego native and has earned childhood development and teaching credentials. She has taught elementary school for over a decade and has developed children’s ministries at three churches. Matt and Florence have three boys: Benjamin, Levi and Joshua and are thrilled to start a church community all their friends in San Diego can be a part of!
Our experience of 15 years of ministry, including 7 years of establishing and sustaining the Mission Congregation in the middle of the post-Christian, world-class city of San Francisco, has prepared us for the next chapter of planting a missional church in San Diego, a city we know and love. We are excited to utilize all we have learned and apply our experiences to plant a congregation that grows in faith, hope and love to impact and renew San Diego: another diverse, beautiful and broken city that Jesus loves and is renewing.
Financial Need
The major expenditures for a new church are personnel, venue, and supplies. The church is projected to be financially self sustaining after three years. To establish and sustain a healthy ministry that can serve many, we need to raise approximately $300,000 per year for the first three years.
*San Diego Church Planting Project is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization
Year 1
- Pastor, part time children’s minister, part time worship music leader
- Facility/venue rent and improvements
- Start up supplies: audio/video, chairs, children’s ministry supplies
- Community outreach and events
- Budget: $334,200 (10% internal donations and offerings, 90% friends and partner donations)
Funding need: $300,780
Year 2
- Pastor, part time children’s minister, full time worship music leader/community developer
- Facility/venue rent
- Outreach and events
- Increase service opportunities in the neighborhood
- Administration and office supplies
- Budget: $412,000 (30% internal donations and offerings, 70% friends and partner donations)
Funding need: $288,400
Year 3
- Pastor, Assistant Pastor, Children’s Minister, Worship music leader/community developer
- Facility/venue rent
- Outreach and events
- Increase service opportunities in the neighborhood
- Office Space, administration and supplies
- $515,500 (50% internal donations and offerings, 50% friends and partner donations)
Funding need: $257,750
How you can partner
Pray for our immediate areas of focus
Introduce us to people we should meet in San Diego
Give financially to help fund the San Diego Church Planting Project
Please make checks payable to “San Diego Church Planting Project” and mail to
Attn: Matt Nault,
1993 Ebers St, San Diego, CA 92107
or