In April 1999, Regeneration started as a Bible study led by founding pastor, Todd Spitzer, for people who had questions about God, but did not necessarily connect with a church. The study outgrew the tiny apartment where they had been meeting and moved to Mocha Lisa Coffeehouse.

Eventually, the sound of the coffee grinders and the wanderings of restroom-seekers drove the would-be scholars to distraction, and they set out to find a new dwelling. That new home was a storage room. Though lacking glamour, heat, lighting, and ventilation, the study grew. It reached capacity, burst, and became a church.

Regeneration opened in the iMusicast studios on Telegraph in March 2001, and then moved to the blue, shag-clad Seventh Day Adventist Church on Parker St. in Berkeley. In the summer of 2004, Regeneration began meeting in the Julia Morgan-designed Swedish Baptist church at the corner of East 15th and 3rd Ave, a stone’s throw from Lake Merritt. Fifteen years later an opportunity of faith was given to us in 2019 and we purchased the church and gym property.

In 2008, Todd stepped down as Senior Pastor and Associate Pastor Albert Lee stepped into the Lead Pastor role of Regeneration through 2025. Pastor George Scanlan accepted the call as Lead Pastor for Regeneration in its new chapter at the end of 2025.

Throughout the changes over the years in size, format, and venue, Regeneration has remained true to its original purpose: to provide a home for people to seek out truth in Jesus, worship God, be led by the Holy Spirit, and participate in a vibrant community.