"They had a dream, they had each other, and they had God."
Eventually Kay's father moved the family to Fresno, California, to pastor a fast-growing church that was eager to minister to the surrounding community. Kay graduated from McLane High School in 1972 and started college at California Baptist College (now University) where she met and fell in love with a tall, skinny kid from Ukiah, California. They married on June 21, 1975, in Norwalk, California, where Rick was the part-time youth pastor while he finished college.
After graduation, they moved to Fort Worth, Texas, for Rick to begin his master's degree program in theology at Southwestern Southern Baptist Seminary. Kay became the main breadwinner while Rick immersed himself in classes and preached in local churches on the weekends. At this point in time, they both were committed to becoming missionaries in Japan, where Rick had spent a summer teaching English and establishing relationships with other young students interested in Christianity. Almost immediately, though, Rick felt God leading them to plant a church somewhere in the United States that would become a sending base for hundreds of others to spread the Good News of God's love in other countries.
Their daughter, Amy Rebecca, was born in August 1979 as Rick was finishing his master's degree. By this time, they had narrowed the search for where to plant a church to Orange County, California - specifically the Saddleback Valley - the fastest growing area in the fastest growing county in the United States. To a young man with extraordinary vision and drive, nothing could have excited him more! They and their 4-month-old baby - and their meager belongings - moved to Orange County. No money, no buildings, no members - but no matter. They had a dream, they had each other, and they had God.
They co-founded Saddleback Valley Community Church in January 1980, with a tiny group of people gathered in their condo in Laguna Hills and their first public worship service was Easter 1980. When 205 people streamed into the small theater at Laguna Hills High School, it seemed like thousands - and Kay remembers thinking, "This is going to work!"
Fast forward 42 1/2 years later - and Rick retired from leading this magnificent, amazing church. Along the way, they added two beautiful sons, Joshua James and Matthew David - raised their family, battled cancer and serious mental illness (Matthew), lost him to suicide in 2013, wrote some books, launched the global PEACE Plan, the HIV and AIDS Initiative, the Orphan Care Initiative, the Hope for Mental Health Initiative, co-founded Celebrate Recovery with John and Cheryl Baker, started multiple Saddleback Church campuses around southern California and in four countries, added five beloved grandchildren, and grew to love thousands of folks that served alongside them at Saddleback Church through the years.
Today, Rick is the leader of Finishing the Task, a coalition seeking to fulfill Jesus' Great Commission and Great Commandment by the 2,000th anniversary of the Church in 2033. Kay is the founder of the nonprofit Hope for Brighter Tomorrows, whose mission is to ensure no parent walks alone through the mental illness of their child. You can learn more at www.finishingthetask.com and www.hopeforbrightertomorrows.org.
