The Calvary Chapel Story

The fellowship of believers now known as "Calvary Chapel" began in the late 1960's in one small, non-denominational church. Pastor Chuck Smith, who'd spent 17 years pastoring various churches throughout California and Arizona, became the pastor of a church in Costa Mesa, California which called itself "Calvary Chapel."

Through his many years of pastoring, Pastor Chuck became convinced that a new approach to ministry was needed. Rather than preaching an evangelistic message every Sunday, he began to teach line-by-line through the Word of God, starting at Genesis and working his way through to Revelation.

Within two years, the small church in Costa Mesa had grown so dramatically that there was no longer room in the church to hold all the members. About, the same time, Pastor Chuck's wife, Kay, began to feel that they needed to reach out to the "hippies" of that era.

Chuck and Kay eventually made the decision to open their home and their church to these young people, teaching the revelation of God's love for them through the sacrificial death of His Son, Jesus.

Pastor Chuck became the founder of what was is now referred to as "Jesus Movement", witnessing God's miraculous power as the Lord dramatically transformed the lives of these young people. The Calvary Chapel saga had begun.

Today, the original Calvary Chapel church in Costa Mesa, CA is home to over 30,000 believers. In addition, to date, over 800 Calvary Chapel "affiliates churches" have been planted throughout America and around the world.

back