In the spring of 2021, a few days before my 23rd birthday, I first visited Risen Church. I had recently graduated from college and returned back to the Bay Area in 2020. Amidst the lockdowns and social distancing, it was difficult finding a local church community when I was accustomed to that kind of support within a collegiate fellowship. After reaching out to a middle school teacher, he recommended Risen, a church plant that was about a year and a half old. The first time I visited, the church was meeting outside at the staff parking lot area, with everyone spaced six feet apart. After I was handed a radio with some earphones, I sat on a folded chair while seeking shade from the school bus. The sermon that morning was on hospitality and the transformative way that Jesus frees us from our selfish passions, changing us to be more gracious and compassionate towards others. I can attest that I've experienced this firsthand as I look back on the last four years here. I was not the most approachable person and was quite guarded and reserved. I even had some disagreements with people while bearing much bitterness towards them. Instead of being open and honest, there were a few times that I considered leaving this church in order to run away from those problems. However, people still went out of their way to invite me to late-night dinners and hikes, allowing me to share life with them. Despite the hesitations I had, I ended up staying time and time again, being able to fully experience that transformative power of community. God gave me the courage to eventually meet and talk with people about some of my issues. What catastrophic expectations I had before these talks dissipated as I really started to see in my fellow church members the Imago Dei, the image of God. Once I began to notice this bitterness dissolve after a couple years of attending Risen, I pursued membership and later started serving with the Connections Ministry (welcome team). Rather than being a consumer who was only taking what was being given, I was able to start giving more of myself and pour into others. Although it is not a perfect church, my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ really embody that sense of hospitality that was preached about during my first visit. As our mission statement is to "Know Christ and Make Disciples," I have seen how God has really changed their lives as they seek to glorify God and use both grace and truth to truly love others. It has truly been a blessing to witness the growth and milestones our church has experienced over the past few years. We've gathered in many places--from the pastor's house to the staff parking lot, the Student Union downstairs, and later to the multi-purpose room upstairs. What began as a church plant has now become a particular church, marked by the ordination of elders last year. Looking back, I'm grateful I stayed through the discomfort and the hurt, because it is through those very moments that I experienced some of the deepest healing and growth. read more

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Looking for a church and committing to a church isn't easy. So when I was prayerfully looking for a church to commit to and live life with, I was looking for a church that: 1) preached the Gospel and 2) lived out the Gospel in their community. I've been at Risen for 7 months now and I am thankful that God has called this church into existence. First, Risen teaches and preaches the gospel. It's all about the gospel. The sermons usually go through a book in the bible or a topic that is centered around one of their Core Principles. Risen's 8 Core Principles are: Scripture, Sabbath, Prayer, Community, Gratitude + Generosity, Compassion + Justice, Calling, Mission. Second, Risen is a community of believers who live out the Gospel. The people at Risen are passionate about Sharing Christ and Making Disciples. That's our church's mission (I can say "ours" now). So there are all kinds of ministries that make it easy to Share Christ and Make Disciples - from our Community Groups that are extremely welcoming and unintimidating to our relational building fellowship events. So you can invite your friends to multiple different avenues depending on where they may be in life. If they're ready for a Community Group, there's quite a few to choose from where they'll be extremely welcomed, cared for, taught and encouraged with the Scriptures, and prayed for. Risen is a community that has your back, prays for you, and is there for you. If they're looking for something a little less official, there are several fellowship events that they can check out. For example, there is a Run Club at 8pm so parents who want to come out, after putting their kids down, can come. Our pickleball and park hangouts are family friendly, not only limited to pickleball players or "young(er) adults". We have hikes for those who want 'more of a challenge' in terms of exercise and incline, and also family friendly walks to encourage families with babies and toddlers to come out. At the end of the day, Risen is thoughtful about having biblical fellowship that considers people of all life stages. As an adult with no kids, I feel like I belong when I hang out with families with young toddlers and babies. I also feel the same when I spend time with other adults who don't have kids or are not married. But all of this is extremely intentional. It's all intentional to Share Christ and Make Disciples. Also, as a newcomer to the church, I appreciated the effort made by members to serve the church. Most people here really care and love this church. This was very encouraging and refreshing to see, which stirred up my heart to serve. A couple cherries on top: Risen has a good form of communication at all levels. The leadership cascades down really clearly why they do everything that they do-in their newsletters, Sunday announcements, to their ministries, and informal conversations. There's trust because there's clarity, and everyone is on the same page. Risen incorporates a good mix of hymns, christian contemporary music, and newer christian songs (thank you, David)! Risen does a real good job of blending the historic Christian faith with the modern world. If you're reading this far, I'm not sure what you look for in a church. Come check us out and worship God with us. By God's grace, I felt like this was a safe place for me to be myself, open up and be vulnerable with others. God calls all His children to worship Him together as a church - so come through! read more

