For Robert Langley, the creation of SoCal Baptist Ministries was an “unexpected serendipity”. Langley, who was serving as pastor for First Baptist Church in Norwalk, was working with church members and others to manage an apartment complex for retired seniors. The building was constructed in the 1970s to house Christian seniors. Over time, the opportunities to do ministry in the complex waned and the managing board – composed of Langley and other church members –decided to sell the building, which would place $18 million into a fund that could only be used for charitable purposes. For Langley, the first priority was to ensure the funds would be protected.

“I called Phil Kell, who was president of the Foundation at that time,” said Langley, “I told him about the opportunity we had and our need to put the money in a safe place where it could earn something.” Kell told Langley the Foundation could handle that task. 

Langley went back to his members on the apartment management board to determine what to do with the money. As a group, they decided to create a grant program fo churches to do evangelism projects. However, they quickly learned there was no blueprint to follow for this kind of endeavor. “We couldn’t find anyone else (who was) doing it,” said Langley, “No one else was giving away free money.” Langley was able to utilize the financial and legal expertise of Kell and former Foundation Vice President George Jacques as he worked to sell the property, transfer the funds to the Foundation, and create the new grant program called SoCal Baptist Ministries (SoCal).

Local children play games at the 2023 Easter Eggstravaganza, a community event hosted by Magnolia Church in Riverside.

Since SoCal received its first grant request in 2014, it has funded over $7 million to 446 churches and ministries across the state. The projects included Vacation Bible School summer programs, fall festivals, back-to school kickoffs, and food pantry distributions.

Once churches realized the potential of SoCal grants to fund better outreach programming, they started to apply for major projects throughout the year. For Joni Lum, the children’s ministry director at Magnolia Church in Riverside, the SoCal grant program has been “invaluable” for funding major outreaches that coincide with the Easter and Christmas holidays. Their annual Living Nativity drew 4,600 people from the community in 2022. “We were able to bless and encourage people with a family experience that shared the gospel,” says Lum, “We have had families join (our church) through this event.”

SoCal grants were also successful in helping small church plants get a foothold in the local neighborhood. King’s Cross Church of San Diego used SoCal grants to fund a new ministry called Life Explored. Life Explored is a weekly community forum designed to explore issues of meaning, purpose, and value through the lens of the gospel. 

Members from King’s Cross Church of San Diego meet with others in the local community to discuss gospel-centered issues as part of their Life Explored ministry.

According to the church’s Local Outreach Director, Sierra Corban, the idea for Life Explored came about through a churchwide study of the Book of Acts in 2021: “The Holy Spirit did a ton of work in the hearts of our church at that time to really prepare us and start rooting in us a desire to be missional.”
SoCal grants allowed King’s Cross to host Life Explored in rented spaces within local businesses where people would be more comfortable gathering instead of a church. It also allowed them to pay speaker fees, offer food, and provide the perfect environment for seekers to get their questions about God and faith answered.

For the church’s Lead Pastor, Obed Brefo, the decision to rent an outside, neutral space for their outreach ministry was crucial: “God has been using us to reach the more intellectual-leaningresidents of San Diego. You can stand outside a grocery store. You can go door-to-door and evangelize that way. But in our community – Pacific Beach and La Jolla – that’s just not going to fly. People will ignore you.”

Life Explored is currently in its third year of ministry and has contributed to the growth of King’s Cross Church through relational evangelism. “When someone invites you to something and says, ‘Hey, I care about you, and I care about this, will you come?’ that goes a long way,” says Corban.

Reflecting on 10 years of ministry, Robert Langley sees the blessing SoCal has been to California churches and ministries, “We tried to stand in the gap and help churches accomplish their mission in the location God has placed them.” The impact on Langley goes beyond money. Instead, it is about the human lives and ministries that have been changed. “When churches send their grant reports back, I first look at the number of professions of faith,” he says. Since 2019, SoCal has recorded 12,889 professions of faith from projects that received funds.

In February 2024, the SoCal Baptist Ministries grant program will transition to a permanent endowment benefitting California Southern Baptist ministries, including a new granting program under the Foundation’s management. To read an updated description of the eligibility requirements and view the list of application deadlines, go to www.bfcal.org/grants.