The Ventura Church on the 101
Minutes from downtown Ventura and a short walk from the Pacific at Surfers Point, the Church of Scientology of Ventura rises along the historic Highway 101 corridor at 2151 Alessandro Drive. The glass and wood facade, glimpsed by an estimated 100,000 daily commuters, marks a 66,000 square foot home for a congregation that has met in Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties since 1980. The Ventura Church is one of twelve Ideal Organizations (Ideal Orgs) serving California and belongs to a network of eleven thousand Scientology Churches, Missions and Groups around the world.
The Ventura facility realizes the founder's vision of an Ideal Org as both a place of spiritual services for Scientologists and a gathering ground for the wider community. The doors open seven days a week, morning to night, and anyone walking in is welcome to take a self-guided tour of the Public Information Center, sit in on an introductory course, take a free Dianetics personality test, or simply stay for a coffee at the Pacific Coast Café.
A Congregation on the Central Coast Since 1980
Scientology first took root in this part of California in 1980, when the Ventura Church began serving a growing congregation drawn from Ventura, Santa Barbara and the surrounding coastal communities. For four decades the local parish met in smaller quarters while its membership and program reach continued to grow. In February 2020 the new Ideal Org on Alessandro Drive was dedicated before an audience of some four thousand Scientologists and federal, state and local dignitaries, marking the largest single expansion of the religion's presence on California's Central Coast.
The Ventura Church stands as the twelfth Ideal Organization opened in California, joining Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Francisco, Los Gatos, San Jose, Silicon Valley, San Fernando Valley, Pasadena, Inglewood, Orange County and San Diego. The same decade saw Ideal Orgs open from New York to Seattle, and from London to Tokyo, with the Ventura dedication falling on the eve of the founder's birthday celebration.
Inside the Church on Alessandro Drive
Step through the front doors and the first stop is the Reception, open seven days a week, where staff greet anyone wishing an introduction to Dianetics and Scientology. Beyond Reception lies the Scientology Public Information Center, a self-guided multimedia exhibit of more than 500 films covering the beliefs and practices of the religion, a biographical presentation on the life and legacy of Founder L. Ron Hubbard, and an overview of the Church's humanitarian programs.
The Ventura Church also houses the Dianetics and Scientology Bookstore, where Mr. Hubbard's works on Dianetics and Scientology are available alongside introductory audiobooks, recorded lectures and films. Materials are stocked in 50 languages. In the Purification Center, Scientologists can take part in the Purification Program developed by L. Ron Hubbard, a regimen of exercise, sauna and nutrition intended to free individuals from the mental and spiritual damage caused by drugs and toxins. A mural in this room pays homage to the ocean landscape that stretches along the California coast just beyond the building.
The Hubbard Guidance Center is where Scientologists receive one-on-one spiritual counseling known as auditing. Just past the waiting room are dozens of auditing rooms, each appointed to provide the calm, distraction-free setting required for the work. Above the auditing rooms sits the Academy, the local course rooms where Scientologists train to become auditors capable of applying the technology of auditing to help others attain spiritual freedom. Adjacent to the Academy, the Pacific Coast Café welcomes touring visitors and provides a gathering place for parishioners during breaks in their Scientology services.
The Chapel, lined with the Codes and Creed of the Church of Scientology, hosts all congregational ceremonies, including Sunday Services, Weddings and Naming Ceremonies, and serves as a venue for workshops, banquets and community events. As is traditional in every Church of Scientology, an Office of L. Ron Hubbard stands within the building in honor of the religion's founder.
Sunday Services, Weddings and Other Ceremonies
Each week the Chapel fills for the Scientology Sunday Service, the central congregational gathering of the religion. The service is open to parishioners and guests and is built around a reading from the Sermon of the Founder of Scientology, delivered by L. Ron Hubbard in 1955, together with a sermon by the officiating minister and group processing and discussion. Sunday Services are scheduled weekly; the Ventura Church publishes current times through its events calendar.
The Chapel is also the setting for Scientology Weddings and Naming Ceremonies, both conducted by Scientology ministers in keeping with the church's religious practice. A Funeral Service is available to parishioners. Weekly Graduations recognize those who have completed a course or a step on the Bridge to Total Freedom.
