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Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Rick Warren’s Saddleback Church Celebrates 30th Anniversary with Special Mosaic of its Membership on Easter Sunday

By Michael Ireland
Chief Correspondent, ASSIST News Service

LAKE FOREST, CA (ANS) -- Saddleback Church will celebrate it’s 30th anniversary with a special service April 4 at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California, with an expected 50,000 people in attendance, many of whom will make up a special mosaic of the church’s membership in a photo-montage of Jesus.

Rick Warren at a previous Saddleback event at Angel Stadium (Photo: Dan Wooding)

Mega-church pastor Rick Warren announced on Twitter and Facebook that the Jonas Brothers will make a special appearance during Saddleback Church's Easter Service.

The Orange County Register newspaper says that the April 4 event at Angel Stadium will celebrate the 22,000-member church's 30th anniversary.

“Kari Jobe will sing at Saddleback's Easter service at Angel Stadium (Our 30th birthday!) April 4. The Jonas Brothers too,” Warren tweeted.

“This Easter will be unlike any we've had at Saddleback before, as we rejoice together for one momentous service at Angel Stadium in Anaheim. We'll have special guests, inspiring worship, and Pastor Rick will take a memorable look back at where we've been as a church, and most importantly, talk about the future,” the church's Website said.

“Our Easter Celebration starts at 10 a.m. It's the 30th anniversary of Saddleback Church and we're going to take about 50,000 of our people to Angel Stadium,” Warren wrote to his congregation.
 

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“You'll want to get there early to tailgate with your family, friends and small group. We'll be baptizing in four locations after the service, so if you know somebody who'd like to be baptized, this is an exciting time to do it,” he said.

“Easter will be unlike any we've had at Saddleback before, as we rejoice together for one momentous service at Angel Stadium in Anaheim. We'll have special guests, inspiring worship, and Pastor Rick will take a memorable look back at where we've been as a church, and most importantly, talk about the future,” the church's website said.

Special Mosaic

Warren told church members on the web: “Our church would not be a church without YOU, the body. For our Easter celebration, we're making a giant mosaic of Jesus, comprised of the photos of every Saddleback member. So, we need your photo as soon as possible! Upload your pictures at www.saddleback.com/mosaic or bring them by the Church Office (your photo will not be returned if sent to the Church Office). If you need to get your picture taken, or are unable to upload a photo on the Website, we'll have PICS photographers available on the patio after every service this weekend.”

The stadium parking lot will open at 8 a.m. and the gates into the stadium will open at 8:30 a.m. Church officials are still figuring out the logistics on entrance to the service. That information will be available later this month.

The Lake Forest-based church will also donate their entire Easter offering for Haiti relief.


** Michael Ireland, Chief Correspondent of ANS, is an international British freelance journalist who was formerly a reporter with a London (United Kingdom) newspaper and has been a frequent contributor to UCB Europe, a British Christian radio station. While in the UK, Michael traveled to Canada and the United States, Albania,Yugoslavia, Holland, Germany,and Czechoslovakia. He has reported for ANS from Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Israel, Jordan, China,and Russia. Michael's volunteer involvement with ASSIST News Service is a sponsored ministry department -- 'Michael Ireland Media Missionary' (MIMM) -- of A.C.T. International of P.O.Box 1649, Brentwood, TN 37024-1649,at: Artists in Christian Testimony (A.C.T.) International where you can donate online to support his stated mission of 'Truth Through Christian Journalism.' If you have a news or feature story idea for Michael, please contact him at: ANS Chief Reporter

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