Chris Norwood

Chris Norwood is serving the needs of his community by pursuing the call on his life — to educate and equip the next generation. Today, he runs the Bay Area Tutoring Association (BATA) and sits on the Board of Education for the Milpitas Unified School District. How did Norwood find his call? He comments: “It was more than a good idea, it was a God idea.”

Chris Norwood was born in Spokane Washington and moved to the Sobrante Park community of east Oakland, California at a very young age. From there he moved to the Sunnyhills Community of Milpitas, California, one of the first intentionally planned culturally diverse communities in the United States. Norwood graduated from Milpitas High School where he developed interests in technology, English, math and sports. He also attended West Valley College to study computing and business.

He grew up attending church, but only intermittingly. He came to faith as a young adult, but says it wasn’t until he was an adult that he began “walking and living by faith.” A turning point came in 1997. “I was flying back from a business trip to Australia. It was in the middle of the dot.com boom and I was a minority partner and director of technical services for an international software company. As I took inventory on my life, I realized I didn’t have an eternal life plan to complement my 401k plan and life insurance plans. My best friend invited me to Jubilee Christian Center where I felt the power of the Holy Spirit for the second time in my life. I’ve been at Jubilee Christian Center ever since.” While at Jubilee, Norwood was also healed of his lifelong asthma.

“As my faith grew, so did my desire to know Him,” says Norwood. In 2002, he went back to school at William Jessup University (formerly San Jose Christian College). He graduated with distinction in 2006 with a degree in Christian Leadership and Biblical Theology.