Beliefs and Practice: Auditing and Training
Scientology rests on a single affirmation: Man is a spiritual being. As the church puts it, the individual is a spirit who has a mind and occupies a body. From this premise flow two complementary practices. Auditing is one-on-one spiritual counseling in which an auditor listens to a preclear and helps him locate and address areas of spiritual distress. Training is the structured study of L. Ron Hubbard's writings and recorded lectures, pursued in precise sequence on a checksheet with the assistance of a Course Supervisor.
The goal of Dianetics, the predecessor discipline developed by Mr. Hubbard in 1950 and codified in the book Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health, is the state of Clear, achieved when the individual is free of the reactive mind. Auditing then continues up the Bridge to Total Freedom toward the states known as Operating Thetan (OT). Scientology's central scripture is the writings and recorded lectures of L. Ron Hubbard. The church observes no doctrine of Heaven or Hell, holds that Man is not inherently sinful, and views Moses, Jesus, Muhammad, the Buddha and other major religious figures with respect.
The religion is held to a body of texts that include the Creed of the Church of Scientology, the Auditor's Code, the Code of Honor, the Code of a Scientologist, the Supervisor's Code, the Credo of a True Group Member, the Credo of a Good and Skilled Manager, and the Aims of Scientology, which envision a civilization without insanity, without criminals and without war, where the able can prosper and honest beings can have rights, and where Man is free to rise to greater heights.
The Hubbard Dianetics Seminar
The Hubbard Dianetics Seminar is the central introductory event offered at the Ventura Church. Held every weekend, the seminar runs from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Saturday and again on Sunday, for a full two-day program. Seminar specialists guide attendees through the film How to Use Dianetics, a presentation on the ten basic steps of Dianetics procedure, and supervised practice in which each participant delivers and receives Dianetics with a partner. Coffee, tea and other refreshments are available at breaks.
The seminar donation is $100, paid when the participant arrives to start on Saturday morning. Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health has remained for more than fifty years the number one bestselling book on the human mind, and the seminar's premise is that all painful experiences from the past are stored in a previously unknown part of the mind, the reactive mind, which is the source of stress, unreasonable fears and insecurities. Participants leave with a ten-step procedure guide, a personal consultation on their next step, and access to the Dianetics Extension Course to continue at home.
The Personal Efficiency Course
The Personal Efficiency Course applies the principles from L. Ron Hubbard's The Problems of Work to the working week. The course donation is $50 and the course is offered daily. On weekdays the course begins at 1:30 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.; on Saturday and Sunday it begins at 1:30 p.m. The course covers eight sections: On What Does Success Depend, the Anatomy of Confusion and its cure, the Doctrine of the Stable Datum, the Anatomy of Control, the relationship between Affinity, Reality and Communication (A-R-C), the A-R-C and the Tone Scale, the Eight Dynamics, and the precise procedure for handling Exhaustion. Each participant receives a course kit that includes the book The Problems of Work and a film presentation illustrating the principles.
Scientology Life Improvement Courses
Twenty Scientology Life Improvement Courses form the next layer of introductory services at Ventura. Grouped under five headings, each course is built on a sequence of workbook lessons with practical drills and assignments. The Ethics and Survival group includes Overcoming Ups and Downs in Life, Personal Values and Integrity, How to Improve Relationships with Others, Knowing Who You Can Trust, and How to Achieve Self-Confidence. The Goals and Purposes group includes How to Get Motivated, Formulas for Living, Tools to Organize for Success, Effective Time Management, Setting and Achieving Your Goals, and Tools for Effective Leadership. The Survival and Prosperity group includes Tools for Overcoming Financial Stress, Tools for Financial Security and Principles of Prosperity. The Marriage group offers Creating a Successful Marriage, Maintaining a Happy Marriage and Salvaging a Marriage. The Children group covers Having a Happy Baby, Successfully Raising Children and Successfully Parenting Tweens and Teens.
Each course runs at a comfortable part-time pace, ranging from three to seven days depending on the subject, and is delivered by trained specialists in the course rooms at the Ventura Church. Coursework is supported by The Scientology Handbook and the book The Problems of Work, alongside materials drawn from Mr. Hubbard's discoveries of existence.
