Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Jesus Christ drive-thru

“It’s about the One.”

Jack Hawkins
Jack Hawkins

Canyon Springs Church

  • Contact: 9700 Avenue of Nations, San Diego  858-746-9775 www.canyonsprings.org
  • Membership: 500
  • Pastor: Jack Hawkins  
  • Neighborhood: Scripps Ranch
  • Age: 57
  • Born: Newport Beach
  • Formation: Biola University, Talbot School of Theology-Biola University, La Mirada
  • Years Ordained: 30
  • San Diego Reader: What’s the mission of your church?

Pastor Jack Hawkins: It’s four words: “It’s about the One.” I’ll unpack it a little bit. I don’t believe you’ll find peace or purpose until you’re in a relationship with the One, who is Jesus Christ. Once you’re in that relationship, you need to be connected with other Ones to grow. But then it’s not done— it’s about the next Ones. Once you’re in this relationship with the One, he wants you to come and grow and reach the next One, who might be your neighbor, other soccer moms or a person in Haiti. One way we as a church have tried to make a difference in people’s lives is through a weekly podcast we started several weeks back called “10 Steps Further.” People always are asking questions about their faith such as “How do I pray?” or “How do I read the Bible?” We did these ten podcasts to help people in their faith. One-hundred-and-fifty podcasts and three years later, we’re still doing it. We’re in 50 countries with a few thousand listeners a month.

Sponsored
Sponsored

SDR: Where is the strangest place you found God?

PH: I’m at home, it’s a Sunday afternoon, and I just gave two messages at church. My daughter comes in to tell me there’s someone out in front of the house who wants to talk to me. It was a mom and her teenage son, and they’re in their car. I know them, and I greet them. “My son and I were sitting in our house,” the mom says. “He said to me, ‘I want to give my life to Jesus.’ So I said, ‘Let’s see what Pastor Jack’s doing.’” They never got out of the car, but for the next five minutes I was able to talk to this young man about what it means to have a relationship with Jesus Christ, and he made the decision to follow Christ with his life, right there in the car. So I jokingly tell my congregation that we provide drive-thru. It was one of those moments where I realized, “Wow, I couldn’t have orchestrated this.”

SDR: Where do you go when you die?

PH: I believe that when we die, God has prepared a place for us – heaven. The best image I can give you of heaven is the earth put right – the earth without smog, without natural disasters. Our bodies are also put right. We were never intended to age, and yet I’m 57 and I get less beautiful every year. That’s what I believe heaven will look like – everything put right. And my view of hell is this: there are people throughout the world who are racing away from God. They don’t want anything to do with him. They’ve heard about him but want nothing to do with him. Hell will be giving them what they have always wanted – a world without God. The Bible describes that place as fire, and my understanding is that the best description of hell is fire because a fire that can never burn out is never satisfied. We have all these burnings inside ourselves; we want relationships, connection, peace. The way to find those is in this relationship with God, but hell is that place where you have all these desires but they’re never fully satisfied.

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Victorian Christmas Tours, Jingle Bell Cruises

Events December 22-December 25, 2024
Next Article

Reader writer Chris Ahrens tells the story of Windansea

The shack is a landmark declaring, “The best break in the area is out there.”
Jack Hawkins
Jack Hawkins

Canyon Springs Church

  • Contact: 9700 Avenue of Nations, San Diego  858-746-9775 www.canyonsprings.org
  • Membership: 500
  • Pastor: Jack Hawkins  
  • Neighborhood: Scripps Ranch
  • Age: 57
  • Born: Newport Beach
  • Formation: Biola University, Talbot School of Theology-Biola University, La Mirada
  • Years Ordained: 30
  • San Diego Reader: What’s the mission of your church?

Pastor Jack Hawkins: It’s four words: “It’s about the One.” I’ll unpack it a little bit. I don’t believe you’ll find peace or purpose until you’re in a relationship with the One, who is Jesus Christ. Once you’re in that relationship, you need to be connected with other Ones to grow. But then it’s not done— it’s about the next Ones. Once you’re in this relationship with the One, he wants you to come and grow and reach the next One, who might be your neighbor, other soccer moms or a person in Haiti. One way we as a church have tried to make a difference in people’s lives is through a weekly podcast we started several weeks back called “10 Steps Further.” People always are asking questions about their faith such as “How do I pray?” or “How do I read the Bible?” We did these ten podcasts to help people in their faith. One-hundred-and-fifty podcasts and three years later, we’re still doing it. We’re in 50 countries with a few thousand listeners a month.

Sponsored
Sponsored

SDR: Where is the strangest place you found God?

PH: I’m at home, it’s a Sunday afternoon, and I just gave two messages at church. My daughter comes in to tell me there’s someone out in front of the house who wants to talk to me. It was a mom and her teenage son, and they’re in their car. I know them, and I greet them. “My son and I were sitting in our house,” the mom says. “He said to me, ‘I want to give my life to Jesus.’ So I said, ‘Let’s see what Pastor Jack’s doing.’” They never got out of the car, but for the next five minutes I was able to talk to this young man about what it means to have a relationship with Jesus Christ, and he made the decision to follow Christ with his life, right there in the car. So I jokingly tell my congregation that we provide drive-thru. It was one of those moments where I realized, “Wow, I couldn’t have orchestrated this.”

SDR: Where do you go when you die?

PH: I believe that when we die, God has prepared a place for us – heaven. The best image I can give you of heaven is the earth put right – the earth without smog, without natural disasters. Our bodies are also put right. We were never intended to age, and yet I’m 57 and I get less beautiful every year. That’s what I believe heaven will look like – everything put right. And my view of hell is this: there are people throughout the world who are racing away from God. They don’t want anything to do with him. They’ve heard about him but want nothing to do with him. Hell will be giving them what they have always wanted – a world without God. The Bible describes that place as fire, and my understanding is that the best description of hell is fire because a fire that can never burn out is never satisfied. We have all these burnings inside ourselves; we want relationships, connection, peace. The way to find those is in this relationship with God, but hell is that place where you have all these desires but they’re never fully satisfied.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Secrets of Resilience in May's Unforgettable Memoir

Next Article

At Comedor Nishi a world of cuisines meet for brunch

A Mexican eatery with Japanese and French influences
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader