About

We are a local church founded in 1949 in the town of Santa Margarita, CA. When a group of faithful women in the community wanted Sunday School education for their children, they called a minister and the congregation began the slow work of building a church. 

Since then, for over 70 years, generations of faithful Christians have sought to preach God’s word and serve Santa Margarita and their respective neighborhoods, taking part in the divine calling to reconcile the people and place of Santa Margarita to our Lord Jesus Christ.  

Here are some SMCC church distinctives. We believe that these concepts are essential to the mission of raising generations of Christians in Santa Margarita:

  • The sovereignty of God over all creation: We believe that God, as creator of all, is the all-powerful Lord of all. As the 1689 London Baptist Confession reads, “He has absolute sovereign rule over all creatures, to act through them, for them, or upon them as he pleases. In his sight everything is open and visible. His knowledge is infinite and infallible. It does not depend upon any creature, so for him nothing is contingent or uncertain.” Because God’s authority and knowledge extends to all things, we must submit to His rule in every area of our lives. Read through the What We Believe page for our full doctrinal statement.
  • The centrality of Lord’s Day worship: Congregational worship on the Lord’s Day informs everything else we do and shapes how we live in the following week. Each week we sing together, pray together, hear the scriptures read and preached, and celebrate the Lord’s Supper. View the Worship page to learn more about how we worship. 
  • Multigenerational fellowship: The passing of wisdom from one generation to the next is an essential way believers mature in Christ. At SMCC the whole congregation of all ages worships together and is taught by the word. Congregants of various ages take part in mid week discipleship groups, and we train parents to disciple their own children and bring them up in Christ.
  • Biblical households: We believe that men and women are each glorious pictures of the image of God. Following the biblical teaching concerning the household and the nature of men and women leads to the greatest flourishing in the Christian home.
  • Congregational singing: We desire to sing music that is meant for congregations to sing together and grounded in the scriptures and church history. We are currently learning to sing the Psalms and hymns with greater skill and joy.
  • Outreach in light of the lordship of Christ: We seek to serve our community and preach Christ to it not in fear or desperation, but with the knowledge that Christ is already Lord of Santa Margarita. The church is called to the task of proclaiming his reign and is the means through which God brings people to saving faith in Christ their Lord. Men and women working faithfully in their ordinary vocations and exercising leadership in their community is a key part of this mission. Learn more about our vision of outreach here.

 

Santa Margarita Community Church has been a member of the denomination Evangelical Free Church of America (EFCA) since 1990.