Such a sweet church pretty much open door ' as long as you bring love worthy and open Hands + Very…read more@ LGBTQA friendly , plus also Trust worthy of the ' Childcare support ...

Friendly fun welcoming church. Had been looking for a church for many years where I'd feel…read moreaccepted. Rev Laura and her staff and the congregation are open and make you feel at home immediately.

I've been visiting for over 2 months now almost every Sunday, and I love Vive Church Oakland. The…read moreatmosphere, the songs, the volunteers and the founder pastors are really the best!!! It is a lovely community to belong to. Thank you Vive! God bless you all!

When I first came I was a bit nervous but everyone was very welcoming and elated to meet me with…read moremade me feel comfortable. The pastors and leaders truly have a love for Jesus and since I've been going to the church I've been challenged to be more like Jesus and I've grown so much in His love. So grateful to be part of a church who's main mission is to awaken people to the reality of Jesus.

The most AMAZING Christian church where you encounter the Holy Spirit move so POWERFULLY!…read moreIf you want to be treated like family, have a positive and powerful message that will uplift your spirit and enhance your relationship with God, then this is the place you want to visit and very likely decide this is a Church you want to call yours. Pastor Adriano and Pastor Fernanda is amazing and always speaks truth. Pastor Adriano messages delivers incredible value that will improve your life and the lives of others through the power of the Holy Spirit. The entire staff is a group of beautiful souls ready to serve you with a smile. The worship music is incredible as well! Very blessed to call this my church home!

**A truly remarkable Christian Church where you can deeply experience the tangible presence of the…read moreHoly Spirit!** If you're looking for a place where you're treated like family and hear life-changing messages that will uplift and strengthen your relationship with God, this is the Church for you. Pastor Adriano and Pastor Fernanda speak the truth with love and conviction, delivering powerful messages that can transform your life! The staff here have become family and are genuinely kind-hearted, serving with joy and making everyone feel welcomed. The worship is also incredible, helping you connect with God on such a deeper level. I'm so blessed to call this my home Church!

This is a wonderful church to hear God's word and get connected to the community of God. Pastor…read moreChristopher is committed to preaching the truth of the Bible and leading this church. I recommend getting connected to a weekly Bible study and attending coffee hour after church to really meet and get to know other people in the Church. God Bless!

I'm a long time member of this church. It's home, and it's family. Like any family, we're not…read moreperfect. But we love God and Jesus, and we love God's people - all of them. Transitions are rarely easy, but with our Interim Pastor, we're making great strides on our road to healing and faithful ministry. We strive to be welcoming and hope you will feel that when you join us for Sunday morning worship and/or other activities. Hope you'll join us Sunday mornings @ 10:30 and stay for fellowship so we can get to know each other a bit.

I recently attended the main 10:15 Sunday service when visiting Alameda…read more The Episcopalian church can trace it roots in the area back to 1869, and has occupied the present site since 1890. The present church is a replacement for an earlier one which was destroyed by arson in 1960. It is a striking and airy building, with some lovely bright, modern stained glass and large organ. The services are 'central' in style, with traditional hymns and music, and a liturgy with modern language. There are classes for children, who rejoin the service for communion. The service was very enjoyable with the priest delivering an engaging sermon. The congregation was friendly and welcoming - and they had great coffee and cakes afterwards!

This church has literally been a Godsend for me and my three girls. You know it's good when your…read morekids wake up in the morning and ask, "Is today a church day?" And when it actually is, they jump up and down and shout, "Yay!" This church expects, nay, DEMANDS reason, inquiry, and doubt. If that sounds like what you're looking for, you could not find a better fit.

