The San Francisco Bay Area is a world-renowned region with the iconic Golden Gate Bridge as its gateway and breathtaking views and vibrant cultural diversity throughout. The nine-county area boasts a population of nearly eight million people and 101 municipalities, including the major cities of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, and is home to world-class universities, and tech giants like Google, Meta, and Apple.
The SF Bay Fellowship was launched in the Bay Area in October 2020 in the midst of the pandemic with four disciples who wanted to be more closely connected with their ICOC family of churches. Today the church has a Sunday attendance of over 100 meetings in five fellowship groups throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. For almost two years now, we have enjoyed inviting guest speakers to visit us monthly to encourage and strengthen our faith as we forged this new church. We are so grateful for the help and encouragement we have received from so many.
Most recently in September 2022, Brock and Anne Roby were selected to return to their lifelong passion of ministry and are now serving as the lead ministry couple for the SF Bay Fellowship. Brock and Anne both became Christians in college while attending Princeton University where they began to date and develop a heart for serving God in the ministry. They both moved to northern California a year after graduation and Brock received a Master’s degree from Stanford. They served in the Berkeley Church of Christ where they were married and went into the full-time ministry. They trained for the ministry in San Francisco and then in Boston, where they were involved in campus, single, and family ministries. In 1989 they were asked to lead the mission team to Honolulu, Hawaii, where they lived for almost 10 years. During those 10 years, the Oahu Church grew from 21 to a Sunday attendance of over 1,000, while also planting churches in Hilo, Maui, and Guam. In Hawaii, they loved working with the campus ministry and training young men and women for the full-time ministry. Many of those who went into the ministry in Hawaii are still serving around the country today. It was also in Hawaii where their children were born. Barrett, who has Down Syndrome, is now 31, and Nick, 29, is now married to their wonderful daughter-in-law, Christina.
Together, Brock and Anne have worked in the secular world for the last 17 years which has given them a valuable and fresh perspective for building the church in these challenging times. For quite some time they have had it on their heart to return to serving in the ministry in some capacity, having felt the need to give back to God after all he has done for them. They are thrilled to have the opportunity to lead the SF Bay Fellowship.
We in the SF Bay Fellowship hope to build a church that has a vibrant fellowship of disciples meeting and serving as a light in each and every community in the Bay Area. We are currently looking for individuals or couples that would like to train to help us build strong campus ministries throughout the region. We treasure our relationships with the Pacific Southwest Family of Churches, our global family of ICOC churches, and are inspired by what God is doing around the world. We look forward to what God has in store for the church while finding and training that next great campus couple to lead the way.
Rafael Lua, Regional Family Chair of the Pacific Southwest, said, “Griselda and I were very encouraged to visit the SF Bay Fellowship this past August and witness the announcement of Roby’s new role. They bring with them many years of experience in church leadership in our fellowship. We’ve known the Robys to be wise, spiritual, and inspiring leaders that have a spirit of partnership and unity with our surrounding churches. We have no doubt God will use them powerfully!”
Please pray for the SF Bay Fellowship and accept our invitation to visit and serve with us to the glory of God!
