Our History

Maranatha Chapel is a non-denominational evangelical Christian church, in fellowship with Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa. This informal association includes the sharing of philosophical and spiritual values and the participation by our pastors in intra-church conferences. Founded in August 1984, Pastor Ray Bentley started teaching a midweek Bible study in a recreation center, with 30 people. After three months, the fellowship outgrew the center and began Sunday morning services at a local junior high school. The new church continued to grow; by the end of 1986, while still meeting in the school, over 1100 people were attending, necessitating three morning services plus an evening service.

On March 17, 1990, Maranatha Chapel dedicated its first facility, on 4.5 acres in San Diego’s north county community of Rancho Peñasquitos. The church held three Sunday morning services and added a “Sunday morning” service on Saturday nights to make more room for growth. The attendance soon grew to over 3000.

By the summer of 1996, Maranatha broke ground at our current facility on 15 acres in Rancho Bernardo. The building was completed in the fall of 1997, dedicating a new 3000 seat sanctuary, new Sunday School buildings, and a 3000 square foot bookstore and cafe. Maranatha Christian Schools, grades K-12, is located on a beautiful 17.5-acre site approximately two miles west of Maranatha Chapel on Maranatha Way off of Camino Del Sur.

Maranatha Chapel currently serves nearly 7000 people, offering through-the-Bible life application teaching. Archived services from Pastor Daniel’s messages are available on our Maranatha Youtube Channel. Maranatha’s publishing arm, Maranatha Media, produces a variety of printed, audio, and video resources for study.