History: Where We Came From

For 10 years, believers in Oceanside prayed for a Reformed church to be started. Unbeknownst to them, in the Fall of 1999, a seminary student at Westminster Seminary California was discerning his calling from the Lord. Being from the coastal South Bay of Los Angeles who didn’t grow up in a Reformed church, Danny Hyde desired to plant a Reformed church in a coastal Southern California city to spread the joy of Jesus’ saving grace. At the same time that Fall, the Escondido United Reformed Church hosted one of its missionaries for a weekend. He challenged that church not just to send its money far and wide for the kingdom, but to plant a church in their own backyard. When he said this, several members began yelling out, “Plant a church in Oceanside!” Afterwards, Danny found these people and they began a conversation that resulted in a church planting proposal for the Council (pastor, elders, deacons) of the EURC. In February 2000, our first home Bible study began in Oceanside. Danny graduated from Westminster in May, sustained his ministerial examinations in June (while we started our first evening worship service at Palmquist Elementary School), in July he was ordained to the gospel ministry, and in September morning and evening services began. On Thanksgiving morning 2001, we held our first service at the Chapel of the Army & Navy Academy, where we’ve gathered ever since.

Our congregation is a member of the United Reformed Churches in North America, which is part of “The Dutch Reformed in North America.” This tradition is rooted in the sixteenth century movement of revival we know as “The Protestant Reformation.” For more on these roots, see Pastor Danny’s article, “What Is Reformed Theology? Its Roots, Core Beliefs & Key Leaders.” We are also a member of the International Conference of Reformed Churches.