After the Franklin Fire, Pepperdine students found their faith was tested — not by sermons, but by a commute.
With several churches in the Malibu area, many Pepperdine students set out to find a “church home.” While the university has ties to the Church of Christ, 80% of students attend churches of other denominations, according to Pepperdine University’s 2019 Religious Affiliation chart. Three different congregations with one distinct commonality — proximity to campus — include Malibu Pacific, Our Lady of Malibu and Vintage Malibu.
However, the wrath of the December Franklin Fire made it difficult for Pepperdine students to attend Vintage Malibu, a popular nondenominational congregation among the Pepperdine and Malibu communities. What was usually a quick walk down the hill turned into an approximately 25-minute commute, leaving some students questioning if they could keep attending.
“[I was] worried about gas,” first-year Gracie Carpenter said. “I’m paying for my own gas, and that’s a lot if I want to drive, so it definitely [made] it harder for me to want to go because of that.”
Vintage Malibu, founded in 2017, usually holds its services a mere half a mile away from Pepperdine at Webster Elementary School. However, damages to the building caused by the Franklin Fire forced the church to relocate 13 miles away for eight weeks.
Vintage Malibu Transcends Location
Several students said they love Vintage for its pastoral staff and welcoming atmosphere but admitted that location was a huge factor in deciding which church to attend on a regular basis.
“I would definitely say the location is definitely number one,” senior Grace Battin said. “Just because it’s right down the hill and you’re still getting off campus.”
Directly after the Franklin Fire, the Vintage community met on Sunday, Dec. 15 at Trancas Canyon Park to worship together and support one another.
“The Church has never been a building or an organization, but a family,” Chris Bennett, lead pastor at Vintage Malibu, said via Instagram post.
Bennett also wrote that the service at the park was the perfect ending to a challenging week.
Students Face the Dilemma of a New Location or a New Church
After a brief hiatus, Vintage Malibu resumed its weekly services in a new location Jan. 19. The congregation met at Calamigos Ranch, an outdoor venue approximately 25 minutes away from Pepperdine.
“To have it not just be down the road is kind of a big deal,” Carpenter said. “But I think Vintage is also really amazing.”
The longer commute proved to be a deterrent for some students, causing them to look elsewhere for their weekly worship.
“I still [found] friends to go with,” sophomore Lael Soqui said. “But I know for a lot of people, Calamigos is very far, so a lot of people [turned] to Waves Church or other churches a little bit closer, just because it takes time to commute.”
Students said they were already hesitant to make the lengthy drive to Vintage’s temporary location when skies were blue, but when the weather turned for the worse, they said their reluctance to make the trek only deepened, and their desire to find a new church grew.
“When there was heavy rain the last week, I personally did not go to Calamigos where Vintage Church [was],” Battin said. “I don’t want to put myself at risk driving through the canyon or any canyon, so I did choose to go to a different church.”
Additionally, some students said they took a roughly $7 Uber to Vintage Malibu on any given Sunday morning when it was at Webster but could not afford the approximately $35 cost of ride-sharing through Kanan Dume Road to Calamigos.
Vintage Malibu Staff Remained Faithful
Although many students said traveling to Calamigos was less than ideal, Kaleo Guerrero, a staff member at Vintage and a first-year student at Pepperdine, said the church was still flourishing and well-attended.
“Even when we had to change locations during the fire, our church remained resilient,” Guerrero said. “Many people even went to the farther location.”
Guerrero said he acknowledges the difficulties students faced with their commute to Vintage and expressed gratitude to his fellow Vintage staff members and volunteers for aiding him in his own logistical hurdles.
“I struggle because I don’t have a car,” Guerrero said. “I have to ask for a ride, but I think the people in Malibu are so strongly connected and so willing to help.”
Location Update
Vintage Malibu held its first service back at Webster Elementary since the Franklin Fire on March 16, restoring its two-service format at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m.
“Webster has been our home for many years,” Bennett said. “Calamigos was an amazing gift for the time, but to be back here, I think it’s great that it’s close to Pepperdine. It just feels like the city is getting back to normal, which is what we need.”
Bennett said he is confident Vintage Malibu will have a permanent church building within the next year, but for the time being, services will continue at Webster.
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Contact Triniti Gregg via email: triniti.gregg@pepperdine.edu
