Waypoint Church: A Presbyterian Congregation on Hacienda Street in San Mateo
Waypoint Church sits on Hacienda Street in the Sunnybrae neighborhood of San Mateo, a few blocks off the hustle of 25th Avenue. The church calls itself "a church for the community" and describes its people as imperfect, young and old, ethnically mixed, and socio-economically diverse. What began in 1942 as a children's Sunday school in a rented storefront on lower 25th Avenue has grown into a multi-generational congregation that worships, teaches, and serves across the Peninsula and around the world.
From First Presbyterian to Waypoint: An 80-Year Story
The congregation started on August 30, 1942, when eleven adults gathered for the first worship service of what was then called South San Mateo Community Church. Within weeks the fledgling group had 84 members and was already discussing the land on which the current sanctuary now stands. By 1946 the original sanctuary (now Geneva Hall) and Sunday school classrooms had been built; the present sanctuary followed in the mid-1950s. The parking lot and manse on 25th Avenue came next, and in 1973 the building at the corner of 25th Avenue and Hacienda, now the church offices and the Lighthouse, was acquired.
For 80 years the church carried the name First Presbyterian Church of San Mateo, and because there was never a Second Presbyterian, the leaders decided in 2022 it was time for a change. The new name, Waypoint, carries three convictions: that Jesus is the way to God the Father and to the life he called eternal; that the church's calling is to point others to that way; and that the congregation hopes to be a meaningful waypoint, marker, or crossroads for people on their own journey of life and faith. The DNA has not changed. The church is still Presbyterian in belief, practice, and affiliation, still committed to loving its neighbors in Jesus' name, and still focused on children, the next generation, and the world beyond San Mateo.
Sunday Worship at 9:30am
Gatherings are held on Sunday mornings at 9:30am at the main campus on Hacienda Street in San Mateo. The service moves through music, Bible teaching, and prayer, with a children's message specifically for elementary and younger kids woven in as a regular part of the morning. The Lord's Supper (communion) is celebrated on the first Sunday of each month, and any baptized believer who wants to follow Jesus is invited to participate. Baptism itself is open as a visible sign and seal of God's covenant grace. Guests are welcomed as they are, never singled out or asked to raise a hand, and packets with a clipboard, crayons, and activities are available in the sanctuary for kids who want them.
Services are livestreamed on YouTube, and recordings, sermons, and a podcast (also on Apple Podcasts and Spotify) are available for those who cannot attend in person. A weekly eNews and a recorded pastor's phone message are offered to anyone who subscribes.
Pouring Into the Next Generation: Children and Youth
Children and youth are described as a joyful priority at Waypoint, a continuation of the congregation's very first ministry 80 years ago. Power Station, the Sunday morning children's program, welcomes infants through 5th grade. Infants and toddlers may be dropped in the nursery and toddler rooms in the children's wing up to fifteen minutes before the service; preschool and elementary children begin in the sanctuary with their families and are dismissed to age-appropriate classes after the children's message. On Wednesday evenings at 5:30, Kingdom Club gathers K-5th graders for a night that includes dinner, games, music, Bible teaching, and crafts, with auditions for solos and acting parts in an end-of-session musical. Little Sprouts meets Friday mornings from 9:30 to 11:30 as a playgroup for children ages 0-5 and a parent or caregiver.
Dave Holtzhauer directs Waypoint's youth ministry, which is built around three weekly rhythms. Tuesday Night Youth Group runs from 6:30 to 8:00pm in Geneva Hall and the Lighthouse, mixing snacks and games with worship, prayer, a message from Scripture, and small-group conversation. On Sundays at 11:00am, the Amplify Life Group gives middle and high school students a place to ask real questions, build friendships, and grow deeper in faith. Squad Wars, a Sunday challenge competition, runs alongside Amplify for students who want a little more energy in their Sunday.
Bible Studies, Life Groups, and Fellowship for Adults
Adults at Waypoint have several standing opportunities to study Scripture together. The Thursday Morning Women's Bible Study meets at 10:00am in the Lighthouse behind the church office. The Monday Evening Women's Bible Study gathers on the first and third Mondays of the month at 7:00pm via Zoom. The Men's Bible Study meets Fridays at 8:00am in the Lighthouse and is led most of the time by Pastor Shannon; the group typically works straight through books of the Bible, with no preparation required.
Life Groups are a central part of the church's small-group rhythm. Faith Life Group and Hope Life Group both meet on Sunday mornings at 11:00am in the Iona Room and in room B110 respectively. The Young Adults Fellowship also gathers on Sunday mornings at 11:00am, made up mostly of people in their twenties who are at various stages of faith and life. Small-group leaders see these gatherings as a primary means through which God grows people spiritually.
