The Upper Room Presents began in 2009 when founder, Ron Strand, and his wife, Kathy, invited a retired NFL player to speak at their home group about the book he authored about the heart of the Father. They decided to invite other friends and family; and as a result, the crowd was too large to fit in their home, so they decided to hold it in a vacant upstairs space in one of the buildings in Ron’s office complex in Irvine. The name and location were serendipitous! And so, The Upper Room was born.
Impressed by the turn-out for that first event, they began booking other speakers, musicians, and eventually comedians to come and perform their faith-based entertainment at the Upper Room on a once monthly basis. Over the years the Upper Room established itself as the premiere Christian venue in Southern California.
It was the vision from inception to create a “non-churchy” environment, making it attractive for people to bring their non-Christian friends and know that the entertainment will be clean with an uplifting and faith-based message. This occurs naturally and simply because the artists cannot help but to talk about their faith and incorporate it into their music or comedy. This has made it a wonderful place to bring friends and family where they will hear a gospel message without bringing them to an actual church.
Since 2009, the Upper Room utilized various venues, but most notably a venue called the Rock in Mission Viejo, from 2010 through 2020. After the virus, the Rock venue was no longer available, so the events began to be held at Capo Beach Church in Dana Point, California. Though we still have a relationship with Capo Beach Church for our larger events, we began to feel we needed a smaller space.