Our Story

How it all started...

It starts in the fall of 2015 when a group of 15 people from Orange County felt led by God to start a church in Irvine, CA. With the help of Calvary Church Santa Ana, Prodigal Church held its first official service at Jeffrey Trail Middle School on January 11, 2015.

Prodigal Church’s journey was anything but smooth.  We endured leadership shifts, unexpected location changes, saw the passing of key members, and so much more.  We got quite good at adapting to the “unexpected.”  But in the midst of all the turmoil, we also saw people give their lives to Christ, form deep relationships with one another, and take bold steps of faith.

Then in the spring of 2018 we felt God leading us into something new.  We had been in Irvine for three years as a church, but it didn’t quite feel like home.  We didn’t know what this meant at the time, but we knew God would make it clear to us.  And then He did… God made it abundantly clear that he wanted our church family to pack up and move to the city of Tustin. This was exciting, scary, and overwhelming, but felt right at the same time.

With the call to move to Tustin, He also blessed us with a new mission.  While we were praying about the move, we kept hearing the words “new life” repeated to us.  Overtime, we pressed in and asked God for clarity. We eventually discerned that God was commissioning us to breathe “new life” into the city of Tustin.  The “new life” would be the gospel; and we would spread it through our words, actions, and love. And by us doing so, He would breathe “new life” into us!

So we prayed, praised, and packed.  We knew that if God was leading us, we had nothing to fear.  We immediately started taking steps to make this a reality.  We also decided that when we moved to Tustin we would embrace this new promise from God and change our name to New Life.  
On April 21, 2019, Easter Sunday, New Life Orange County held its first service.

We are a group of everyday, normal people who want to see our city transformed with love.  We believe God breathes “new life” into us through Jesus, and it is our passion and desire to breathe out the love of Jesus upon our neighbors.  We invite you to come on this journey with us.

Be a part of our story...

Join us every Sunday as we gather to worship together a 5:00 PM | 18542 Vanderlip Ave, Santa Ana CA 92705