History of Our Church

Our story is one of perseverance and persistence.  Sometimes our church’s story is like the children of Israel wondering through the wilderness and at other times it is like the New Testament church reaching out into our community to bring those who need Christ to Him.  No matter how you tell the story there will be details that will be left out and past pain that will not be mentioned.  However, God’s faithfulness can be seen each step of the way.  God truly has a destiny for Del Oro Hills Community Church and the story is still unfolding.

 

The vision of Del Oro Hills Community Church began back in the late 80’s when Rev. Delmer Loy was pastor of the then Oceanside Church of God.  With a desire for a church for young families in a newly developed section of Oceanside weighing heavily on his heart, the church was birthed through the efforts of some 30 core members and the assistance of the Association of the Churches of God of Southern California and Southern Nevada.  Rev. Loy’s vision came into a reality in September 1990.  Its first place of worship was at the Empresa Elementary School’s multipurpose cafatorium.  The church grew to an average attendance of 150 by 1993 when Rev. Loy felt the call to return to his hometown roots to help in his family business.

 

In the year of 1993-1994 the church went through a period of struggle with pastoral changes.  Due to it being a newly formed church, some of its members sought stability by choosing to be a part of other churches.  The church lost over half of its membership during those difficult days.  The leadership evaluated their options and chose to call another pastor.  In the fall of 1994 Rev. Martin Shrout was called to be the new pastor of Del Oro Hills Community Church beginning Sunday, January 1, 1995.

 

Rev. Shrout had over thirteen years of experience as an associate pastor in the fields of Youth ministry and Music ministry.  This would be his first position as lead pastor.  The church was off to a great start with great growth in the first year.  However, as is common with major pastoral changes some had felt the scars of the past too deeply and sought out other places of worship.  These were difficult and discouraging days for the church and her leadership but as they remained faithful, God provided new families to replace the dear friends who had moved on to other congregations.

 

Since those difficult days the church has moved through four different locations.  After being in Empresa for almost four years it then moved to Roosevelt Middle School (Fall of 1995 to Spring of 1998), to Ivey Ranch Elementary School (Spring of 1998 to 2000), and to a commercial storefront at 3753 Mission Ave., Suites 107-109, and now to 4055 Oceanside Blvd., Suites N – S.  Each step has been both challenging and rewarding.  As we have moved to each facility we have been able to reach out to the local neighborhoods and attract families each time.