Walking Through Hard Seasons: Support Groups
Waypoint also hosts two open support groups that welcome members of the wider community. The Cancer Support Group meets on the second Sunday of the month at 1:00pm via Zoom for anyone fighting cancer or recovering from it, along with loved ones. The Caregiver Support Group meets on the last Tuesday of each month at 3:15pm on the church campus for those who serve as primary or secondary caregivers and may feel alone, exhausted, or unsure of next steps.
Global Missions Across the 10/40 Window
Waypoint's global missions priority is to share the gospel and help people follow Jesus in places where the good news has rarely been heard, with a particular focus on the 10/40 Window that runs across Saharan and Northern Africa and much of Asia. The Global Missions Team coordinates a roster of long-term partners and is attentive to opportunities among refugees, through media and technology, and via multiplication and disciple-making movements.
Partners come from many agencies and regions: SIL International in Mexico, where Mary Hopkins works on indigenous-language literacy; Africa Inland Mission, with leaders such as Luke and Jenny Herrin, John and Maureen Becker, and Dorcas in Ethiopia; a network in Northern India working toward "No Village Left" with more than 45,000 house churches planted; Mike Smith with YWAM in Malaysia serving refugee children and elderly Chinese; Discovery Bible Studies among the unreached in Central Asia Highlands; a South Asia ministry network training leaders in disciple-making movements and Bible access for oral learners; Katie Schumacher with StuMo and JVenture mobilizing college laborers in Tokyo; Dustin and Sherri Ellington teaching at the Arab Baptist Theological Seminary in Beirut; and David and Julee Schoch, who have spent decades among the Roma Gypsy people in Albania.
Local outreach partners include ministries serving refugees and immigrants on the Peninsula, and the church points members toward ministries such as Samaritan House, Home and Hope, and others active in San Mateo.
What Waypoint Believes
Waypoint holds to historic, evangelical Christian orthodoxy. The church confesses one God - uncreated, personal, and existing as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - and affirms that God has revealed himself fully in the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, which are a unique, reliable, and authoritative guide in all matters of faith and life. God is said to have perfectly revealed himself in his Son Jesus, who took on flesh, lived, taught, healed, loved, died, and rose again, and who reigns now and forever with the Father and the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is described as God's empowering presence, filling those who are open to him and breathing into them gifts, power, love, and courage to speak God's words and live out his purposes. Waypoint affirms that the world exists because God created it and that human beings, made in God's image, have inherent dignity and infinite value. Sin, suffering, and death are understood as the result of human beings choosing their own way rather than God's. The good news, in the church's words, is that God is at work redeeming and reconciling all things through Jesus and his cross, and that by grace through faith God saves people from sin, oppression, injustice, evil, and eternal condemnation.
The church is described as a new community in Christ, powered by the Spirit, made up of differently gifted people who follow Jesus together and love one another, and understood as local outposts of the kingdom of God. Two sacraments are observed: Baptism and the Lord's Supper, both visible signs and seals of God's covenant grace.
The People Who Lead
Pastor Shannon Pappas, a Texas native who has been part of the Waypoint family for fifteen years, serves as Head of Staff. Gladys Gardner, who grew up in California and has served on staff for nearly two decades, directs the children's ministry. Dave Holtzhauer, originally from Virginia and a veteran of more than twenty-six years in youth ministry, directs youth and young adults. Melissa Brumbaugh serves as Administrator of Finance and Operations, with Zoé Espinoza in administration and Dina Thompson as Ministry Coordinator.
Governance follows a Presbyterian pattern of elders and deacons. The current session includes Darryl Compton, who has called Waypoint home since 1971; Angela Comstock; Walter Darbonne; Jeff de Lamare; Huie Lin; Ben Patterson; Jomo Thompson; Rich Wagner; and Liz Yeager. Serving as deacons are Laurel Cress, Cynthia de Lamare, Michael Johnson, Rob Flenniken, Ed Knowles, Euisung Lee, Kerry LeVan, Susan Parry, Amy Rundle, Bill Rundle, Augusta Sanchez, Dina Thompson, and Gordon Yee.
Getting Involved and Giving
Visitors are encouraged to use the Plan to Visit page to see what to expect, and a Connect Card is offered for follow-up. Worship services are livestreamed on YouTube and recordings are available through the church's sermon archive and podcast. Giving can be done by Zelle (give@waypoint.church), Venmo (@WaypointChurchSM), PayPal, check mailed to 194 W. 25th Avenue, text-to-give by texting "give" to (650) 200-2033, or by stock transfer through Charles Schwab. Designated funds include the general fund, children, youth, and global missions.
Waypoint Church continues to gather, teach, and serve from the same corner of San Mateo it has called home since the early 1940s, with its eyes on the children of the community, the next generation of disciples, and the world beyond the Peninsula.