Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa

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Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa
Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa
Location Costa Mesa, California
CountryUnited States
Denomination Calvary Chapel
Weekly attendance9,500
Website www.calvarychapelcostamesa.com
History
StatusChurch
Founded1965 (1965)
Founder(s) Chuck Smith
Architecture
Functional statusActive
Clergy
Senior pastor(s) Brian Brodersen

Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa is a Christian megachurch located near the boundary between the cities of Costa Mesa and Santa Ana in Orange County. Although the church takes its name from its original facilities on the Costa Mesa side of the boundary, it is now in Santa Ana. The original Calvary Chapel, the church has grown since 1965 from a handful of people, led by senior pastor Chuck Smith, to become the "mother church" of over one thousand congregations worldwide. [1] Outreach Magazine's list of the 100 Largest Churches in America [2] lists attendance as 9,500, making it the thirty-ninth largest in America.

Contents

History

Main sanctuary as seen from the median of Fairview Ave. Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa and Welcome to Santa Ana sign.jpg
Main sanctuary as seen from the median of Fairview Ave.

Chuck Smith started pastoring at Calvary Chapel in 1965 with a congregation of only twenty-five. Smith's style was to preach straight from the Bible, mostly without deviation. In 1968 Smith, who was looking for a way to bring Christ to the current generation of hippies and surfers, invited Lonnie Frisbee and his wife, Connie, to work with the area's hippies alongside John Nicholson and John Higgins at "The House of Miracles". Within a week, the ministry had 35 new converts. [3] Frisbee's charismatic, Pentecostal style caused some disagreement within the church, as he appeared to be more intent on gaining converts and experiencing the presence of the Holy Spirit than on teaching Biblical doctrine. [4] Frisbee's experiential charismatic approach was a key element in the foundation in Southern California of what was later termed the Jesus movement in the early part of the 1970s. Subsequent to Frisbee's arrival, Calvary Chapel claimed thousands of converts and the newly baptized joined the movement before the phenomenon later spread throughout North America, Central America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand.

At the beginning of the Jesus movement and into the 1970s, Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa was the home church of two pioneering Jesus music groups, Children of the Day and Love Song. Both had their early albums released on the Chuck Smith-created music label, Maranatha! Music.

As of 2009, there are more than 1500 Calvary Chapel congregations worldwide. Along with Maranatha! Music, Smith also formed The Word for Today in 1978, a publishing/radio broadcasting ministry that is still in existence. [5] [ better source needed ]

On October 3, 2013, Smith died after a long battle with lung cancer. He remained as senior pastor at the church throughout his illness, including preaching at three services the Sunday before his death. [6]

Brian Brodersen, Smith's son-in-law, became senior pastor following Smith's death. [7]

The 2023 film Jesus Revolution depicts the growth of Calvary Chapel and the Jesus movement, with Chuck Smith played by Kelsey Grammer. [8]

Controversy

Some Christian media have detailed a variety of allegations involving Smith and the leadership of Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa. These include financial improprieties [9] and lax standards for sexual improprieties. [10]

A lawsuit was filed alleging that Smith and others at Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa knew or should have known that a minister named Anthony Iglesias was prone to committing sexual abuse when they moved him from ministry positions in Diamond Bar, California, to Thailand, to Post Falls, Idaho. [11] Iglesias was convicted of lewd conduct with two 14-year-old boys in California in 2004, and the lawsuit stemmed from events in Idaho, but all alleged abuse occurred in or before 2003. [11] The Costa Mesa congregation is involved solely due to its leadership role among Calvary Chapels.

Related Research Articles

Jesus music, known as gospel beat music in the United Kingdom, is a style of Christian music that originated on the West Coast of the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s. This musical genre developed in parallel to the Jesus movement. It outlasted the movement that spawned it and the Christian music industry began to eclipse it and absorb its musicians around 1975.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jesus movement</span> Former evangelical Christian movement

The Jesus movement was an evangelical Christian movement that began on the West Coast of the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s and primarily spread throughout North America, Europe, Central America, Australia and New Zealand, before it subsided in the late 1980s. Members of the movement were called Jesus people or Jesus freaks.

The Association of Vineyard Churches, also known as the Vineyard Movement, is an international neocharismatic evangelical Christian association of churches.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Calvary Chapel Association</span> Evangelical association of Christian churches

Calvary Chapel is an international association of charismatic evangelical churches, with origins in Pentecostalism. It maintains a number of radio stations around the world and operates many local Calvary Chapel Bible College programs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Foursquare Church</span> Pentecostal denomination

The Foursquare Church is an international Evangelical Pentecostal Christian denomination founded in 1923 by preacher Aimee Semple McPherson. Its headquarters are in Los Angeles, California, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lonnie Frisbee</span> American pastor and Evangelist

Lonnie Ray Frisbee was an American Charismatic evangelist in the late 1960s and in the 1970s; he was a self-described "seeing prophet". He had a hippie appearance. He was notable as a minister and evangelist in the Jesus movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greg Laurie</span> American author and pastor (born 1952)

Greg Laurie is an American evangelical author, pastor and evangelist who serves as the senior pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship, based in Riverside, California. He also is the founder of Harvest Crusades. Laurie is also the subject of the 2023 film Jesus Revolution, which tells the story of how he converted to Christianity and got his start in ministry in the midst of the Jesus movement.

The Shepherding movement was an influential and controversial movement within some British, Australian and American charismatic churches. It emerged in the 1970s and early 1980s. The doctrine of the movement emphasized the "one another" passages of the New Testament, and the mentoring relationship described in the Second Epistle to Timothy.

