St. Thomas More Catholic Church

St. Thomas More Catholic Church in Irvine, California, took an important step in 2009. The parish moved to its current campus and built a parish hall to serve as a temporary church. But the parish faced a challenge. The Lord blessed the congregation with strong growth and the parish outgrew its facilities. Within years of building the parish hall, the faith community grew to more than 3,500 families. The parish followed its master plan and knew it was time to take another important step: build a permanent church. After interviewing several firms nationally, the parish chose to partner with the Steier Group for the Believe and Grow Together Capital Campaign. The parish’s plan called for a new 1,500-seat church that would include a chapel seating 40, a permanent baptistry and font, a 50-foot bell tower and additional storage. During the campaign a variety of lay speakers shared their love of St. Thomas More, plus volunteers manned a campaign table after most Masses and clergy provided phone messages. The youth responded in an inspiring way – 225 coin banks returned with over $4,600! Through the work of dedicated leaders and volunteers, St. Thomas More raised more than $5.2 million to help the parish build for the future.