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God bless Risen Church! I've only attended twice but from the beginning I already feel like I am part of the community. When you walk in you're warmly welcomed to their coffee and donut table and will feel so seen and loved! Even after service each of their members put in effort to connect, fellowship and get to know you. I don't know any church who invites and treats you to lunch right after! A small, family oriented church Risen is the ideal church for congregation to gather, seek and worship the Lord deeply and to be made into a great disciple of Jesus. It's not grandiose and trendy, but simple and humble... focusing their attention on what really matters: Jesus and people. Shout out to Pastor Richard and all the faithful servants I met. Their theological doctrine and teachings are biblical and sound, nothing stemming personal agenda or false prophecy. I left being more convicted and poured into spiritually. I love how the Holy Spirit is moving through the body when I was there! I definitely recommend Risen for a solid Christian church to call home. read more

I had a negative experience with the current head pastor at Risen that involved being lied to, being gaslighted, and being shunned. Risen used to be a great church at one point; coming from almost a decade of church hurt from another church, I initially found Risen to be a church that I could feel safe in. Risen was started by 2 pastors (Rich & Harry), and I really appreciated this because I thought that 2 pastors running a church would mean more accountability vs. just 1 pastor running a church. My previous church didn't have an accountability system for the very top lead, so a lot of things went haywire. So I felt safer knowing that there were 2 pastors. It also helped that Harry was very easy to talk to and genuinely welcoming, and Rich was a very fun guy to hang out with. Due to my negative past experience with church leadership, one of the things I had asked Rich in the beginning was "Hey, if I ever have issues with leadership/the way things are being run in the church, and I were to bring those things up, would that be cool?" And his response was yes, and I believed it. But Rich's response couldn't be further from the truth. Fast forward a couple of months after I started attending, there was an announcement made one Sunday from Harry saying that he was leaving Risen due to "working personality differences with Rich." If I were someone who had no church hurt or weren't so skeptical of church leadership, I'm not sure if I would have been alarmed; but my alarm bells went off in my head, and I didn't feel safe anymore. What could the working dynamic be that it was to a point that someone is resigning from his pastoral role at a church that he co-started? In my previous church, I never asked questions. I took everything in as it was given to me which led to lots of hurt; so this time around, I didn't want to take everything in as it was given to me, and I wanted to question when things seemed off. When I began questioning, stories between Rich & Harry didn't line up, and when I began asking others, who have been around at the church longer than I have, their experience of the pastors I began noticing some inconsistencies with different things Rich had said. There was something that he directly told me that didn't align with the truth, so I sent him an e-mail asking him about what he had said along with my concerns, one of which was that now with Harry gone, Rich pretty much didn't have accountability. Yes, Rich constantly states that there is the "temp session," who are pastors from other churches who temporarily oversees Risen because Risen doesn't have an official team of elders, but at the time, they met once a quarter to see how things have been going, and they weren't aware of the day to day things of Risen, let alone how the church was being run & how Rich was interacting and leading the members of the church. Long story short, I never heard back from Rich in a personal way, and as I was waiting to hear back from him, I noticed that he started hiding his instagram stories from me, and I heard from one of my friends that he told her that my husband and I were being "divisive and gossipy." And he even attributed "people talking about Harry's departure in a more suspicious and negative light" to us. I don't think people were talking about Harry's departure that way because I was asking questions to people--in fact, I think people who cared about Harry also wanted to know what actually went down the line, and the vague message from leadership and inconsistent narratives such as Rich saying stuff like "I don't really know why Harry left" is what caused people to question Harry's departure. Members were left with different pieces of info to piece together. The church leadership failed its congregation in terms of how they handled the entire situation in a clear manner because at the end of the day it's not a positive thing when a person is leaving because he can't work with another person. I'm not saying that a church leader needs to be perfect; no one is perfect other than Jesus. But when I initially questioned what happened, the response I was hoping to see was humility--"I screwed up in this area, so this ended up happening, and I'm sorry." I got that response from Harry, but I didn't get one from Rich. Instead, what I got from Rich were vague answers that seemed to attribute Harry's departure to Harry's personal issues, and that couldn't be further away from the truth. And when I brought up my concerns to Rich, I was shunned and pushed out of the church. Being in a position of spiritual leadership cannot be counted lightly, and when some sort of character issues or flaws come up, one cannot just hide it and blame others. Humility is what helps build trust between a church member and the church leader, and there is grace on the other end. But such humility was nowhere to be found, and I experienced the opposite of the Gospel toward the end of my stay at Risen. Hoping that this would change. read more