Marsha Stevens-Pino is an American Christian singer, musician, songwriter and recording artist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KWVE-FM</span> Christian radio station in San Clemente, California, United States

KWVE-FM is a commercial radio station licensed to San Clemente, California, and broadcasting to Orange County, the Inland Empire and Northern San Diego County. It airs a Christian talk and teaching radio format, known as "K-Wave". The station is owned by Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa, with its studios in the church-owned Logos Building on West MacArthur Boulevard in Santa Ana.

Bethlehem was a Christian country rock band in the 1970s, during the Jesus Music era, before the rise of the contemporary Christian music industry. The group released one self-titled album in 1978 under the Maranatha! label. The group's sound has drawn comparison with general market bands such as Poco & The Eagles.

The House of Miracles was a series of Christian communal houses established during the early Jesus Movement under the auspices of Pastor Chuck Smith and Calvary Chapel in Costa Mesa, California. The House of Miracles was the group from which sprang the largest of the Jesus People communal groups, the Shiloh Youth Revival Centers, which had 100,000 members and 175 communal houses spread across the United States and Canada during its lifespan.

WJWD is a non-commercial FM radio station licensed to Marshall, Wisconsin and serving the Madison metropolitan area. It is owned by the Calvary Radio Network, an Indiana nonprofit corporation based in Valparaiso, Indiana. WJWD broadcasts that network's lineup of Christian talk and teaching programs with some Contemporary Christian music, mostly modern praise and worship and Christian rock and pop. Calvary Radio is the radio outreach of several non-denominational churches focused on the "inerrancy of the Bible" and the "expository teaching from Genesis to Revelation".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Love Song (band)</span> American Jesus music band

Love Song was one of the most prominent Jesus music bands, and one of the first Christian rock bands. They released two studio albums—Love Song (1972) and Final Touch (1974)—and one live album—Feel the Love (1977)—before disbanding. They subsequently released Welcome Back in 1994, remastered versions of the three early albums and Love Song: The Book of Love as a box set in 2010.

<i>WOW Worship: Orange</i> 2000 compilation album by Various artists

WOW Worship: Orange is a compilation CD of Christian Music in the WOW Worship series. It reached No. 65 on the Billboard 200 chart. WOW Worship: Orange was certified as platinum in sales in 2001 by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The album was certified as gold in Canada in 2001 by the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA).

Skip Heitzig is the American founder and senior pastor of Calvary Church, a Calvary Chapel fellowship located in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chuck Smith (pastor)</span> American pastor

Charles Ward "Chuck" Smith was an American pastor who founded the Calvary Chapel movement. Beginning with the 25-person Costa Mesa congregation in 1965, Smith's influence now extends to "more than 1,000 churches nationwide and hundreds more overseas", some of which are among the largest churches in the United States. He has been called "one of the most influential figures in modern American Christianity." The founding of Calvary Chapel is depicted in the 2023 film Jesus Revolution, with Smith being portrayed by Kelsey Grammer.

Todd Dean Hunter is an American author, church planter, and bishop in the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA). He is the founding diocesan bishop of The Diocese of Churches for the Sake of Others. In 2021, Hunter founded the Center for Formation, Justice and Peace, an interdenominational community that seeks to develop the Christlike character necessary to activate justice, leading to a life of deep peace for all people.

Charismatic Christianity is a form of Christianity that emphasizes the work of the Holy Spirit and spiritual gifts as an everyday part of a believer's life. It has a global presence in the Christian community. Practitioners are often called Charismatic Christians or Renewalists. Although there is considerable overlap, Charismatic Christianity is often categorized into three separate groups: Pentecostalism, the Charismatic movement, and the Neo-charismatic movement.

<i>Jesus Revolution</i> 2023 film directed by Jon Erwin and Brent McCorkle

Jesus Revolution is a 2023 American Christian drama film directed by Jon Erwin and Brent McCorkle. Based on the autobiographical book of the same name co-written by Greg Laurie, the film follows the teenage Laurie, Christian hippie Lonnie Frisbee, and pastor Chuck Smith as they take part in the Jesus movement in California during the late 1960s. Anna Grace Barlow and Kimberly Williams-Paisley also star.

References

  1. Moll, Rob (February 16, 2007). "Day of Reckoning". Christianity Today.
  2. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on January 17, 2009. Retrieved July 17, 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. Coker, Matt (April 14, 2005). "Ears on Their Heads, But They Don't Hear: Spreading the real message of Frisbee". Orange County Weekly. Archived from the original on May 24, 2007. Retrieved October 21, 2007.
  4. David di Sabatino (2001). Frisbee: The Life and Death of a Hippie Preacher (Documentary movie). United States: David Di Sabatino.
  5. "The Word For Today". The Word For Today. Retrieved January 20, 2024.
  6. Los Angeles Times (October 3, 2013). "Obituary: Pastor Chuck Smith, founder of Calvary Chapel movement, dies at 86. - LA Times". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 26, 2015.
  7. "Brian Brodersen: Leading Calvary Chapel after Chuck Smith - Saturday 16th March 2019 04:00 pm". June 14, 2021. Archived from the original on June 14, 2021. Retrieved January 20, 2024.
  8. Harvey, Dennis (February 23, 2023). "'Jesus Revolution' Review: Solid Faith-Based Movie Remembers Time When Christians Welcomed Longhairs Into the Flock". Variety. Retrieved January 20, 2024.
  9. "Unaccountable at Calvary Chapel | Christianity Today | A Magazine of Evangelical Conviction". Christianity Today. August 5, 2006. Retrieved October 15, 2011.
  10. "Day of Reckoning | Christianity Today | A Magazine of Evangelical Conviction". Christianity Today. February 16, 2007. Retrieved October 15, 2011.
  11. 1 2 Graman, Kevin 2011. Churches protected predator, suit says, The Spokesman-Review . Published April 16, 2011. Retrieved September 19, 2011.