Christianity in Silicon Valley: Meet the movement transforming the San Francisco Bay area with Christ

Silicon Valley in the San Francisco Bay area is home to the world's most admired tech gurus, venture capitalists, and hugely successful startups, from Apple and Microsoft to Facebook and Netflix. But despite its plethora of innovative and creative minds, Silicon Valley remains one of the least religious parts of the country, with just 42 percent of adults saying they believe in God with absolute certainty.

In this perceived wasteland of faith, a coalition of leaders from the faith, business, and tech communities are making a tremendous impact for Christ.

Co-founded by VMWare CEO Pat Gelsinger, Transforming the Bay with Christ is a nonprofit organization working to jumpstart a Jesus movement in the Bay Area that results in spiritual and societal transformation.

Headed by Nancy Ortberg, a former teacher at Willow Creek Community Church and a respected Christian voice on leadership and spirituality, the group mobilizes churches and Christ-followers to make a difference through social compassion and service.

"A few years ago, Christian business leaders and pastors started to imagine, 'What would it be like if we could start to help catalyze a holistic Gospel movement in the Bay Area?' And that's how TBC got started," Ortberg told The Christian Post.

"The Bay Area is very rich in resources and in diversity, with different people coming to this area from all over the world to be involved in careers that have shaped the world," she continued. "The Church, then, needs to show up in a significant way to influence these people and their lives and say, 'there's more to life than this; there's a Creator behind all of this.'"

Founded in 2013, TBC is driven by a belief that true spiritual and societal transformation can only happen when people love God with all their heart, soul and mind and their neighbor as themselves, as instructed in Matthew 22:37-40.

Backed by the likes of Francis Chan, John Ortberg, and Chip Ingram, the organization works through three strategic streams: Unify, amplify, and multiply Christian leaders in the Bay Area for Kingdom impact.

Ortberg explained: "We unify by bringing senior pastors and business leaders of faith together in catalytic networks; we amplify by looking at social wounds like homelessness, poverty, foster care, and education and activate nonprofit organizations of faith and churches to come around these issues and make dents in them."

Read more from "Christianity in Silicon Valley: Meet the movement transforming the San Francisco Bay area with Christ" on The Christian Post.