Twin Towers has been my spiritual home for 16 years. I raised both of my daughters there. They were…read moreboth very active in the youth group, which deepened their relationship with God and developed their leadership roles with other youth. I have served on several committees and sang with the choir. It is a traditional United Methodist service with some old, traditional hymns and some newer, more contemporary ones. I love the personal feel of the times in the service when the microphone is brought around for people in the congregation to share ways they have been blessed in the past week, and another time to lift up need for prayer for difficult situations. The lay members of the ministerial support team along with the pastor, do a great job of conducting services and giving meaningful, thoughtful sermons. This church, though smal,l has several outreach ministries, including bringing the entire dinner for 30 people to the Midway Shelter once per week. They also support Veterans, the Alameda Pointe Collaborative and send youth to church camp. I can't say enough about what a friendly, warm and supportive group of people make up TTUMC. They truly care about each other and welcome new-comers with a friendly handshake and an invitation to come back. Each Sunday there is a coffee hour where people share fellowship and celebrate special events. Even though I moved 25 miles away from Alameda, my husband and I (who were recently married in this church) make a point to come back once or twice a month to worship.

They give college scholarships to all the graduating seniors in their youth group. (How cool is…read morethat?) Almost fanatical commitment to veterans' causes. Far beyond "mainstream" patriotism. The pastor brings a great perspective (I'm trying to say his sermons are NOT BORING :) ) This place is what a church should be and I'm a born Doubting Thomas.

Posting my review here since the formal name change…read more I strongly encourage you to skim through all the reviews in order to get a more holistic perspective of what people have experienced here. Personally, I went to GP for most of my undergrad years and experienced pain and trauma that no one should have to go through at any church. If you're looking to join a church in Berkeley, I would recommend checking out pretty much any other place like Newman or RUF. Don't make the same mistake I did and waste your time here.

Love this church network! I just went to the annual team retreat and was really blessed by guest…read morespeaker Paul Worcester from NAMB as well as all of Pastor Ed's messages on how to be the Acts 2 church. What makes it even better (and much easier to make changes in my actual life) is that I got to share insights and how the sessions applied to my life with friends that I've known for over ten years. Many of them have moved across the country to help plant other Acts2 Network churches and I'm personally strengthened when we get to reconnect over both the silly and serious stuff. Thanks Pastor Ed and Kelly for planning and leading this year's retreat and looking forward to what God has in store for next year!

I started attending here last year and was immediately welcomed with love, friendship and open…read morearms. The sermons are very well structured and presented wonderfully. Best of all the teachings are understandable! This is something that is huge for me - and that I had a hard time finding at other churches before I came to BFCC. The messages are easily applicable to today's world and our lives and still 100% bible based. Credit to Pastor John who is phenomenal at what he does. God has given him a gift. I also like that there are two overhead projectors with the text as well as the music lyrics for the day. So you always know what is going on and don't feel out of place. Plus the chairs are so comfy. I especially love the upbeat and contemporary music that we sing and listen to. The music is so uplifting and wonderful each and every time. The young couples group (which meets weekly) offers relevant bible teachings and a heartwarming family community. I very much encourage you to try this group if you are interested; sadly our schedules did not coincide with the meeting which is why we no longer attend. I hope to return to the group in the future. I have never loved attending church as much as I do until I started attending BFCC. I have zero complaints. Five of five.

Arrive at 9:30 for the pre/church social time, parking is easy which is important to me since I am…read morebringing my grandma with me. Donuts and coffee and smiling friendly people greet you... It is very cheery! They provide earplugs for grannies and all who have audio sensitivity. Worship bands are often a tad louder than sensitive ears like, so the volunteers are prepared with ear plugs. My first time there, the pastor was baptizing before preaching and there was so much love and community in the room. At this time in our USA history (2016) there is a lot of division in the country due to the presidential election, and we also have experienced some terrible shootings on our own soil, and witnessed horrific tragedies abroad. The message from the pulpit at Bay Farm is what you would hope.. I have heard no hints of party politics, and what I do hear is a message of love, respect, peace, strength, and courage to follow Jesus. God's Word is used throughout the pastor's messages, and he brings the timeless stories to life with information about the historical context and geography, and the meanings of words and phrases as they were used throughout scripture. For instance in a recent teaching on the story of the Good Samaritan, he helped the audience picture the road, terrain, danger, the relationships between the different types of people, and why it was such a big deal that the injured traveler might not have wanted to have to rely on a Samaritan. A "bible based church" means to me that you can trust that you are hearing the word of God, and is so much clearer and easier for me to understand than trying to sort through the individual human bias of a different style of church. No prosperity theology here. I can't yet speak to the feel of BBQ's and community events but there is every indication that socials will be welcoming; in August they were having their big picnic on a day we were there, and pastor encouraged everyone to reach out and meet someone new that afternoon (I could not attend.). My advice to anyone new, don't wait for people to approach you, be friendly and you will find people who will be friendly back! In all things, you will grow most when you join things, so attend regularly, join a LifeGroup (small group that meets weekly), and volunteer, is my advice for being known.

