There are now five Berean Fellowship of Churches in California. They are located in Etna, Grenada, Weed, Yreka, and Redding.
The Berean Fellowship dates to 1932 when some Christians in North Platte, Neb began meeting together. Four years later they called a pastor by the name of Dr. Ivan Olsen, a native of northern Michigan. Having recently completed his studies at Denver Bible Institute, he enthusiastically began serving the Lord at North Platte. In towns near North Platte, people who were yearning for Bible-based ministries in their own communities began contacting Dr. Olsen to start Bible studies. Soon, groups were meeting in several towns and eventually by 1947 a Fellowship of Churches was born. Today there are numerous Berean churches around the world dedicated to planting churches, making disciples and reaching the world for Jesus Christ. (taken from Berean Fellowship of Churches website)
WHAT DOES "BEREAN" MEAN? The Bible tells us that the apostle Paul went to a town called Berea, now located in Northern Greece. He preached the "good news" of Jesus Christ. The people of Berea were known to search the writings of the Bible daily to see if what Paul said was true. Hence the scripture verse in Acts 17:11 - the Bereans ... ?received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.? As the name implies... we as Bereans believe in following this same principle.