Eddie & Sarah Williams

Eddie and Sarah enjoy a cup of joe in the Dogpatch

Growing up in many different cities around the Bay Area, Eddie Williams faced unusual daily struggles.  Without a dad around, his home was robbed regularly.  At one point, he and his sister would have to take all of their belongings with them wherever they went if they wanted to keep them.  At the same time, Eddie’s mom and role model was battling cancer. 

At the end of her life, Eddie’s mom made it a point to tell Eddie that he would be an NFL Football player one day.  She wanted so much for him even though she wouldn’t be able to see it. 

We do the impossible when we tell ourselves we can.

Eddie did end up playing in the NFL and attributes his mom’s encouraging words to his fearless pursuit of the sport.  Throughout his NFL career, he made it a point to make his team his mission field and to treat his teammates with love and grace. It was at this time that Eddie heard the Lord call him into church planting.

“All the believers were one in heart and mind.” – Acts 4:32

Eddie and Sarah moved back to the Bay Area in March and have a vision to plant a different kind of church.  A multi-ethnic, multi-cultural church in one the southeast neighborhoods of SF.  A church where a struggling single mom is in real community with an Apple executive.  A church in which the barriers and walls that many of us put up are taken down to make room for authentic relationship. 

Why South East SF?

Eddie jokes about Sarah’s family crest that is displayed proudly at her family’s home.  The coat of arms is a symbol of legacy and belonging that Eddie never had.  Throughout his childhood, he moved often and never really understood why his family had chosen the Bay Area.  There were never any stories of planting and rooting but of picking up and moving.  

Eddie realized that his church could be the start of a legacy for many kids growing up in the same neighborhoods that he grew up in. He’s returned to a city that has been a place of hardship and heartbreak and recently had a thought that really brought his story full circle:

“What if the reason I was born here was so that God would be glorified though the planting of a church that would share the story of Jesus to this city?”

The South East cities of San Francisco (Bayview, Hunters Point, Dogpatch) are historically black neighborhoods that are rapidly changing to a diverse mix of low income and upper middle class tech employees.  Eddie and Sarah hope to bridge the gap that has formed with the only thing that can: The Gospel.  Follow their story here!