1977:  The first building was completed after many delays and challenges. It was a great time for celebration. But growth had been so rapid during the lengthy approval and building process that the Sunday School was too large for the facilities. Classes were held in tents, motor homes, under the eaves, and in private homes.  The Mira Mesa Presbyterian Preschool (MMPP) began servicing the young children of the community as an outreach of the church. The organizing board of directors hired Nancy Brooks as the first preschool director.

1983:  In response to the formation of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) the name of the church was changed to the Mira Mesa Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) in association with the United Church of Christ.  In October a second permanent building was completed for worship services, meetings, and offices. Growth exceeded the available space, even though a portable building had been procured. The original building was remodeled for education, meetings, and preschool offices.

1986:  MMPC’s 15th anniversary was a time of great celebration and reflection. Almost 600 people had joined the church during those 15 years. During that time period, many moved, some passed away, and some were born. A Parish Associate in Christian Education, Rev. Lois Lehman, had been added to the church staff.

1990:  Following Barbara Worthington’s ordination as Minister of the Word and Sacrament, she served as an MMPC Parish Associate. She also filled several executive positions in the San Diego Presbytery before receiving a call to serve in New Jersey. She and her husband, Rev. John Worthington departed after 17 years of service. Rev. Neil Longo, an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ and member of the MMPC congregation, filled in while selection of an Interim Pastor was in process. In December Rev. Dr. Henry De Graaff was approved to serve as Interim Pastor.  Rev. Dennis Saylor began his service as Parish Associate. He and his wife Helen contributed in many ways to the worship and ministry of MMPC

1993:  Rev. Charles Brock was selected as the Called Pastor of the congregation. He and his wife, Connie, were valued members of the church family. Rev. Brock retired in 1996.

1997:  In March the congregation welcomed Rev. Willard James, a retired Navy Chaplain, to serve as Designated Pastor. His wife, Charlotte, became an active member of the congregation.

1998:  In January, the congregation voted to dissolve the formal relationship with the United Church of Christ following the dissolution of the Covenant between the Presbytery of San Diego and the Southern California Conference of the United Church of Christ. In April, the 25^th anniversary of MMPC was celebrated with a dinner and revue, music, skits, and stories of the history of MMPC. The combined Sunday morning worship service was led by past and present pastors and followed by a reception. Christian Education experienced growth and expanded in the areas of Sunday School, Vacation Bible School, Children’s Choir, teen Bible study, and preschool. MMPC joined the Prayers & Squares ministry.

1999:  Rev. Willard James was installed.  Acolytes were added as participants in Sunday worship services, reminding us that Jesus, who is the Light of World, said, “Where three or more have gathered together in My name, there I am in their midst” and at the end of the service, that we are to take the light of Christ with us into the world.

2000:  MMPC returned to a single, blended worship service.

2001-2002:  Some new activities were implemented, such as, an Easter sunrise service, the Easter flowering of the cross, golf outings, a concert series, a visit from members of the Sudanese Presbyterian church.  A new church sign was installed on the street level.

2003-2004:  MMPC held its first Alpha and Alpha Marriage courses, which were well-received. The Synod forgave our debt to them, leaving MMPC debt free!  Church staff was increased to include a youth director, accompanist, second choir director, and bookkeeper.

2005-2007:  Growth continued as we increased our income through room rental.  We decided to make Operation Christmas Child and other mission activities annual activities.  We celebrated our first Hanging of the Greens (an activity to decorate the church for Christmas).  The Christian Education program continued to thrive, as well as the youth ministry.  They established some new traditions: Adopt-a-Family, the Easter egg hunt, and “Target Sunday” (an organized shopping excursion to buy presents for needy families).  The preschool added a program for 2-year-olds.

2008 December:  A major building project was completed, which included a breezeway between the Christian Education building and the sanctuary, a new meeting room, redesign of an existing meeting room in the Christian Education building, removal of the portable building, and modifications to the preschool playground.  To help support the effort, committees were formed to raise funds. We held an auction and rummage sale and the youth collected donations for tiles, which were decorated and formed into a cross and is now in our breezeway.