Tools for Life Online Courses
For those who cannot come in for in-person sessions, the Ventura Church hosts the Tools for Life Online Courses, free courses drawn from The Scientology Handbook. The nineteen chapters each address a specific skill, from The Technology of Study and The Components of Understanding to Assists for Illnesses and Injuries, Ethics and the Conditions, How to Resolve Conflicts, and The Emotional Tone Scale. Each course runs three to seven hours, is ungraded and un-timed, and ends with a certificate by email. Students create a personal logon, work through a sequence of reading assignments and questions, and have access to an online course supervisor for help.
Success Through Communication
The Success through Communication Course teaches eighteen exact skills derived from fundamental Scientology principles. Skills include how to start a conversation, how to end one smoothly, how to get ideas across, how to handle upsets, and how to be comfortable and confident in anyone's presence. The course is offered daily alongside the Personal Efficiency Course and is delivered by trained specialists in the course rooms at the Ventura Church.
Scientology Ministers and the Pastoral Role
Scientology has its own ministry, drawn from members who complete the church's ministerial training. Ministers at the Ventura Church officiate at Sunday Services, Weddings, Naming Ceremonies and Funeral Services. They also offer Scientology Marriage Counseling, work with children through the church's children-focused courses, and assist parishioners facing Difficulties in Life. The ministry follows the Auditor's Code, the Code of Honor and the Code of a Scientologist in its pastoral practice.
The Founder, the Church and Its Worldwide Structure
L. Ron Hubbard, the author and founder of Dianetics and Scientology, is honored in the Ventura Church through the Office of L. Ron Hubbard and through the biographical film presented in the Public Information Center. Mr. Hubbard developed Dianetics in 1950 and the religion of Scientology in its wake, codifying both through the church structure.
The Church of Scientology of Ventura sits within a worldwide ecclesiastical hierarchy. The Mother Church is the Church of Scientology International (CSI), headquartered in Los Angeles, which oversees the ecclesiastical activities of all Scientology Churches, Organizations and Groups and provides broad planning and direction for international growth. Religious Technology Center (RTC), a nonprofit religious organization formed in 1982, holds the ultimate ecclesiastical authority regarding the standard and pure application of L. Ron Hubbard's religious Technologies and holds the Dianetics and Scientology trademarks and service marks, which Mr. Hubbard donated to RTC in 1982. David Miscavige serves as Chairman of the Board of RTC and as the ecclesiastical leader of the Scientology religion.
Church of Spiritual Technology (CST) preserves and archives the Scientology Scripture for future generations. It holds the copyrights to L. Ron Hubbard's works and licenses their use, with the bulk of Mr. Hubbard's estate donated to the Scientology religion rather than to individuals. CST has preserved the writings and lectures of Dianetics and Scientology on more than 135 tons of archival books, stainless steel plates and nickel-plated records stored in 2,300 titanium capsules housed in calamity-proof vaults.
How We Help: Volunteer Ministers and Disaster Response
The Ventura Church shares its space and outreach with the global Scientology Volunteer Ministers program, founded by L. Ron Hubbard in the mid-1970s. The Volunteer Minister's motto is "Something Can Be Done About It," and the network is sponsored by the Church of Scientology International as a religious social service. Hundreds of thousands of Scientologists and others have been trained in skills that use Scientology fundamentals to bring relief from physical, mental or spiritual suffering.
Volunteer Ministers wear their signature bright yellow shirts and serve both locally and internationally. A global network forms the permanent Volunteer Ministers Disaster Response Team, mobilizing in times of natural and man-made disasters. The network collaborates with some 2,800 government agencies, relief organizations and community groups, including FEMA, where John Chavez has described the Volunteer Ministers as a crucial link in the disaster response chain. Volunteer Ministers have responded to events including the New York 9/11 attacks, the Asian Tsunamis, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the Haiti Earthquake, flooding in Pakistan and the Japan Earthquake and Tsunami, and locally to the Ventura fires, where they worked alongside firemen and distributed masks on the streets.
