From meager beginnings

Michele Marr

On Easter night 1988, pastor John Worcester and a few founding

members held the first worship service of Seabreeze Church. One other

person showed up.

But from that small beginning a thriving church with more than 600

members has grown up over the past 15 years.

“It’s hard to imagine that it started out with just a handful of

people and hardly any resources,” said Dale Graham, the church’s

associate pastor.

After that first disappointing service in April, the small

congregation regrouped. A new service time was decided on, members

found a new location and mailed announcements to local addresses.

On Aug. 13 it held its second Sunday service, this time at Roger’s

Senior Center, which would become their Sunday home for the next

eight years. That morning, 180 people walked in.

Ron Budd, one of the church’s earliest members, recalls wondering

where they all came from.

“We were under-chaired and we were setting up chairs like crazy,”

he said.

As a beach city church, its style was naturally casual and

relaxed. Shorts, t-shirts and jeans were, and still are, common

Sunday attire. From young children to senior adults, people seemed to

feel accepted and at home.

By 1995 the congregation had outgrown the seating-capacity at

Roger’s Senior Center. It had reached a plateau and a turning point.

“I shake my head sometimes in amazement and think, ‘How did this

happen?’” said Bevan Unrau, the church’s senior pastor. “We still

marvel at what happened.”

When Unrau came to Seabreeze Church 13 years ago, the newly

graduated seminary student had never been a pastor before and he had

spoken in public only a half-dozen times.

“God didn’t [necessarily] grab the best and the brightest. He

grabbed people who had a deep desire and a commitment to put their

shoulders to the wheel,” he said. “Over time that’s what has moved us

forward.”

Although, in it’s early days Unrau sometimes wondered if the

church would survive.

It not only survived, it flourished. In 1996, the congregation

found a new Sunday morning home, and room to grow, at the newly-built

Huntington Beach Central Library Theater.

Six years later, they hold two Sunday morning worship services

there, once again for capacity crowds. Unrau calls it “this miracle

called church,” a miracle that he says began in Jerusalem on

Pentecost when 3,000 people decided to become followers of Jesus.

“From Pentecost until the last day, the church will be a miracle.

That really is what has happened here at Seabreeze,” he said.

The worship music is cutting-edge and cranked-up, much of it

original, with music and lyrics written by Nathan Watkins, the

church’s worship pastor, or other member’s of the band.

Most are working professionals who play in local bands, in

studios, or theater and musical productions. Watkins is an adjunct

professor of music at Hope International University in Fullerton.

In the album notes to the band’s most recent CD, “Song of Jesus,”

their music and ministry is described this way, “Our songs. His

story. Our voices. His glory.”

Being part of God’s story and being a congregation for God’s glory

is what Seabreeze Church hopes to always be about.

Graham recalls that when he and his wife first came to the church

in 1989, two things especially stood out to him.

“One thing was just how much the people loved each other and the

sacrifices they had made. The other was how much they wanted to reach

out and be part of the community,” he said.

To celebrate the church’s 15th anniversary, the congregation

recently spent three Sundays looking back over those 15 years. Many

came forward on Sunday morning, with clearly grateful hearts, to

speak about what the church means to them.

They spoke of finding hope, security, friendship and family. They

spoke of discovering God’s grace and mercy. They spoke of being

accepted just as they are.

Mark Snyder summed it up like this: It’s where it’s happening as

far as the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Seabreeze is a joy.

It’s an absolute joy.”

Fifteen-years-old, the church has reached a new turning point. The

congregation has once again outgrown their rented facility and

they’re searching for a larger one -- perhaps this time, a building

of their own.

They believe a larger, more permanent building would enable them

to reach out to the community far better.

“Right now we don’t have a very visible presence so our role in

building a healthy community is limited. I look forward to the day

when our presence in this community is a significant help,” Unrau

said.