Crosspoint Church San Leandro, California - 美加華人浸信會聯會

May 1, 2022, was a very special day for the Crosspoint Church of Silicon Valley, California. (Crosspoint Church) It was the Grand Opening of their 5th Campus located in San Leandro on the east side of the San Francisco Bay. Other campuses of the church include Pleasanton (planted in 2012), Tracy (2019), and Peninsula/Palo Alto (2019). The main campus is in Milpitas. Crosspoint Church itself began as a church plant in 2000 when a group of brothers and sisters led by Rev. Abraham Chiu was commissioned by the Community Baptist Church of San Jose to plant a church in Milpitas.

The impetus to plant a church in San Leandro came when several young couples of Crosspoint Church had moved to live in the area. Rev. Ting Leung, the Senior Pastor, then suggested to Rev. Chiu to explore the possibility of a church plant there. That was in February 2021.

Information from the 2020 US Census revealed that there were 17,000 Chinese households in San Leandro and 45,000 more in an adjacent city. Talking to realtors, it was discovered that there were quite a few families who had moved from other parts of the Bay Area because of the relative affordability of homes there and many of them were Cantonese speakers or whose parents speak Cantonese.
That demographic fits the target population for the Gospel to a T at Crosspoint – young families and Cantonese speakers.

From its inception, the 16 Crosspoint pastoral staff have been supportive of starting a 5th campus even though it meant more “work” for them. Through the sharing of the vision on a personal level and in private conversations with individuals, several members from all four campuses had expressed interest in such an outreach ministry.

In August, out of the more than 30 from all campuses who attended the vision sharing session, more than 20 Crosspointers committed themselves to form the core team of workers there. By November, the team got together to pray and to receive training in anticipation of the start of the new work. Because the team members were drawn from different campuses, they needed time to be acquainted with each other and to serve together.

Meanwhile, Rev. Abraham Chiu, the Campus Pastor, began looking for a place for the group to meet for worship. Meeting in private homes was out of the question because realistically, with the number of people on the team and those they hope to reach would very quickly outgrow the place with no more
room to grow. The most ideal location would be a large enough hotel in the area that has a meeting space that could accommodate 100 people and with room to grow. It was indeed a challenge, but it also provided an opportunity for the church to pray and experience God’s provision. And God did indeed provide for His work. He was led to the Marina Inn on San Francisco Bay with its easy accessibility
for locals as well as commuters (and with plenty of parking!).

After securing a place where the church could meet, preparation began in earnest with a Soft Opening for the whole month of April. The Worship Services were attended by about 50 people on average each Sunday. These included members of the core team and people from the community. The Team also went into the community distributing flyers promoting the church and inviting members of the community
to check them out.

In anticipation of the Grand Opening on Sunday, May 1, they enlisted Deacon Sau Wing Lam, a well-known financial consultant who has a large following in the San Francisco Bay Area, to bring the Gospel message and to conduct a free financial planning seminar for the unchurched “yuppies” whom they will target.

The Grand Opening Sunday was a glorious event for the Lord. At his welcoming speech to the 267 gathered for the worship service that morning, Rev. Chiu said that Crosspoint San Leandro seeks to be the cross point between man and God, helping people to discover God’s purpose for their lives in Jesus Christ and impact the world with the love of God . Deacon Sau Wing brought the Gospel message on the theme “Delight in the Lord”, preaching from Psalms 37:3-11 and Zephaniah 3:17. When the alter call was given, four people responded to receive Christ. Praise the Lord! Later that morning, 285 people attended the “Preparing for your Retirement” Workshop. The overflow crowds for both events were accommodated in booths outside the meeting hall. Apart from the core team, 25 volunteers from the 4 other Crosspoint campuses helped out in directing traffic, welcoming visitors, and making them feel at home.

Now the tough work begins! The core team continues to work hard to contact those who attended the event focusing on the unchurched yuppie families who speak Cantonese, English and Mandarin. As the Lord draws people to Himself, and as they are discipled and trained, the church looks forward to starting an English and a Mandarin speaking worship and ministry to children as well. Pray for Rev. Abraham Chiu and his team as they labor in the Lord and work together with God for His glory.