OUR MISSION
We help Oak View students experience the love of Jesus in real life
Common Ground HB is a Christian nonprofit serving middle and high school students in Oak View, Huntington Beach through trusted relationships, daily presence, and programs that help students belong, grow, and find direction.
THE NEED
Students are being shaped long before adulthood
In Oak View, a one-square-mile neighborhood in Huntington Beach, many students carry more than most people see.
Some carry family responsibilities early.
Some feel unseen at home.
Some are surrounded by gang influence, drug exposure, or street pressure.
Some are trying to understand who they are without steady adults walking beside them.
Students are always being formed.
The question is who is helping form them, what story they are being handed, and whether they know they are loved by God.
HOW IT STARTED
Common Ground began as a response to what students were already facing.
In 2013, we became aware of the challenges facing students in Oak View.
Many were spending their free time without safe places to go, trusted adults nearby, or healthy opportunities to build identity and belonging. The streets were offering connection. Pressure was shaping choices. Students needed another place to land.
So we started creating simple spaces where relationships could grow.
Surf camps.
Life groups.
Field trips.
After-school programs.
Mentorship.
Shared meals.
Bible studies.
In April 2017, Common Ground opened a center in Oak View, giving students a more permanent place to come after school. What began as events became a second home where students could show up, be known, and experience steady care day after day.
OUR MISSION
We create a place where students can belong, grow, and meet Jesus.
Common Ground HB exists to bring the love and hope of Jesus to Oak View students by giving them a safe place, trusted adults who stay, and programs that help them grow in faith, identity, and direction.
We meet a real need for after-school support in a low-income neighborhood where many students are left to navigate critical hours on their own.
Our hope is simple:
That every student who walks through our doors would know they are seen, loved, and invited into a future shaped by Christ.
How we live it out…
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Students need a place where they are known by name.
Community happens through everyday moments: sharing meals, playing soccer, doing homework, cooking together, going on rides, laughing, talking, and spending time with adults who keep showing up.
Over time, those simple moments become trust.
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Students need hope that reaches the heart.
We believe true restoration comes through Jesus Christ. Through Bible studies, prayer, small groups, honest conversations, and steady care, students begin to understand who God is and who He created them to be.
Faith becomes real when it meets the life they are actually living.
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Students need room to experience more than the pressure around them.
Surf Camp, Winter Camp, field trips, sports, and new experiences help students see a wider world. Adventure gives them space to laugh, try something new, build courage, and encounter God in fresh ways.
Sometimes a new experience opens the door to a new future.
THE HEART BEHIND THE WORK
Belonging opens the door to trust.
Trust opens the door to truth.
When students are known, they begin to open up.
When they are loved, they begin to trust.
When they hear about Jesus in a place that feels safe, faith can take root.
This is slow work.
It is personal work.
It is kingdom work.
For more than 12 years, Common Ground HB has stayed close to Oak View because students need steady care, trusted adults, and the love of Christ lived out in front of them.
Stand with students in Oak View.
Your support helps keep the doors open, the table set, and trusted adults present for students in Huntington Beach.