Silicon Valley is one of the most strategic areas in the world to reach for Christ. That’s what Ross Shepherd, CSBC church starting specialist, thought to himself when traversing the Golden State, looking for the best places to plant churches.

Noting the proximity of Google, Yahoo, Apple and other companies of international renown, Shepherd reasoned the Santa Clara area would attract young entrepreneurs and other technologically oriented people. “It’s the heart of the tech world,” Shepherd said. With Stanford University and San Jose – the 10^th largest city in the US – nearby, the area seemed like fertile ground for a church plant, and ripe for a harvest of souls, he added.

Shepherd was right. In February 2009, South Bay Church was born in Santa Clara through the efforts of church planter (now pastor) Andy Wood and his team, and with the support of California Southern Baptists.

More than 500 people attended South Bay on Easter Sunday – that’s 200 more than ever attended before. And of the estimated 100 first-time visitors, about 50 completed visitor cards. But the most important statistic? More than 20 indicated first-time commitments to Jesus Christ.

Since then, South Bay has seen an up-tick in worship attendance to around a 330 average. And the church recently topped 400.

“The greatest statistic of all,” said Wood, “is seeing people coming to faith in Christ.” In the weeks following the Easter service, 10 people have made professions of faith.

One factor contributing to South Bay’s success is not an interest in itself, but in the surrounding community. Wood reported in a blog that “many people in our community have had nothing but negative experiences with the Christian church. South Bay hopes to break down that stereotype by relentlessly serving our community in relevant ways that show the love of Christ!”

Those relevant ways include assisting with civic functions such as the city’s annual Fourth of July celebration. South Bay dispatched 40 volunteers who helped set up and break down equipment for the celebration, and who picked up trash off the street afterward.

Wood also expressed “gratitude for those churches that sacrificed and gave to church planting, and who have a desire to see God’s Kingdom work go forward.”

Because South Bay can influence international corporations, and because it is a multi-ethnic congregation, the church epitomizes the CMO theme: “Reaching the World in California: The Great Commission Begins Here.”

Shepherd noted the ongoing urgency for such church planting: “The need is tremendous,” he said. “California has about 200 distinct people groups who need to hear the gospel.”

California Southern Baptists plant some 100 churches a year, but “we need to plant about 300 churches annually to keep up with California’s population growth. To reach all 35 million Californians who are not Christians, 35,000 churches need to be planted,” Shepherd declared.

Noting that newly planted churches baptize more people than established ones, Shepherd said the California Mission Offering is “one of the key elements for church planting. We’ve got to have the funding to continue to reach lost people in our state, because the real bottom-line is transformed lives.”