We are the First Baptist Church of Napa (FBC), doing business as CrossWalk Community Church.

We have evolved over our history, and we are now proud to be one of the most progressive churches in Napa.

Our church began in 1860 with the help of our denomination, American Baptist Churches, USA (ABC-USA) — a mainline Christian denomination (not Evangelical, not affiliated with Southern Baptists) that is 1,000,000 members and 5,000 churches strong. ABC-USA is also, arguably, the world’s most diverse Christian denomination.

“But, wait a second… Baptist?” you (and others) might question, warily. Let’s back up and shed some light:

Historically, Baptists have been a people of freedom: free to read the Bible and interpret it as they desired, instead of being forced to adhere to the denominational leadership; free to lead their churches as they saw fit without interference from the head office. American Baptists, in particular, have long been proponents of equality, from the emancipation of slaves to gender equality and, most recently, LGBTQ+ rights. We’re proud of our true heritage, and yet we’re frustrated that some louder, distant cousins within the larger Baptist world have maligned our identifying word so much that it no longer means what it once did.

After nearly 150 years as the First Baptist Church of Napa, we faced the reality that, today, for many in our culture, the word “Baptist” has become a caricature representing narrow-minded, judgmental, exclusive, and anti-(fill-in-the-blank) perspectives. Our own members were telling us that when they invited people to give us a try, the word “Baptist” in our original name made potential new members too nervous to visit. So, in 2008, we voted to begin doing business as CrossWalk, even as our legal entity name (and proudly progressive identity!) remain. The move has helped us reach many more people than we would have otherwise. By the time people discover our Baptist roots, they have already learned that we do not in any way fit the caricature. It’s easy to explain to someone who has been with us. Impossible to convince someone who has not.

ABC-USA has no authority over our local operations; instead, we associate with the denomination by choice, in order for us to do more good in the world than we can by flying solo. Through our collective efforts, we make an impact on social justice issues, we bolster natural disaster responses, we lend care and assistance to other churches sharing our theology, and we stretch our global efforts to help those all around the world who need it most.