Who Are We
We are a multi-generational and multi-ethnic church in downtown Walnut Creek that seeks to draw as many people as possible into an ever-deepening relationship with Jesus and authentic community with one another. Whether you are spiritually homeless, skeptical, curious, or a committed follower of Jesus, we make room for your process and support you in your journey.
Our Story
Nearly 150 years ago, in 1878, Walnut Creek Presbyterian Church was planted in the rural, farming community of Walnut Creek. Our church began as a mission church of Community Presbyterian Church, a congregation just down the wagon trail in Danville. When the Southern Pacific Railroad service (now the Iron Horse Trail) opened in 1891, Walnut Creek grew rapidly. Sixty years later, in 1951, the Broadway Plaza opened as Contra Costa’s first major retail center, and the population quadrupled in size.
While our story begins with roots planted in a small, rural town, over the years, the suburban bustle replaced the corner store, post office. and hitching post. Today, the transit village surrounding BART, one block from our church, has spawned thousands of apartments and condominiums, housing young millennials and scores of people from countries all over the world. The vibe around our campus is urban–eclectic and artistic–while our surrounding area still hosts suburban neighborhoods with good schools and family-sized yards. In the midst of transition from rural to suburban to urban we’ve remained in our central location to help people explore the Christian faith and become followers of Jesus. We use our acronym WCPC as shorthand for our mission: WCPC- We Connect People with Christ.
Our Vision - Why We Exist
To glorify God while drawing as many people as possible into an ever-deepening relationship with Jesus and authentic community with one other, all through the power of the God’s Spirit.
Our Mission - What we do
We are a multi-generational and multi-ethnic church in downtown Walnut Creek that (1) worships in a manner that exalts God, equips believers, and engages our friends and neighbors, (2) loves and disciples adults, students, and children, (3) supports and serves our community and world through sharing Jesus’ story, mercy, and justice, (4) operates as a healthy organization with integrity, caring well for its staff and volunteers, (5) partners with a Christ-centered preschool, and (6) stewards our campus resources, nine apartments, and Foundation toward influence and impact in the greater East Bay.
Our Values - Who We Are
We seek to lead Christ-centered, Joy-filled, Love-compelled lives.
- Christ-centered – Jesus’ incarnation (God becoming human) provides the way for us to know God personally. Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection are central to the Christian faith. Jesus is at the center of everything that our church does and says.
- Joy-filled – Joy is a deep settled confidence that God is in control of everything. Joy springs from being grateful to God for many good gifts, and flows from the hope that Christ’s Resurrection is making all things new.
- Love-compelled – Christ’s love compels us. It is the grandest motivation in life. Christ’s love is his self-donating, sacrificial gift to us, and we extend that love to one another and to our neighbors.
Our Core Beliefs
Jesus Centered
Jesus reveals to us who God is and what God is like. Jesus models to us a new way of being in the world, but Christ is not only the model, he is also the means. After we turned away from God, Christ wooed us back with his sacrificial love poured out on the cross and with the power of his Resurrection.
Grace Saturated
Scripturally Grounded
While Creation gives us a general understanding of God, Scripture is the unique revelation of who God is and how God works. Through Scripture, we hear God speak about who Jesus is and what he came to do. Through Scripture, we hear about sin and salvation. Through Scripture, we hear about the Kingdom of God. We engage honestly and faithfully with Scripture, seeing it as God’s authority, sitting under it in humility, and trusting in the work of the Holy Spirit to illumine our understanding.
Church Dependant
The church is the ordinary means used by God for the Gospel (“Good News”) work in our world. We respect the tradition of the ancient church and affirm the historic Christian faith passed down by our fathers and mothers over two thousand years and lived out amongst our brothers and sisters all over the world today. We also recognize that the Holy Spirit is breathing reformation in the church at all times and in all places.
Intellectually Honest
Doubts, questions, and new ideas are encouraged here. Because we believe that all truth is God’s truth, we don’t shy away from rigorous inquiry. We understand there to be no conflict between faith and science, and we seek to love God, not only with our hearts and hands, but with our minds as well.
Communally Designed
Because we were created by a Triune God who has forever existed in community (Father, Son, Spirit), we recognize we are designed to live in community with one another. Having been invited into God’s inter-trinitarian dance of love, our lives are richer and more beautiful when lived out in relationship with one another.
Kingdom Oriented
Jesus orients his work, purpose, and his very person in what he calls “The Kingdom of God”. We don’t privatize or shrink the scope of the good news Jesus comes to proclaim. We don’t stop short of Christ’s mission to “renew all things.” The entire cosmos is the theater for this restorative work. It’s a big idea and we are all invited to join Jesus’ in the re-construction project.