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Charles "Chuck" Ward Smith (born June 25, 1927) is the founder of Calvary Chapel and is the senior pastor of Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa. Smith was born in Ventura, California to Charles and Maude Smith. His wife, Kay, directs Costa Mesa's women's ministry, and his son Jeff works at The Word for Today and CSN International. Smith's other three children also work in the ministry.
Early Career
He graduated from Life Pacific College and was ordained as a pastor for the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel. In the late 50's Smith was the campaign manager and worship director for healing evangelist Paul Cain. After struggling as a pastor and being frustrated by church growth and recruitment techniques, he left his denomination and eventually moved to a church called Calvary Chapel in Santa Ana, California in December 1965. The church had begun with a small group of people in a mobile home park in 1962.
Calvary Chapel
In the late 60s and early 70s, Smith brought on staff pentecostal evangelist Lonnie Frisbee. He went out into community to reach the youth with the gospel during the early days of the Jesus Movement.
The church in Santa Ana grew, and as of 2006, 35,000 people attend. Over 1,000 churches have branched out from his church. Some of these churches are led by those who Smith discipled including Greg Laurie, Jon Courson, Mike MacIntosh, Raul Ries, and Skip Heitzig.
External links
- Calvary Chapel
- Chuck Smith's audio library
- Chuck Smith's book library
- The Word for Today - Official Site
- Maranatha! Music
- CSN. International
- Calvary High School
- Calvary Chapel Bible College
- Another Chuck Smith biography
- Smith Family involvement
Christian leaders | Christian ministers | Christian pastors | Christian writers | 1927 births | People from the Greater Los Angeles Area | Living people
"Chuck Smith"