San Diego Project

Like so many others, Jake Vayda came to San Diego to chase a dream. 

This city is a bridge for so many: people from other parts of the world, students, professionals, creatives, and more. San Diego lured Jake from over 2300 miles away from home to pursue the dream of one day planting a church. Because, as Jake says, "Just because you live in the most beautiful city in the country doesn’t mean you automatically find purpose, community, and meaning." 

Jake served on staff at a local church, where he met his wife Kaelia. Throughout their tenure at that church, they knew that God was developing them for a future church plant. Now, seven years later, after training and preparation, and with the blessing of the church where they've served, Jake and Kaelia are preparing to plant a church in the heart of San Diego. 

While Jake moved to San Diego years ago, it is Kaelia's hometown — where she was born and raised. Together, over the years they have become intertwined with the life of their city, experiencing its distinct blessings and challenges. For Jake and Kaelia have made this city home, where their roots are firmly planted. 

San Diego is also home to 1.3 million other residents. It draws in people from across the country and around the world, and is particularly rich in the culture from Latin America and Asia. This unique fusion shapes the city's culture, arts, food, and language. San Diego is marked by its diverse micro-communities offering dozens of radically different cultures within close proximity. Furthermore, San Diego boasts a high number of college students per capita — more than 7 percent of the population is actively pursuing higher education. 

For all of these reasons, and others, the Vaydas want to plant a new church to reach this diverse and vibrant place. While there is much movement in areas like education and the arts, there is still little movement in the area of Jesus and his church. So many people in Southern California have simply never encountered Jesus or an understandable message about who he is. San Diegans desire to be generous, communal, and even spiritual; too many just haven't found a place that meets those needs and desires. 

This church will be a bridge, connecting people who live life on the surface to deep worship and teaching that allows them to investigate the claims of Jesus for themselves. It will help to bridge people who are lonely to people who care. It will help to bridge people to the larger community in order to make real a difference. Most of all it will show Jesus's life and work as the bridge to the life that they've always wanted.