In the heart of San Francisco, where startup pitches and product launches dominate the landscape, Epic Church is attracting national attention by bridging the gap between technology and spirituality. The San Francisco Standard published an article about the church in late 2024, while the New York Times recently included the church’s story in a profile about faith in Silicon Valley.
Epic Church began hosting services in 2011, meeting in a hotel ballroom. Despite navigating the challenges of ministering in a secular and quite expensive city, Epic has experienced remarkable growth. Under the ministry leadership of Ben Pilgreen, the congregation now consists of a broad swatch of worshippers—from tech executives to the city’s economically challenged residents.
The church’s success in one of America’s most progressive cities can be attributed to its unique approach: embracing spiritual seekers and skeptics while acknowledging the role of vocation in people’s lives.
Ben believes in Colossians 3:23-24 and preaches that one’s job should be viewed as a calling. “If you’ve been called to be a graphic designer, that’s a sacred vocation,” Ben observes. It’s a message that resonates in the fast-paced, professional Silicon Valley context.
It’s what compelled Trae and Michelle Stephens to make the church their home. Not only have they become regular attendees, but they lead a small group of other tech professionals. Their Faith and Work group is a gathering point for tech workers exploring how their professional lives intersect with spiritual beliefs.
Epic recently marked a significant milestone with the purchase of its first permanent home: a renovated office space. The church’s recent building acquisition and renovation, made possible by the kingdom-minded investors of CDF Capital, is much more than a typical San Francisco real estate transaction. It provides the church with their own space from which they can continue to serve a city in desperate need of Bible-teaching churches.
Executive Vice President of Lending, Mark Briggs, shared his excitement about this new loan partner. “The church is experiencing some great momentum. They had over 1000 in attendance recently, which is basically unheard of in San Francisco; that’s like having over 5,000 in more churched areas. This new, permanent location is in a vastly better and more visible location than any previous space the church has ever had.”
As San Francisco continues to serve as a global tech capital, Epic Church stands as a beacon on the landscape, elevating the gospel and displaying the relevancy of faith in an emerging world. Pray with us that their ministry continues to spur a spiritual awakening in San Francisco’s tech community.
