COVER STORY 18 APRIL 2024 www.goodnewsfl.org Good News • South Florida Edition Pastor Doug Sauder A Decade of Collaborative Leadership Leads Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale into its 40th Year Shelly Pond Good News Editor Described as a strong, humble, collaborative leader and gifted communicator by his peers, Doug Sauder, lead pastor of Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale, appears gentle as a dove when he addresses one of Florida’s largest congregations on the weekends, but those who know him best portray a fierce competitor on the basketball court and a man of deep courage when it comes to fighting for the vulnerable. While these traits may seem contradictory, Sauder explained, “One of my favorite verses is Matthew 11:12, ‘From the days of John the Baptist till now, the Kingdom of God has been forcefully advancing.’ This describes the holy ambition to be part of God’s kingdom that is not for the faint of heart. It’s an invitation to take all of that God-given passion toward building something hard in the Kingdom of God, but don’t make it about you and don’t make it about winning the way you think winning looks.” Sauder first came on staff at Calvary Chapel in 2000 and was installed as lead pastor at Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale during a difficult time of transition in 2014 after the founding pastor resigned due to moral failure. Since then, he has served as a stabilizing force at Calvary and taken an active role in Church United, a movement of over 200 churches in South Florida uniting for the sake of mission. Now approaching its 40th year of ministry as a church, Calvary Chapel is growing again under Sauder’s leadership with an average of over 18,000 in weekly attendance at 10 regional campuses as well as online and virtual reality services. Located on a 72-acre property on Cypress Creek Road in Fort Lauderdale, the church is also home to Calvary Christian Academy (CCA), now the largest Christian day school in the United States, and supports multiple ministries, serving the needs of vulnerable populations such as kids in crisis (4KIDS), at-risk mothers and children (EMA), those experiencing homelessness (Hope South Florida), those battling addiction (Calvary House), the prison population (Lifestyles) and more. They have helped plant four independent churches in our community over the past 10 years (Solus Church, The Exchange Church, Brookstone Community Church and Calvary Chapel North Miami). Globally, they have also established 43 international church plants, in addition to supporting 80 missionaries with ongoing global missions and ministries in 26 countries. Uncommon unity However, Pastor Doug said, “As I reflect on the past ten years, one of my favorite things has been the level of connection that has happened in our city, and I think it came out of the brokenness … it really brought us all together. A decade of uncommon unity and fruitfulness came out of brokenness, and to me that’s the best part of the story.” Having initially reached out to Pastor Doug to offer him support ten years ago, Todd Mullins, lead pastor at Christ Fellowship, said, “When you consider how he had to step into that situation to lead people and keep their eyes focused on Jesus, focused on the hope of Christ alone, not on a man, that takes both courage and compassion. And when I think about it, his leadership wasn't just for Calvary Pastor Doug Sauder addresses guests during an alter call. Credit: Calvary Chapel
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