COVER STORY 21 APRIL 2024 www.goodnewsfl.org Good News • South Florida Edition grade, CCA graduated its first high school class in 2008. It has now expanded to four campuses: Fort Lauderdale, Boynton Beach, North Miami and Hollywood. Today CCA is the largest Christian day school in the country with a total of 3,200 students. However, Dr. Jason Rachels, Calvary Christian Academy president, says CCA’s distinctiveness as a school comes from its strong focus on discipleship. “We take over 300 people on a mission trip to Mexico each year with our juniors and to the Bahamas with our 8th graders.” Students in 7th through 12th grades also participate in a small group each week. “In small group they’re talking about, how's your walk with the Lord? What's going on? How can we help? They’re not just hearing the Bible in a large chapel service; it's becoming internalized and personalized.” Students have also achieved excellence in fine arts, theater, robotics and athletics. The varsity baseball program secured the school’s first team state championship in 2016 and has since claimed championship titles in varsity basketball and beach volleyball. And the varsity football team was crowned the Southeastern Football Conference Champion in 2014. Humble beginnings Considering the large multi-site church Calvary Chapel has become and the influence it stewards for the Kingdom of God, it’s hard to imagine it all started with a small church in Costa Mesa, CA, led by Pastor Chuck Smith where the Jesus Revolution first broke out and launched the Jesus People Movement. From there churches spread across the country and two faith-filled couples, Bob and Diane, Fidel and Theresa, moved here from Las Vegas in 1985 to start a church in Fort Lauderdale. Their first location was at Fairchild Funeral Home and from there, God honored their love for the Bible, Jesus and others and continued to grow the church and move it to various locations, until in 1999 they were able to move to the 72-acre site on Cypress Creek Road they now call home. “I’ve had the unique privilege to see how God works over many generations to accomplish His will,” said Stephan N. Tchividjian, CEO and Co-Founder of the National Christian Foundation South Florida and a member of Calvary Chapel’s Board of Directors. “We truly stand on the shoulders of those that have gone before us as others will stand on ours. Chuck and Kay Smith responded to God’s call in Southern California by ministering to young people in the 60’s during the Jesus Movement and started Calvary Chapel. Years later, Bob and Diane Coy with Fidel and Theresa Gomez made their way from Calvary Chapel Las Vegas to Fort Lauderdale to plant Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale. Today, Doug and Suzanne Sauder, my pastor, faithfully and humbly carry on God’s mission. These journeys are never about one person but a team of board members, staff members, and faithful volunteers, who faithfully answer God’s call. Today, I’m incredibly encouraged as I see the men and women that God has raised up to lead His Church in South Florida. Calvary Chapel is one example of a God-given and Godsustained vision and mission. We have many such examples in South Florida. I've seen, firsthand, God's provision and protection of His Bride and that has served to strengthen my faith in the local Church. No, church is not perfect, and yet it serves as God's Bride and an instrument by which He reveals Himself to a lost and hopeless world,” Tchividjian said. In reflecting back on Calvary’s early days, Pastor Fidel Gomez, who recently retired, said, “There's just been so many changes from every angle, sociological changes, political changes, economic changes, world policy changes, but I thank the Lord that He has been faithful to have Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale continue to remain true to the roots of the ministry… When we left Las Vegas, the only thing I heard from God was, ‘Will you go serve me in Florida?’ God did the rest…And Doug has remained steady and steadfast. He's not about the frills or the flash but just continues to point people to Jesus in every way.” If you would like more information about Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale, service times and locations, visit www.calvaryftl.org or call 954-977-9673.
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