My props are for the pastors wives. They didn't sign up to be a pastor's wife, but they have gone above and beyond in so many areas. Lauren has 4 kids, works full time and supports her husband, pastor Harry not only by leading the children's ministry but also feeding the congregation. She has probably invited every person from church over for dinner. I don't know where she finds the time or energy! Jen Hong is Richard's wife and is the tender touch for everything at Risen. She builds everything from scratch, from the logo, to the bulletin to slide decks. She has helped me in different crisises. I can depend on these 2 ladies with my life. I know they'd be do anything for me. I am grateful to do this life together with them~~~ Love you ladies. read more

Service starts on Sundays at 10:30am. It starts off with a few songs, so you have 10-15 minutes of buffer time to subtlely walk in on those hectic mornings. The main pastor is Rich Hong. He's Asian American, on the younger side for a pastor, and is one of those people that connect with others and make them feel welcome so easily. He's extremely knowledgable, outwardly accepting, and preaches on the gospel, but does it in a way that's relatable with a touch of humor. Harry Chan is the co-pastor. Harry definitely has a gift with words and leads you in such beautifully worded prayers that impact you for the rest of the week. They're both so easygoing, welcoming, and accepting of everyone in all walks of life, and their personalities are reflected in the awesome people that attend this church. The Risen family is a pretty varied mix of young singles, dating or married couples, and families. We found this church after a year long hiatus from going to church at all, for many reasons. If you're in the same boat, I can confidently say you can rest your weary feet at Risen's doorstep. You'll find home here, like we did. read more

With Gospel-centered teachings from Pastor Richard and Harry, and an incredibly humble, welcoming community, Risen Church is exactly what the east bay has been in need of! The people here are all about getting connected so expect to meet a new friend if you're a visitor! The messages are rich and powerful, as well as not drawn out which is a refreshing take to a worship service. If you'd like to have your child attend a class, there's an awesome children's class that starts after the opening worship set; they're currently going through the Bible Project which is a fun way for kids (and adults for that matter) to understand the Bible. Coffee and donuts ready before service are also a plus. I'm really excited to see how much this church will grow! read more

I go to church here so I am a bit biased, but below are a few reasons why I enjoy being here: (1) It's gospel-centered. There are lots of churches and denominations out there, but what unites all Christians is the good news of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection. This isn't just something peripheral or introductory, but the whole of the Christian life is understanding this and being gradually transformed by it. Pastor Rich and Harry are committed to teaching the gospel rather than the latest fads, advice columns, or self-help lifehacks. (2) It's a tighter/relational community (about ~40+ adults on a given Sunday currently). I personally prefer smaller churches where you can meet people and have a conversation, and the lunches they provide every other week also help with this too. I've been to larger churches and sometimes feel lost in the faceless crowds, so the smaller vibes are more my jam. (3) It has a rich liturgy. The worship service has lots of different elements to help keep it rich and multi-faceted (i.e., scripture reading, guided meditations, and the Lord's table/communion). It's great to participate in these ancient rituals while still keeping it fresh and invigorating. read more

