Fire Recovery Video
November 10, 2009
If you missed the video shown on Sunday morning, check it out here! This video documents the journey we've been on for the last two years.
Malibu Presbyterian Returns Home Refined
November 3, 2009
Comments (3)
In Honor of Our Move Back Home...
November 2, 2009
Malibu Pres Refined. from MPC on Vimeo.
February Update
February 18, 2009
Comments (2)"These are the glory days." Earlier this month, Pastor Greg Hughes spoke those words and gave us a new perspective on challenging times in our lives. Isn't it during times of struggle that we often discover how strong we are, how good God is, and how sufficient His grace is to sustain us?
In that light, we can look upon these days as the glory days of Malibu Presbyterian Church. True, our plans for the temporary church and the new church have not gone according to schedule, but perhaps it's because God is refining those plans. The church staff, Building Resurrection Committee, Building & Grounds Committee, Burdge & Associates, Klein Construction, Dave Stowell, Chris Laubach, Dominy & Associates, Daly America, and many others have been hard at work to make the most out of this incredible opportunity to construct a new church building.
Here are a few developments over the last few months:
We submitted a Pre-Application using the chosen design concept from Dominy & Associates, and the City of Malibu responded with a list of significant issues regarding the design, including the following:
- The City of Malibu did not allow our proposed parking structure to be counted as a basement. This means that the proposed building and parking structure exceeded the City height limit of two stories for our church; instead, they viewed the design as having four levels.
- The City wanted Malibu Presbyterian Church to conduct a traffic study, which would have cost a lot of time and money.
- The City challenged our proposed setbacks (space between buildings and the road), which may have required design changes.
Due to the pushback from the City of Malibu, the increasingly challenging environment for fundraising, and the length of time required for construction, the BRC recommends that we no longer pursue the original Dominy & Associates design. Instead, we have requested that Dominy & Associates work on developing a like-for-like design. This means that we can build a new church with a new design, but it can only be up to 10% larger than the footprint of the original church building. We can address many of the functional problems that were inherent in the old design, but this means that we must reduce our proposed enhanced programming to fit within these new size constraints.
Our next steps:
- Review the program and new conceptual design for a like-for-like structure.
- Obtain cost estimates.
- Prepare a new Pre-Application for submission to the City of Malibu.
Please feel free to speak with any of the BRC committee members if you have any questions regarding the latest updates. While we have encountered many obstacles that have caused us to adjust our plans, we ask you to join us in prayer as we seek to discern God's will. Please pray for wisdom for all those who are working on behalf of Malibu Presbyterian Church to move forward with the temporary church and the new church design. Let's also take time to remember God's goodness, faithfulness, and provision during these glory days of our church.
"Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain." Psalm 127:1
The Day After
October 22, 2008
Comments (53)Republished From October 22, 2007
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Results of the Dominy Survey
July 31, 2008
The results were very informative and gave us insight as to the direction we need to take in order to arrive at our final Church design. As always, BRC committee members are available to talk to before or after Sunday services. In addition, please send us your thoughts through the church website at www.malibupres.org, click on "BRC Update," scroll to the bottom and type your questions or comments. Or you may e-mail the committee directly at building@malibupres.org.
Download the results (.pdf)
BRC Update
May 20, 2008
Our New Architect - Dominy + Associates
Based on the BRC's recommendations, the Session of Malibu Presbyterian Church unanimously selected and approved using Dominy & Associates (www.domusstudio.com) as the lead design architect for our project. Dominy & Associates is a well respected firm based in San Diego, one that enjoys an outstanding reputation for church design. The firm was chosen based upon multiple factors, including experience in designing church projects similar in size to ours, historical ability to meet project budgets and schedules, efficiency in the costs of their design concepts and their ability to understand the unique way in which Malibu Pres uses the facility for its various worship and ministry activities. After receiving Session approval, the BRC negotiated a design agreement with the firm and is now prepared to start the design process. Our first meeting with the Dominy &Associates design team took place during the middle of the month of April. We introduced the principals of Dominy to the congregation.
In addition to hiring an architect, the BRC has also been at work engaging the services of independent firms to perform soils/geotechnical studies as well as on-site wastewater treatment options. This information will be necessary when we eventually apply for building approval from the City of Malibu.

Collecting Information - Building Consensus
The other important step we are taking is to gather the necessary information to create a design that will best serve the interests of our church, moving forward. Since last fall, we have been soliciting and analyzing input from survey forms, programming questionnaires and interviews. This process continued again in April with a planning study conducted by Resource Services, Inc. which included two focus groups, online surveys and additional interviews. We want to thank everyone who participated in these activities and gave us your input.
While everyone has their own thoughts and ideas about what our next church should be, we hope this process will provide us with direction in developing a campus that will allow us to fulfill the vision and mission of MPC and, most importantly, bring glory to God Our Father.
Next Steps
In the coming months, the BRC will begin the challenging task of working with our architect and creating the design for our new church campus. We will be reconciling what we would desire in our church with the constraints imposed by our building budget, schedule considerations and regulations imposed by the City of Malibu. Tough, but necessary, decisions will be required to get all the pieces of this puzzle to fit together properly. While trade-offs are a natural part of this stage of design, the BRC will be working cooperatively with Session and MPC staff in seeking the optimal solutions for our future church home.
Building Resurrection Update
March 14, 2008
Comments (4)
As we transition from recovery to a rebuilding phase, we will devote this page more specifically towards the efforts of the Building Resurrection Committee.
We are on an amazing journey of rebuilding our Church and we want to bring you all along with us. We will posting updates of our progress here, so please check in frequently! Additionally, we will have our own e-mail address for you to communicate with us. We welcome your questions, your thoughts, and your prayers. We also welcome you to talk to us at anytime, we are all so passionate about this and want you to be informed so that you may share our enthusiasm.
For any questions, contact building@malibupres.org
Our New Offices
January 30, 2008
Comments (2)Remarkably, these structures were constructed one month after the fire. We moved into them the first week of December with most rudimentary systems in place. The mobilization of efforts to get these structures up has been amazing.
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One Sunday Morning
December 18, 2007
Comments (1)Making It Beautiful
December 18, 2007
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MPC Building Survey
December 1, 2007
We want to keep in dialogue with you at every phase. We are asking members of the congregation to fill out a simple form, telling us what you liked about the old building, and what you would like to see in the new one.
MPC Responds To Corral Canyon Fire
November 26, 2007
Despite the loss of our own structure, we remain the body of Christ, and stand alongside all those who have suffered a loss this past month. We will let you know of ways to assist in the coming days.







