THE HISTORY OF CALVARY CHAPEL...
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 19 авг 2024
- THE HISTORY OF CALVARY CHAPEL AND MEMORIES OF PASTOR CHUCK SMITH
FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION...History of the Calvary Chapel Movement
Calvary Chapel is a non-denominational Christian church which began in 1965 in Costa Mesa, California. Calvary Chapel’s Pastor, Chuck Smith became a leading figure in what has become known as the “Jesus Movement.”...
It has been estimated that in a two-year period in the mid ’70s, Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa had performed well over eight thousand baptisms. During that same period, we were instrumental in 20,000 conversions to the Christian faith. Our decadal growth rate had been calculated by church growth experts to be near the ten thousand percent level.
A remarkable pattern kept repeating itself. As soon as we moved into a new building, our fellowship would already be too big for the facilities. In two years we moved from our original building (one of the first church buildings in Costa Mesa) to a rented Lutheran church overlooking the Pacific. Soon thereafter we decided to do something unprecedented at the time and move the church to a school that we had bought. The building did not match up to code so we tore it down and built another. But by the time the sanctuary of 330 seats was completed in 1969, we were already forced to go to two services, and eventually had to use the outside courtyard for 500 more seats. This was all fine in good weather...
But by 1971 the large crowds and the winter rains forced us to move again. We bought a ten-acre tract of land on the Costa Mesa/Santa Ana border. Orange County was quickly changing and the once-famous orange orchards were making way for the exploding population of Los Angeles. Soon after buying the land, we again did the unprecedented and erected a giant circus tent that could seat 1,600 at a stretch. This was soon enlarged to hold 2,000 seats. Meanwhile we began building an enormous sanctuary adjacent to this site.
By the time Calvary Chapel fellowship had celebrated opening day in 1973 moving into the vast new sanctuary of 2,200 seats, the building was already too small to contain the numbers turning out. We held three Sunday morning services and had more than 4,000 people at each one. Many had to sit on the carpeted floor. A large portion of floor space was left without pews so as to provide that option.
Calvary Chapel also ministers over the airwaves, and this must account for many of those who travel long distances to fellowship here. A Nielsen survey indicated that our Sunday morning Calvary Chapel service is the most listened-to program in the area during the entire week. As of 1987, Calvary’s outreach has included numerous radio programs, television broadcasts, and the production and distribution of tapes and records. The missions outreach is considerable. Calvary Chapel not only supports Wycliffe Bible Translators, Campus Crusade, Missionary Aviation Fellowship, and other groups, but we donate to Third World needs. We then built a radio station in San Salvador and gave it to the local pastors there. We also gave money to Open Doors to purchase the ship that, in tandem with a barge, delivered one million Bibles to mainland China. Our financial commitment to missions exceeds the local expense budget by over 50%.
Today, Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa, the church which only had twenty-five members, has now established 1330 affiliate Calvary Chapels across the world and is among the world’s largest churches with 20,000+ calling it their home church. It is one of the ten largest churches in the United States.
Oct 3, 2013 - Pastor Chuck Smith, the founder of the Jesus People and the Calvary Chapel movement, and one of the most influential figures in modern American Christianity, went home to be with the Lord, Thursday morning at his home in Newport Beach after a two year battle with lung cancer, church officials said. He was 86.
We are grateful for you Pastor Chuck, See you soon!
I miss pastor Chuck so much. Love hearing his voice
Me too.
What sweet memories for me. I remember accepting Jesus into my heart in the little chapel 1971. I would climb the trees outside the chapel when it was crowded to get a better view and Papa Chuck would yell at me to get out of the trees for fear of falling. He was like a second father to me. I would come home from school at 13 to find him talking with my invalid mother. He was with me through courtship & marriage to my husband, he was there at my Baptism in the ocean, and prayed over my babies when they were born. How I miss him. I miss the days in this video and cherish all the friends now in heaven and cannot wait to embrace them all again. Tears flood my eyes and age floods over my body now like the waves, but the Spirit of God knows no distance. Thank you for posting and giving the gift of a warm memory time slip to comfort all of us "oldies". God Bless you.
Thank you! I have been in various Calvary Chapels but not Costa Mesa. Through his radio ministry, Chuck Smith is a spiritual father to many of us. Chuck Missler and others as well.
I accepted Jesus Christ into my life because of Pastor Chuck, and he baptized me and my soon to be daughter at the ocean. He was a wonderful pastor, leader and true Christian. He is missed.
every time I sang HAPPY I was embaressed lol BUT it ALWAYS left you HAPPY!
Bless the LORD, O my soul
This brings tears to my eyes. Just to think, what an honor and a privilege Jesus Christ gave to me that Pastor Chuck Smith baptized me at little Corona in 1975 when it was in the midst of Gods holy revival .. I am so grateful I am so thankful to be part of Chucks Smith’s legacy
Beautiful! Precious! Nothing but the Blood of Jesus! Hallelujah! Amen! Mabel Zafra
If I never met Chuck Smith I would have NEVER met Jesus ..I really thank GOD for Chuck Smith
wonderful memories of Costa Mesa and Calvary chapel at that time!
This was going on around me in Southern California as a little kid. People called them “Jesus Freaks.” I met Jesus in 86 & became a Jesus Freak as well! Sold out, radical, devoted, full of zeal & on FiRE. Yes, it was the Love of other Christians that drew me. Peace of Christ to you all!
For the sake of ten righteous, might He send America another Chuck Smith?
Incredible 💕
Luk_6:26 Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets.
Wow! I hear so much about Pastor Chuck Smith that I never realized he had died.
❤️
I’ve heard some people accuse preachers in the Jesus Movement NOT preaching repentance.
The devil is a LIAR.
OF COURSE they preached turning from sin, repenting, asking for forgiveness & receiving Jesus as savior and Lord. Then FOLLOWING Him.
Did Jesus change the Hippies , or did the Hippies change the church service?
Who is the young man giving his testimony
?
Lonnie Frisbee