Bridges Community Church

A part of the Evangelical Free Denomination, Bridges Community Church was started in 1966 with a charter membership of 21 people. It now meets at [http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=505+Driscoll+Road,+Fremont,+CA+94539&ie=UTF8&om=1| 505 Driscoll Road] in Fremont, California and a satellite campus in Livermore with an average attendance of 1600 people on any given Sunday.

Two Chinese churches, a deaf church and an Iranian church also meet on the campus.

Venues

Currently Bridges supports 3 venues for meetings on Sunday mornings:

[http://www.bridgescc.org/services/bridgeslive.asp Bridges Live] which is in a more traditional setting and meets in the main fellowship hall in Building A; A video feed telecast meeting called [http://www.bridgescc.org/services/videocafe.asp Video Café] which is offered in a more informal atmosphere, serving coffee and snacks, and meets across the campus in Building C, and [http://www.bridgescc.org/services/livermore.asp Bridges Livermore] which meets in the nearby city of Livermore. All three venues have a live worship session with a live band, but the Video Café presents a broadcast message via closed circuit TV. The Livermore venue receives a pre-recorded message.

Ministries

The Sunday morning meetings are meant to accommodate the congregation as a whole, but also offers a wide assortment of [http://www.bridgescc.org/smallgroups/directory.asp cell based ministries] which meet in smaller groups throughout the week and in various locations on and off the church campus. It is [http://www.bridgescc.org/smallgroups/what.asp Bridges’ stated belief] that cell based ministries offer those who attend, more opportunities to develop closer friendships within the church body, and more opportunities to find the exact type of growth and involvement to suit each individual. The cell ministries do not meet during the summer months, but function throughout the rest of the year. Three times per year (January, May, and September), the church offers a Cell Expo to highlight all the cell ministries.

History

1960’s

* Began meeting in 1966 in small groups in homes, then called their 1st pastor and rented a mortuary on Washington Blvd (current location of Burger King) for worship
* Incorporated as a church of 21 members and purchased a house on 1-1/2 acres on Grimmer Blvd

1970’s

* Purchased 2-1/4 acres on Driscoll Road and built first Worship Center and classrooms (Building B)
* Added on Fireside Room and church offices to the East - all are now children's classrooms
* Purchased 2 adjoining acres in 1974
* Built present Worship Center (Building A), additional downstairs classrooms, and offices in 1979

1980’s

* Planted a daughter church - [http://www.newarkcommunitychurch.org/ Newark Community Church]
* Completed unfinished upstairs classrooms from the 1979 building addition
* Began Deaf Church
* Traded property with the Seventh-day Adventist Church next door in 1984 to acquire land behind parking area
* Purchased 3/4 acre easement (under power lines) in 1989 for parking needs

1990’s

* Started Little Lamb Ministries (day care and preschool) in 1991
* Began Cantonese Church on campus
* Planted a second Deaf Church in Bay Area
* Planted a church in Romania
* Built a multipurpose building (Building C) and expanded parking lot in 1997 (5-1/2 acres total)
* Transformed ministries into being cell based

2000’s

* Completed second floor classrooms and offices in Building C
* Began an Iranian (Persian speaking) church on campus
* Planted two more Deaf Churches in Bay Area
* Started first video venue worship services on campus
* Began Mandarin Church on campus
* Planted three churches in Vietnam
* Launched first off-campus video venue worship service in Livermore

Pastoral staff as of Aug 2008

External links

* [http://www.bridgescc.org/ Official site]