Calvary Chapel

This Sunday (August 28th), I visited Calvary Chapel at 1955 S. McDowell Blvd. Calvary Chapel is the largest Protestant church in Petaluma, with a weekly average adult attendance of 700-800, and over 1,000 counting all the children and teens in Sunday School. Calvary meets in a converted warehouse, with offices up front, in an industrial park at the South end of Petaluma.

Zach Vestnys, now 31, became the lead pastor 7 years ago at age 24. Though he never went to Seminary, Bible College, or college, his father was a pastor, and he was raised and trained for the ministry in the church. Though he is young, he leads a church composed of a good mix of age groups, elderly, middle-aged, and young. When I asked members what they liked about the church, many responded that they liked Zach, often saying they believed he was annointed. Others responded that they had a sense of belonging to a close family. I thought one member gave the best answer when he said over the years there, he saw people grow.

Calvary Chapel began in 1968 when Chuck Smith broke away from the Foursquare Church in Santa Ana, California. Calvary Chapel soon became the center of what became known as the Jesus Movement (the Jesus People), hippies and surfers who became Christians. Soon Smith was introduced to Lonnie Frisbee, who became central in both Calvary Chapel and the Jesus Revolution, and was featured in a Time magazine cover article. Frisbee later became central in the Vineyard Church before his homosexuality became known, as related in the film, Frisbee: The Life and Death of a Hippie Preacher, by filmmaker David Di Sabatino.

I didn't remotely see any hippies (maybe ex-hippies) at Calvary Chapel, though evidence of its roots are evident. The pastors usually wear jeans and tennis shoes, unlike many of the other churches I have visited in this blog. The congregation also comes very casually dressed. The music is very contemporary, with a lot of rock mixed in. Calvary mostly introduced contemporary Christian music, which many Christians heard through Maranatha Music, mostly formed out of the movement started at Calvary Chapel.

Many other churches spawned out of the Jesus Movement which began at Calvary Chapel. I had a great time visiting at Calvary.