Our Vision
100 new gospel-proclaiming ministries
& 25 new mission congregations by July 2031.
Coastal Mission Society exists to mobilize the priesthood of all believers for Kingdom expansion in coastal SoCal.
As this happens, we’ll see the gospel take root in every community along the Southern California coast. This is a massive effort of the Church that remains in Southern California to re-evangelize this post-Christian region. Our purpose is to strengthen congregations by helping raise up capable every-day leaders, and form new gospel-proclaiming communities throughout Orange, Los Angeles, Ventura, and Santa Barbara counties—complex places that present extraordinary opportunity for the church’s witness.
The early church grew as ordinary believers were equipped, congregations were strengthened, and apostolic workers were sent. Our vision is to help the church in Southern California recover this same pattern of life and expansion.
A Growing Network of Sending Churches
Coastal operates with a foundational conviction: a congregation becomes fully established when it becomes a sending church and a believer becomes fully established in faith as they live out their baptismal identity. We work to cultivate a regional ecosystem in which faithful congregations accelerate the work of starting new gospel-proclaiming ministries and planting new churches. Some churches will offer support to emerging work; others will grow into full sending centers. Every congregation—large or small—has a vital role in expanding Christ’s kingdom throughout our region.
We partner with churches, circuits, pastors, lay leaders, and mission teams by creating pathways for sending that are both theologically grounded and practically workable. Our aim is to see at least 25 new mission congregations launched by July 1, 2031. These communities will take root in diverse neighborhoods—from the I-5 and US-101 corridors to the coastline—anchored in Scripture, our Confessions, and the enduring promises of Christ.
Coastal Mission Society’s vision draws deeply from the ministry patterns of the Apostle Paul, especially his work in Ephesus.
Scripture describes the result of that two-year season of ministry like this: “all the residents of Asia heard the word of the Lord” (Acts 19:10). Paul did not achieve this through a centralized program or a single large congregation. He strengthened local communities, equipped leaders, trained believers, and established new assemblies from which the Word continued to spread with multiplying impact.
This pattern is not only historical; it is instructive for ministry today. Coastal aligns its direction and structure around this apostolic strategy—equipping believers, establishing mission bases, forming mission leaders and teams, planting congregations, and building localized networks—so that the gospel’s reach expands far beyond the capacity of any one church. Acts 19:10 serves as a guiding blueprint: when believers are formed and sent, the Word of the Lord advances into every corner of a region.
Every Neighborhood Reached
Coastal Mission Society carries a clear and ambitious conviction: the people of coastal Southern California should have repeated, meaningful opportunities to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ. Our long-term vision is that every neighborhood will have an active mission base where believers bear witness to Christ in daily life, and every enclave will have a faithful, Christ-proclaiming congregation. The region’s diversity requires a network of churches and leaders who know their neighborhoods, love their neighbors, and bring the Word of God to places where it has not yet been rooted.
Paul’s own ministry offers the pattern. He planted and strengthened churches not through centralized institutions but through homes, workshops, and daily labor. Scripture records him teaching “in public and from house to house” (Acts 20:20), using ordinary households as centers of gospel proclamation and community formation. His trade as a tentmaker (Acts 18:3) provided both a livelihood and daily relational access to people who would not have encountered the gospel in formal settings. Homes, tables, workbenches, and shared labor became the places where the Word of Christ took root. This pattern is especially relevant in a region like Southern California, where neighborhoods are relationally dense, economically diverse, and filled with people whose primary spiritual encounters will occur outside traditional church buildings.
To support this work, Coastal is establishing mission training centers across our sub-regions. These centers form mission leaders and teams capable of serving in today’s multi-vocational environment. Training integrates theology, the practices of mission, and practical trades so leaders can sustain long-term ministry while living among the communities they serve—mirroring Paul’s pattern of combining craft, community, and proclamation.
Consider Long Beach as an example. The city and its surrounding area include approximately 106 distinct neighborhoods. Coastal partners with local congregations to equip the “royal priesthood” (1 Peter 2:9)—believers who understand their homes, workplaces, campuses, and social spaces as outposts from which Christ’s ministry extends. These modern outposts follow the same logic that shaped early Christian expansion: daily presence, shared meals, vocational networks, and households opened to neighbors for prayer, Scripture, and fellowship.
When several mission bases begin to grow in a particular area—say three or four in Downtown Long Beach—Coastal helps these believers gather, in partnership with local churches and our mission leaders and teams, to form a new mission congregation.
This emerging community gathers around God’s Word and Sacraments, builds one another up in love, and develops a calling to the people of its immediate area. The goal is not duplication of existing ministries but the establishment of worshiping communities uniquely embedded in and responsible for the neighborhoods they serve.
An Apostolic Band & Equipping Society
Coastal Mission Society functions as both an apostolic band and an equipping organization. We offer on-the-ground support for emerging work, and we train the priesthood of all believers to engage their neighbors with confidence and faithfulness. Through coaching, assessment, leadership development, and resources such as the Coastal Equipping Series—Primer and Modules 1–3—we help believers and congregations grow in clarity, courage, and competency.
Our purpose is to walk alongside churches, not above them. We assist congregations in standing firm in doctrine, growing in spiritual health, and developing clear pathways to start new work in their communities. We serve so that the church may flourish.
“I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth”
— 1 Corinthians 3:6
Planting for the Next Generation
Southern California is one of the most influential regions in the world, yet millions within our coastal counties do not have access to a faithful Lutheran congregation. Coastal seeks to address this with theological depth, relational integrity, and patient long-term strategy. Our work is collaborative, deliberate, and designed for generational impact.
The vision is clear: believers formed, communities strengthened, mission bases established, new congregations planted, and Christ proclaimed in every neighborhood. Coastal Mission Society exists so the church along our coast may flourish, and so the mercy of Christ may extend into every place where people live, work, and gather.
Christ continues to build His Church. We labor so His Word may reach every community along the Southern California coast.
An Ecosystem Geared for Expansion
Coastal’s vision is sustained by a coordinated ecosystem that brings together:
Direction
clarity about where and why we plant, grounded in Acts 1:8 and Paul’s strategy
Mission Base Development
help and resourcing to start new gospel-proclaiming ministries where disciples gather, grow, and extend Christ’s work
Prayer Support
intercessory networks that undergird every new and emerging work
Apostolic Band
workers who initiate new efforts, strengthen emerging communities, and equip & network others for the kingdom expansion
Structure
training, coaching, assessment, and long-term frameworks that enable sustainable expansion
Missionary Care
care and spiritual support for leaders and teams to ensure healthy, sustainable ministry
Leader Development
pathways for equipping every-day leaders to work from, within, and among churches
Networking
intentional connections that unite congregations, circuits, mission bases, and leaders for shared learning and mission collaboration
This ecosystem is not a one-size-fits-all program. It is a long-term, customized approach to recovering a culture of sending across Southern California.