World Impact held “Empowering the Bay Area” on Saturday, March 23 at Living Hope Neighborhood Church in Richmond, CA. This event gathered anyone interested in a new research release from World Impact and Barna and offered practical suggestions for empowering those in Bay Area communities experiencing poverty.
Barna Research
In 2023, Barna released a profound study in partnership with World Impact called “Inside the Urban Church: How local congregations engage with and impact their communities.” This study provides reliable data concerning churches that serve demographically diverse, densely populated, and financially limited communities in cities across the country.
Rev. Dr. Alvin Sanders, President and CEO of World Impact, presented elements of this research to those in attendance and gave keen insights into the meaning behind the raw data. Church leaders, layleaders, and denominational overseers made up a majority of those in attendance.
Dr. Sanders engaged with the gathering in a personal way and received physical and verbal affirmations of agreement to the data points and commentary throughout the event. He encouraged local pastors and leaders to make their church buildings available to community life on days other than Sunday to reach their communities with the Gospel.
Panel Discussion
After Dr. Sanders’ presentation, World Impact’s SVP of Advancement Sarah Jeffries introduced the discussion panel, and Yvonne Tejeda guided the group through an insightful conversation.
Shantell Owens, co-pastor of Genesis Church in Antioch, CA, Dave Clark, pastor of Living Hope Neighborhood Church in Richmond, CA, John Cunningham, Jr., pastor of Christ-Centered Missionary Baptist Church in Hayward, CA, Bishop Brondon Reems, pastor of Center of Hope Community Church in Oakland, CA, Alvin Bernstine, founder and dean of the Bay Area Academy of Responsible Preaching, and Sabrina Saunders, founder of The One Accord Project made up the group of discussion panelists.
Networking Opportunities
After lunch, attendees stayed and networked with each other and discussed ways to partner with one another to better reach Bay Area communities with the Gospel. They also received an invitation to connect with World Impact Ministry Developer Damon Owens for follow-up and guidance for ministry.
The Holy Spirit gathered this group of leaders and workers together, and attendees left the event encouraged and motivated to faithfully serve their communities.
