The Joseph family moved from Greenville, SC to San Diego with a team of six campus ministers to launch Campus Outreach out of Harbor Church San Diego. Aware of the fact that one out of seven San Diegans graduated from San Diego State University, the team launched their ministry in the College Area. God worked powerfully to provide and protect this team every step of the way.



Through years of challenging moving parts of church growth and decline, God directed Campus Outreach San Diego to come under the authority of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Encinitas, CA. By this time, Campus Outreach had expanded to the University of California San Diego and also launched a second ministry called Vision Pathways to train and equip young professionals with a theology of faith and work. Around that same time, the need for a healthy local church in the southern part of San Diego County became apparent. We began praying for the Lord to provide a path forward.



Campus Outreach continued growing on three campuses and in two churches with over 10 staff; however, the need for a Christ-centered church close to SDSU and PLNU remained in our hearts. Thus, the idea of a church plant began to grow into a greater vision and burden as many graduates with strong campus ministry experiences were failing to see that experience transfer into the local church.
In late 2019, G’Joe and Paul Kim, pastor at Redeemer Presbyterian Church, introduced this idea to the elders at Redeemer, who were both open and intrigued by the thought of G’Joe and Aimee planting a church down south. It has always been in Redeemer‘s heart to see more church plants happen throughout the city.



James and Betsy Lecheler attended a family wedding in Southern California. After engaging with those at the wedding, he sensed a need for the type of God-centered discipleship they had been experiencing at Bethlehem Baptist Church over the previous decade. As he puts it, “There was an unshakable sense that God said to me, ‘I have work for you to do here.’” James inquired of a fellow elder whether he knew anyone or any work out there in California. The elder happened to be a dear friend and former employee whom G’Joe had been recruiting to help with the potential church planting endeavor.
After years of team ministry, the Joseph’s knew they did not want to do the work of church planting alone. They prayed the Lord would provide partners in the work. The Lord faithfully provided through the Lecheler family who, in God’s providence, had been deeply impacted by the ministry of Campus Outreach in Minneapolis. God always writes the best stories.
June - After the Lecheler and Joseph families spent a few months connecting, praying, and receiving counsel from their respective church communities, they decided to take the plunge and move towards planting a Treasuring Christ Together (TCT) church in the center part of San Diego. James quit his job to join the church planting residency at Bethlehem Baptist. Over the next year, he (and G’Joe online) worked on the church planting residency / proposal.



March - The elders at Bethlehem Baptist approved the Center City Church planting proposal. Around the same time, Redeemer Church elders approved Sam Collins as the next college ministry director to free G’Joe and Aimee to focus their energies on church planting.
September - We had our first service at the backyard of one of our founding members' homes where we covenanted together as a family. We continued to meet there till the beginning of 2022.



January - The Lord provided us a place to gather Sunday mornings as the Nativity Prep Academy offered their sanctuary as a place to gather.