Art by Clark MillerWorship at Epic Church in downtown San Francisco last Sunday began in a darkened room, on the second floor of a former factory building. The shades were drawn across the tall windows, while colored lights cast a theatrical glow on a band that sounded a bit like Arcade Fire—if Arcade Fire made worship music. A mostly millennial congregation swayed to the harmony, a sea of Apple Watch–clad arms raised to the heavens.
This was a special moment for Epic Church and its congregants, the opening of a $12 million space—just down the street from the headquarters of Pinterest and Airbnb—acquired two years ago to accommodate a flock that has ballooned to nearly 1,000 people every Sunday. Epic’s pastor, Ben Pilgreen, couldn’t have been more pleased. “We really feel called to this particular place and its people,” he said a few days later, reflecting on the opening day’s turnout.
I attended the services as a guest of two of the more prominent people within Epic: Trae Stephens, the Founders Fund partner and Anduril co-founder, and his wife, Michelle Stephens, chief revenue officer at Felt, a healthcare software startup. “People think church is just for the poor, the marginalized, the visibly in need, but the highly rich and famous are just as much in need,” Michelle told me. Then she paraphrased a bit of scripture: “It’s harder for a rich man to pass through the eye of the needle than for the poor man to see God.”