One of the ways for us to introduce you to our church is to introduce you to some of our friends. In 2002 a group of us was sent from Grace Fellowship Community Church to plant another church in another part of the city. We did this as a way to bless others with the very rich life we had found in the church. Grace Fellowship and Redeemer continue to be strong partners to one another today, encouraging one another "to be the church" in San Francisco.
In 2012 Redeemer Community Church and Dayspring Technologies decided to "move in together". A successful Web development firm, Dayspring also has a gospel mission to "embody and bear witness to God's redeeming work in the workplace, market, and community." Dayspring and Redeemer began to wonder together what it might look like to share space and seek the welfare of the same local neighborhood. We share not only a common local address, we share a common heart to be a blessing in the neighborhood where God has placed us. One expression of this is the Neighbor Fund.
After more than a decade in the Bayview, in 2015, several members of Redeemer Community Church felt called to unify our extensive experience in education to help form an excellent neighborhood-based middle and high school. Like many of our neighbors, we had long lamented over the inequalities in our city, and we were excited about working together with God's love and strength towards His vision for this place. The result was Rise University Prep!
Redeemer has planted itself in the Bayview Hunters Point neighborhood in large part because of the welcome that it received from local churches. In particular Redeemer has shared fellowship and ministry with Cornerstone Missionary Baptist Church, Shekinah Christian Fellowship, and Providence Baptist Church. We have deep respect for the churches that have been serving this neighborhood long before we arrived, and for their open arms, and open hearts towards us.
The Ekklesia Project has also been a friend to Redeemer since 2005, when we were first introduced to it at its Annual Gathering. Through the years we have participated in the EP's Congregational Formation Initiative, had members serve on its board and planning committees. We have learned much through the EP, and had the opportunity to present in plenary sessions and workshops, and to help lead worship and preach.
Redeemer also keeps close ties to our sister church Maranatha Presbyterian Church in El Paso, Texas. We support the work of the ECWA Theological Seminary in Nigeria, and the Justo Mwale Theological University College in Zambia. Other partners include Seed and Light International, Sunrise Ministries in Cambodia, Jubilee Immigration Advocates here in San Francisco, and Open Door Legal right here in our neighborhood.