It was a pretty great service, pretty short 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. Loved it. It was my first time…read morevisiting. Everybody was nice. The priest was super nice and had a very good conversation, particularly being a foreigner. Had a nice chat with a few people. Not sure whether it was as welcoming as other churches to visitors. They did have a flyer that allowed you to take whether you're a visitor or not, but I'm also not sure that they invited new folks to introduce themselves and to just get to know who is around for the first time. But I wasn't bothered about that. It was just nice to go have a great service.

As far as I can remember, this parish is one of the very few in the East Bay (think along the 880…read morecorridor), that offers a Daily Mass during the week at 5:30 p.m. - perfect for those who work the 9-5 grind from Monday through Friday. What better way can you find yourself to pause for a bit, and immerse yourself in a safe & sacred space to pray, reflect and/or meditate?! This is a great place to find some alone time with Him, and find a moment of solace in a busy world. The location is super convenient, just a stone throw's away from Downtown Oakland via Webster Tube, and easily can be accessed via public transportation that travels along Webster Street in the Western end of the Island City of Alameda! Parking can be a challenge, but don't let that deter you from getting your worship on at St. Barnabas! I personally haven't had trouble snagging a parking spot on the street, and don't beat yourself down from having to circle around the block, find a spot, and get to mass late! Pro-tip: try to get to Alameda a few minutes earlier than the mass time, so you won't find yourself in a pinch! The community just recently clustered/merged with St. Joseph Basilica, so they're all in one parish administration. Currently, Fr. Kenneth Nobrega is the parochial vicar based at St. Barnabas, and offers a more traditional approach to the Eucharist & keeps his homilies engaging & reflective. The architectural design is a historic edifice adorned with stained glass windows along the walls, and has a long nave to the main altar - which makes it easier to see what's going on up in the altar! On the other hand, I do hope that they will still keep the Weekday 5:30 p.m. mass, since it's been a real treat for those wanting some prayer time & reflection during the work week. It also draws many people all over the area, since it has been a staple to offer their weekday masses in the afternoon! In addition, they offer 3 weekend services (one on Saturday afternoon, and two on Sunday morning) - if you ever find yourself on this side of town! Highly recommend to those wanting some alone time with the One above, and for those seeking guidance & looking for some reverence in their busy lives. I'm quite grateful to be able to attend the weekday 5:30 p.m. mass at least a few times in a month, as it is a more intimate approach than the usual weekend masses! (and did I tell you, weekday masses are about 30-ish minutes or less?! Aye!!!)

My wife and family have gone to this place for years - as have many others who are now our close…read morefriends. This is a pentacostal church, so it won't be the sit-down hymnals that some other denominations are expecting. However, it isn't "fire-and-brimstone" either. This is a family-oriented church. They have child care during service on Sundays. This is a diverse church. Not predominantly one race/culture or another. It is about 20 percent Filipino - so that community does make up a large number and has a strong ministry within the church. Very active. There are a number of outreach programs. There is the yearly Christmas tree sale to benefit the youth ministry/outreach. There is the annualy Halloween Carnival onsite that is a great, safe environment for the neighborhood kids. And the church supports many missionaries in very remote parts of the world. If it is some "churchin' you want", then this is the place.

Very nice church. I went here for 7 years. I highly recommend it. Everyone is so wonderful. I was a…read morejoy to be a part of it.