In 2022, Coastline is celebrating 100 years as a church in Ventura! 

A Brief History of Coastline

DeLeon Hotel

In 1922, a group of 41 people saw the need for a Baptist church in Ventura. The first advertised meeting of First Baptist/Coastline was April 29, 1922. The first baptism service was held in 1924. In the early years, First Baptist/Coastline met in a variety of places including the DeLeon Hotel, the old city hall and the Lagomarsino Opera House where the roof was so leaky that congregants had to sit in service under umbrellas during the rainy season.

Church on Laurel & Santa Clara

In 1924, property was purchased on the corner of Laurel and Santa Clara streets. In 1932, the new Worship Center (designed by Hollywood architect, Robert B. Stacy Judd) on the Laurel and Santa Clara property was completed and the first service was held in the building on Easter Sunday. The church also bought three neighboring  houses to use for Sunday School classes. Inadequate parking eventually drove the church to seek a new property on the East end of Ventura.

Mills Road Property – Walnut Grove

In 1956, First Baptist/Coastline purchased 5 acres on a walnut grove on Mills Road, which was then considered the outskirts of town. On Easter Sunday in 1959, the first worship service was held at the Mills Road location in what is now Fellowship Hall. Over the next 35 years, First Baptist/Coastline built a school building, the current Worship Center, an admin building and Family Life Center on the Mills Road property. The First Baptist Day School (now Coastline Bible Preschool and soon to be elementary school!) first opened its doors in 1968.

We thank God for His faithfulness to Coastline – not just in providing us with places to meet, but for seeing fit to use us to help people find and follow Jesus for a 100 years in our community. No matter how long you’ve been part of Coastline’s history, we want to invite you to be part of Coastline’s future. God has exciting things in store for us, and we hope you’ll be part of that.