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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. Beginning in 1965 in Southern California, this fellowship of churches grew out of Chuck Smith's Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa. History The association has its origins in the founding of a Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa (California) in 1965 by pastor Chuck Smith of the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel with 25 people. In 1968 they broke away from Foursquare Church. Prior to Smith, Costa Mesa members spoke of their own vision of becoming part of a massive church movement. In 1969 Calvary Chapel became a hub in what later became known as the Jesus movement when Smith's daughter introduced him to her boyfriend John Higgins Jr., a former hippie who had become a Christian, and who went on to head the largest Jesus freak movement in history, the Shiloh Youth Revival Centers (1968-1989). John Higgins introduced Smith to Lonnie Frisbee, the "hippie evangelist" who became a key figure in the growth of both the Jesus Movement and Calvary Chapel. Frisbee moved into Smith's home, and he would minister to other hippies and counter-culture youth on the beaches. At night he would bring home new converts, and soon Smith's house was full. Frisbee became leader in a rental home for the steadily growing crowd of Christian hippies and he named the commune "House of Miracles"; other Houses of Miracles would develop throughout California and beyond. As Calvary Chapel grew "explosively", a tent was erected during the construction of a new building. The converts included musicians who began writing music for praise and worship. This became the genesis for Jesus music and Christian rock concerts. Maranatha! Music eventually formed to publish and promote the music. The services led by Frisbee usually resembled rock concerts more than any worship services of the time. Frisbee featured in national television-news reports and magazines with images of him baptizing hundreds at a time in the Pacific Ocean. The network of House of Miracles communes/crash pads/coffee houses began doing outreach concerts with Smith or Frisbee preaching, Frisbee calling forth the Holy Spirit and the newly forming bands playing the music. By the early 1970s Calvary Chapel was home to ten or more musical groups that were representative of the Jesus people movement. In 1982 John Wimber, a Calvary Chapel pastor, and the Calvary Chapel leadership mutually agreed to part ways. Tension had been mounting over Wimber's emphasis on spiritual manifestations, leading Wimber to withdraw from Calvary Chapel and to affiliate with a network of churches that would become the Association of Vineyard Churches. In 2012, Pastor Chuck Smith founded the Calvary Chapel Association (CCA) to unite all of the movement's churches around the world. On October 3, 2013, Pastor Smith died after a long battle with lung cancer. Smith remained as the senior pastor at Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa during his battle with cancer; this included preaching at three services on the Sunday before his death. Statistics According to a 2022 census of the association, it had 1,800 churches. Beliefs Chuck Smith's "Calvary Chapel Distinctives" summarize the tenets for which Calvary Chapel stands. Calvary Chapels place great importance on the practice of expository teaching, a "verse by verse, chapter by chapter, book by book" approach to teaching the Bible. Typically, Calvary Chapels operate under a senior pastor-led system of church government, also known as the "Moses" model. It presents itself as a "fellowship of churches" rather than being a denomination. Affiliates of Calvary Chapel believe in the doctrines of evangelical Christianity, which include the inerrancy of the Bible and the Trinity. Within evangelical Christianity, they say that they stand in the "middle ground between fundamentalism and Pentecostalism in modern Protestant theology". While they share with a belief in the inerrancy of the Bible, they accept charismatic spiritual gifts. However, they feel that Pentecostalism values experience at the expense of the word of God. Calvinism and Arminianism According to Calvary Chapel literature, the association strives to "strik[e] a balance between extremes" when it comes to controversial theological issues such as Calvinism's and Arminianism's conflicting views on salvation. Calvary Chapels hold the following views on the five points of Calvinism: Regarding total depravity, Calvary Chapel affirms that "apart from God's grace, no one can be saved," and that "mankind is clearly fallen and lost in sin." Regarding unconditional election, Calvary Chapel affirms that God, "based on his foreknowledge, has predestined the believer," and that "God clearly does choose, but man must also accept God's invitation to salvation." Regarding limited atonement, Calvary Chapel affirms that Jesus died "for the whole world" and that the "atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ was clearly sufficient to save the entire human race." Regarding irresistible grace, Calvary Chapel affirms that "God's grace can either be resisted or received by the exercise of human free will". Calvary Chapels "believe in the perseverance of the saints (true believers) but are deeply concerned about sinful lifestyles and rebellious hearts among those who call themselves 'Christians'." Spiritual gifts Although Calvary Chapel believes in the continuing efficacy of the gift of tongues, it does not recognize uninterpreted tongues spoken in a congregational setting as necessarily inspired (or at least directed) by the Holy Spirit because of its understanding of 1 Corinthians 14. Calvary Chapel accepts that the Bible affirms interpreted tongues and modern prophecy. Practicing tongues in private occurs more commonly. Calvary Chapel does not teach that the outward manifestation of every Christian counts as speaking in tongues. Similar to other Pentecostal or Charismatic movements, Calvary Chapel holds that the baptism of the Holy Spirit does not take place during conversion, but is available as a second experience. It is their understanding that there are three distinct relationships with the Holy Spirit. The first is that which is experienced prior to conversion. In this relationship the Holy Spirit is convicting the person of his sin. In the second relationship the Holy Spirit indwells believers during conversion for the purpose of sanctification. The third relationship is the baptism of the Holy Spirit which Calvary Chapel believes is for the purpose of being a Christian witness. Baptism and Communion Calvary Chapels practice believer's baptism by immersion. Calvary Chapel does not regard baptism as necessary for salvation, but instead sees it as an outward sign of an inward change. As a result, the Chapels do not baptize infants, although they may dedicate them to God.... Discover the Amir Tsarfati popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Amir Tsarfati books.