Peninsula Bible Church
PBC is a nondenominational Bible-teaching church. Multiple pastors
take turns each giving a sermon series before rotating to a different
pastor. I typically find sermons challenging, yet encouraging. The two
different services have slightly different feels to them, though the
sermon is the same in both; and I'd encourage people to try each service.
I go to the early service. I'd say the first service worship style is
mixed, using both hymns and praise choruses with a praise band leading.
(Unfortunately, I've never seen the organ in use, but I can see it there.)
I especially encourage people to attend a Sunday School class. The church
is large, but in a Sunday School class you get to interact with people
more (the same people week to week) and get to know them. There are also
multiple ways to serve in the church and with the church in the community,
but nobody comes up to you the second week you're there and forces you to
sign up for something.
-Kathy Downum (2005)
This church has excellent exegetical preaching. The two pastors, who rotate which service they're preaching at, do a remarkable job explaining Biblical passages in very careful detail. At the same time, their sermons encourage a whole-hearted application of Biblical truth to daily life.
The congregation seems less obviously wealthy than some other Bay Area
churches. There is a good mix of older and younger people, and, it
seems, people of very different walks of life. Many students attend
the church. There is a 20s group that meets at 11:30am on Sundays
and, apparently, during the week as well; and a college group
(primarily for undergrads) that meets at 10am.
- Aaron Stump
One of the main reasons I have started attending PBC regularly is the way I
have been impressed by the very practical, strongly biblically-based
messages. Perhaps that sounds basic, but I have found some sermons with a
stronger emphasis and theology and conceptual understanding. There is an
element of this too, of course, but I find the practical applications
personally helpful as the abstract is more of my natural inclination. The
church is set up such that there is not a senior pastor, but rather many
pastors of various segments of church life, most of whom rotate through the
preaching role in the service. The church also uses a variety of music with
both hymns and more contemporary choruses, which I appreciate. The
congregation is larger than I am accustomed to, with two services of a few
hundred each but it has a smaller feel to it than some large churches I
have attended. The Young Adults Fellowship meets after the early service,
and actually overlaps the later service but some attend that group as a
self-contained service in itself. This group is very friendly, plans various
social outings, and ranges in age from early 20's to early 30's.
- Molly Uhl
PBC was founded 50 years ago on the belief that a Christian life must be
strongly grounded on the bedrock of God's Word. That tradition continues
today, and the greatest strength of PBC is still its practical Biblical
teaching. The three pastors rotate the preaching duties, each generally
giving a 1-2 month series of sermons working through a unified block of
Scripture.
Although PBC is rather large, it has largely avoided of the self-important
and holier-than-thou attitude sometimes exhibited in larger churches.
There are regular 'Body-Life' times when anyone in attendance is invited
to share prayers and praises with the rest of the congregation, and there
are plenty of opportunities for people to meet and interact with each
other on a personal basis. Although the congregation is largely educated
middle class, it covers the complete range of ages from infant to
retirees, and is very welcoming of people from any background.
IVGrad members attend both services plus the College Group and the Young
Adults Group, and are involved in activities ranging from leading music to
teaching Sunday school.
- Ed LeMaster