Truth About Drugs, Applied Scholastics and Narconon
The Foundation for a Drug-Free World supports the Truth About Drugs program, a secular drug education initiative under which the Church and its members have worked for more than two decades to empower millions with the truth about drugs. The program has distributed more than 170 million Truth About Drugs booklets worldwide and provides a comprehensive education package with full lesson plans for middle school, high school, college-level or community programs. Public service announcements on individual drugs, the documentary film The Truth About Drugs: Real People, Real Stories, and free online courses extend the program's reach. In Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties, Sharon Byrne, Advisor to the 4th District of Santa Barbara County, has reported that high school students who have seen the materials say they would never have smoked marijuana.
Applied Scholastics, the literacy and learning arm of the movement, carries L. Ron Hubbard's educational discoveries through affiliated schools, tutoring programs and grassroots literacy initiatives. Criminon works in the field of criminal reform. Narconon operates an international drug rehabilitation program and the Narconon New Life Detoxification Method, with the goal of creating a drug-free society through prevention, education and rehabilitation.
Human Rights and Mental Health Watchdog
United for Human Rights and Youth for Human Rights carry the church's human rights education work to schools, civic groups and community organizations. The Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR), a nonprofit charitable mental health watchdog organization established by the Church of Scientology in 1969, is dedicated to eradicating psychiatric abuses and ensuring patient protections. CCHR has supported the enactment of more than 380 laws protecting individuals from abusive or coercive psychiatric practices and operates a network of chapters across 34 nations. With more than 5,500 abusive psychiatrists brought to justice worldwide, CCHR houses the Psychiatry: An Industry of Death Museum in Los Angeles and distributes documentary films exposing psychiatric abuses. Barbara Gaughen-Muller, President of the Tri-County United Nations Association, has praised the Ventura Church's human rights forums and workshops through area charter schools and nonprofits.
The Way to Happiness
L. Ron Hubbard's nonreligious moral guide, The Way to Happiness, is available in the Ventura Church's bookstore and forms the basis of community outreach along the coast. Way to Happiness volunteers have worked alongside the City of Port Hueneme at cleanups along Ormond Beach. Councilman Steven Gama has described the book as having "the power to get people into action" and noted that the volunteers have been at the beach from early morning until the day's work is done, taking care of the local environment and helping it thrive.
Books, Audiobooks, Lectures and Films
The Ventura Bookstore stocks the Dianetics and Scientology canon. Beginning books include Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health, The Problems of Work, Scientology: The Fundamentals of Thought, Scientology: A New Slant on Life, Self-Analysis, the Handbook for Preclears, Clear Body Clear Mind, and The Way to Happiness. The audiobook section offers recorded versions of these works, while the Introductory Lectures section presents Mr. Hubbard's recorded lectures and the Introductory Films section presents the documentary films that introduce each area of the religion. Materials are available in 50 languages.
Hours and How to Visit
The Ventura Church is open Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Visitors can take a free self-guided tour of the Public Information Center during open hours; the tour covers more than 500 films, the life of L. Ron Hubbard and the Church's humanitarian programs. The Free Personality Test (the Oxford Capacity Analysis) is offered daily, with an in-depth evaluation by an expert evaluator. The Personal Efficiency Course and the Success through Communication Course are offered daily. The Hubbard Dianetics Seminar runs every weekend from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, and the Story of Dianetics Film Showing is shown daily.
The church sits at 2151 Alessandro Drive, Ventura, CA 93001, just minutes from downtown Ventura and Surfers Point and 500 yards from San Buenaventura State Beach. The phone number is (805) 585-4400. Reservations for the Personal Efficiency Course, the Dianetics Seminar, the Dianetics Film Showing and the Public Information Center tour can be made through the events calendar, where dates and times are listed. Donations are paid when the participant arrives, and no reservations are required for the tour or the personality test.
A Church for the Whole Coast
From the towering glass frontage on the 101 to the Chapel's Sunday congregation and the Café tables overlooking the Pacific, the Ventura Church is built to serve both its own congregation and the wider community of Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties. With introductory seminars, life improvement courses, Sunday services, weddings and naming ceremonies, a Public Information Center open to all beliefs, and a slate of social betterment and humanitarian programs reaching from local beach cleanups to international disaster response, the Church of Scientology of Ventura invites visitors and parishioners alike to walk in, take a tour and see what the religion offers.