The Church of Christ of Malibu, which was founded by a group of Pepperdine faculty and staff families before the campus opened, had been meeting in the Civic Center.¹ The first Sunday after campus was opened to students, the church began holding services in the brand-new Elkins Auditorium, the main lecture hall on the new campus.² The preaching minister at the time was Tony Ash, the head of the religion department.² The church is the ancestor of today's University Church of Christ, which still meets on campus.

The church was established when a handful of families began meeting in Malibu in April 1970. Pioneering families included those of Norvel Young, William Banowsky, Jerry Hudson, and Walter Glass.²