The source of the Church Stream is rainwater runoff from the North Point Baptist Church Parking Lot. The stream starts just inside the Salemtowne perimeter fence just behind the church activity building at the southwestern corner of the parking lot, flows under the Boardwalk, westward down the hill, in front of the Fern Valley Rest Stop, and then empties into the eastern side of Babcock Lake.
The runoff water comes from three sources. From the Muir Trail standing look at the back of the church activity building:
In the center, the water flows through the Salemtowne perimeter fence and across the trail, On the church property, a section of the land appears to be a buried trash dump. As the runoff water from the parking lot flows over this area, it erodes the bank and exposes the trash. The trash and leaves carried by the water built up against the fence and pushed a section to the fence down, which allows the trash to be carried downstream with the water.
On the left/north side of the center, the runoff water flows down a rocky drain at the fence line and forms a stream that flows over to the center section and flows over the trail.
On the right/south side of the center, the fence makes a right angle turn backward to the east and runs up the hill toward University Boulevard alongside the south side of the parking lot, A ditch on the Salemtowne side runs up the hill alongside the fence. Runoff water from the parking lot flows down this ditch to the center section and flows over the trail.
During heavy rains, some of the massive flow of water branches off and flows south on the trail and into the Meadow Corridor.