We are an inclusive community who are on a journey together. We strive to be Christ-centered people who think critically, love authentically and serve passionately. Below are the beliefs that guide us in this work.
We believe in one God, revealed to us in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We know God to be loving, to extend grace and forgiveness to all people, and invite all persons into reconciled relationship with God and one another.
Members of the San Dieguito United Methodist Church look back with pride at over 130 active years of service in the community. We are thankful for countless men and women who gave their time and talents to build what we now enjoy. We anticipate a hopeful future for continued good work and good ministry in this place, with God’s guidance.
The present church came about as the result of the merging of two local congregations in 1968.
Since then, much has changed in the area. There has been a huge influx of new people and new ideas. The schools have grown, the area has been incorporated under the name of Encinitas, and the population is now far more diverse, and its needs are greater than ever. Thanks to the long heritage, the foresight shown by early benefactors, and the fine ministerial leadership for all these years, San Dieguito United Methodist Church has been able to meet the challenge and has grown with the community to do the will of God.
Methodists began to gather in Encinitas as early as 1887 and in Cardiff sometime before 1914. By the mid-1960s, the Cardiff Church, on the corner of Manchester and Birmingham, and the Encinitas Church at 3rd and D Streets, were feeling growing pains. It became apparent to both congregations that their best interests would be served by a merger. At a combined Easter sunrise service in 1968, it was announced that the two churches would become one. The ministers of the two congregations were reassigned with Reverend Phillip Collin and Reverend Ronald Bobo sent to serve one church at two locations. Earlier that year, several local men and women joined together and purchased prime acres at the corner of Encinitas Boulevard and Interstate 5. They sold a choice part of the land to the new church, and under Reverend Collin’s leadership, two buildings from the Encinitas Church were moved on the site, enlarged and given a face lift – these buildings were the Fellowship Hall and the Education building.