Pastor Richard was my youth pastor growing up down in SoCal. With Covid and virtual services, I was fortunate to have the chance to worship with him again online! The worship is heartfelt and the messages are clear and easy to understand whether you've been going to church your whole life or just checking out church for the first time. There are community groups throughout the week and they even do social distancing hangouts/ hiking socials! Highly recommend checking out Risen for yourself! read more

Given the current circumstances, this pandemic has allowed me to "visit" other churches that I normally do not have access to. Risen is now on my list of to visits when I am in the area. Pastor Rich's thoughtful, engaging, and relevant messages provokes meaningful dialogue and discussion on today's societal issues through a biblical centered perspective. While I can't share how welcoming and social the church is, as my experience is purely remote, my expectation is that would be similarly representative of my encounter, warmth and openness to their digital audience. Can't wait to visit! read more

Church is more than listening to a sermon (sorry P. Rich and Harry!), it needs community, grace, and God and Risen has that - including the sermons. Service combines the tradition of liturgy, reflection, communion, and benediction with modern and hymnal musical worship. The people are fun, caring, thoughtful, deep and insightful, but most importantly Christ-centered. The church have a lot of events happening almost weekly, either it's community groups, or women's/men's groups, or a biking outing, or a drive-by birthday. So there is a lot of opportunity to have fun or grow deeper in relationship with God and others. Though unlike other startup churches, Risen doesn't have any merch - hint- hint- I'm waiting for my mug. read more

I got to visit Risen Church once and wish I lived closer! Everyone was extremely welcoming and I happened to come on a week where there was lunch afterwards and got to hang out to get to know everyone afterwards. Definitely come check them out! read more

It's been amazing getting to know the leadership of Risen Church and seeing their love & heart for Jesus & His people! I don't go to this church as I live in Southern California & I say that because I've reached out to Pastor Hong many times & he's been there to listen & give me much needed advice. And I'm not even a member of his church. I'm thankful to call him a friend & thankful to have had the honor of preaching for them virtually. read more

Great startup church in Hayward! Gospel focused preaching and while the startup team is mostly Asian they are focused on serving all communities in Hayward to diversify. read more

Risen is a biblical centered church with a focus on mission and serving the people around the Hayward/East Bay area. The church provides a close knit community where people can meet and build long-term relationships. Everyone is welcoming and newcomers are not left ignored. I would encourage anyone looking for a community or a relaxed atmosphere to grow and learn about the gospel to visit! read more

Refreshing startup church that's part of the PCA denomination. We liked the casual atmosphere and the upbeat/contemporary worship music. We also liked the service that's just under an hour, the bible based teaching, and the multicultural mix of people that's genuine and friendly. The folks frequently meet and grab lunch after the Sunday service. read more

Risen Church is supported and led by incredible pastors and staff, if you're looking for a church and spiritual community this is the place to come. Pastor Rich is as passionate as they come and truly cares about his church community thriving and their overall well being! read more

I got to check-out Risen over a weekend, which meant I got to hang out with some of the church members at a Community Group meeting and at Sunday worship. Even though I was just passing through, everyone was friendly and welcoming. At Community Group, I got to casually meet people over dinner in Pastor Rich's home. Sunday worship was a blessing with times of prayer, singing praises to our God, and hearing a gospel-centered sermon that was relevant and much needed for my heart. I'll definitely be back if I'm passing through the Bay again. I highly recommend that you check Risen out if you're looking for a church, have never been to church, or haven't been to church in a long time. You won't regret it! read more

I try to visit Risen Church any time I travel up to the Bay Area as it's always a blessing. Warm people. Gospel centered preaching. Engaging, Christ centered worship. And back when we could share a meal together, the grub was delish! read more

Risen is a Gospel-centered church in the east bay area - more specifically Hayward. They meet at Crosspoint Christian Academy on Sundays at 10:30a. The pastors Harry and Rich are loving, kind, and the overall community at Risen is one that is not often seen at church's these days. If you are looking for a PCA church in the east bay, I highly recommend it. read more

Just checked out Risen's worship on YouTube. The gospel message that is being preached here is absolutely amazing, real, wise and most importantly, true. Please check out their Sunday virtual worship and get connected! read more