Who We Are

Lakeshore Avenue Baptist Church offers a place where you can make a difference — in your community, in your family, in your spiritual life. We work together to create a vibrant, active and welcoming congregation that reflects the diversity of Oakland.

Since our inception in 1860, our work and actions have demonstrated a strong commitment to work for peace in Oakland, to reach those most in need of help, and to affirm a place for all in religious life.

• We work to bring peace in Oakland through community organizing and action.
• We are a partner congregation of the Baptist Peace Fellowship.
• Our Hunger Task Force has supported hunger-relief programs in the Bay Area for over twenty years.
• Lakeshore is a charter member of the Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists and welcomes gays and lesbians into our congregation.
• We share our worship space with immigrants from Myanmar, who suffer from religious persecution in their homeland.

Our Past

Lakeshore has gone through many name changes since its inception in 1860. The church began as the First Baptist Church of Brooklyn — until that small community near Lake Merritt was annexed into the City of Oakland. Lakeshore moved to its current location in 1945, and added the Lakeshore Children¬ís Center in 1972. Since 1920, Lakeshore has had five senior pastors. Our current pastor, The Reverend Doctor H. James Hopkins, has served as our senior pastor since 1989.