2009:  Rev. Willard James announced his retirement effective March 31.  Rev. Robert Trent, a member of MMPC, served as our temporary pastor.  Carol Murray retired as Clerk of Session, a position she had held for 13 years, and Germaine Griffiths agreed to serve in this position.  Rocky the raccoon joined several Sunday worship services with messages for the children (that the adults enjoyed as well!), and he started a blog so the children could read about his adventures and converse with him.  A Pastor Nominating Committee (PNC) was elected and a mission study was completed.  The Women’s Friendship group was re-energized and grew, and we held our second annual rummage sale.  The children’s choir was disbanded.  On December 13 Reverend Bradley Roth was accepted by the congregation to be our Designated Pastor.

2010:  During the spring and summer, we painted the exterior trim of the Sanctuary and Education Building.  Julie Carr resigned as the choir’s accompanist and was replaced by Calvin Lee. 

2011:  Thanks to the efforts of an Eagle Scout project and some MMPC volunteers, a new fence was built along most of the west property boundary.  Easter welcomed in a new event, Egg Venture.  More than 4,000 filled eggs were collected from the congregation.  About 400 community members joined in the fun which included: free snow cones, a raffle, photos with Mr. Rabbit, big bounce house and games.  A first for MMPC, a group went on a mission trip to Belize to work with a church in building a community center which will be the only one in Belize. They also helped with the worship and youth program.

2012:  Our long-time youth director Kelli Kaelber left the church.  John Scholte filled in until we welcomed our new Youth Director Jeff Campbell.  After the one-year anniversary of evening services they regrettably came to an end.  For the first time MMPC sent a group on a mission trip to Rancho Genesis where they served as an Amigo Group to Siempre Para Los Ninos. 

2013:  Thanks to the generosity of the preschool, the entire exterior of the Church and preschool were painted and a contractor was hired to patch and repair all the roofing. Calvin Lee resigned as the choir accompanist and Steve Parker our organist retired.  We participated in Operation Outreach, which honors military families in San Diego County.  The program distributes food to up to 100 military families each month.  In October our Community Garden was completed and 36 garden plots were made available to the community and MMPC members.

2014:  In May, Andrew Reynolds was hired as the Choir Accompanist.  Brad Roth resigned as pastor of MMPC effective September 30.  On October 1, Jim Marian was called as Interim Pastor.  On December 7, 2014 Pastor Marian was ordained at MMPC.  Carl Erickson became the Director of Music in addition of being the Choir Director.  The Community Garden flourished and became a focal point for our community and a source of pride for our church.

2015:  Our Sunday service incorporated video projections of the songs, message, and Bible readings.  A change of how communion is received was made with the congregation going forward to receive the host.  Carl Erickson resigned as the Director of Music on May 30 and Crystal Stone started as the new Music Ministry Coordinator on June 15. Rev. Jim Marian completed his Interim Pastor contract on September 30 and Rev. Dr. Ed Girod served as the Stated Supply Pastor until the permanent pastor was installed. The Pastor Nominating Committee invited Rev. Dr. Parrish Bridges to preach and meet the congregation on November 15, and the congregation voted to call him to be our installed pastor.

2016:  Rev. Dr. Parrish Bridges moved from the East Coast in January and was installed as the permanent pastor in February. Ed Pollack filled the director position for Children and Youth Ministries after the Youth Director Jeff Campbell departed. Diane Angus retired as the Preschool Director in July and the position was filled by Tami Coleman. During this year of transition, the number of children and youth declined in the church, but pre-school support and attendance continued to be strong, as well as the other church programs. 

2017:  Elizabeth Cowell was hired as the Youth Ministries Coordinator effective January 15. The church by-laws were updated to primarily align the term of serving elders and deacons with the fiscal year to more effectively track budgets. Crystal Stone resigned as Music Ministry Coordinator to move out of area to support her husband’s promotion. Jess Barrera filled the position in late July. During the year, other blessings in the church were evident when repair needs were required for flooding and roofing and the clean-up, repairs, and funding efforts were quickly met in abundance by the church family.

2018:  Rev. Dr. Parrish Bridges resigned in April to return to his home in rural New York. Rev. Dr. Duncan McColl from First Presbyterian Church of Fullerton began serving as Interim Pastor on August, 2018. The number of elders was reduced from 12 to 9.  Thanks to the efforts of an Eagle Scout project and some MMPC volunteers, a new fence was built along the rest of the west property boundary.