Calvary Chapel | The Woodlands

History

"Not by might, nor by power, but by My spirit, saith the LORD of hosts." Chuck Smith wishes he had learned that earlier in his ministry. He tried so long and hard by might, by power, by program, by human devices and methods to build the church of Jesus Christ -- until he was so sick and tired and worn out that he was ready to quit.

The Lord let him labor for 15 years and he had nothing to show for it. He had tried every program that he could think of to get people into church.

He went to a ministers' conference. They gave details of the new fall programs and contest that the pastors were supposed to introduce to their churches. Chuck Smith was so sick of contests and of trying to hype the people for that kind of thing. So when they asked for a vote of confidence and he just sat there, unable to stand, unable to face another contest, the bishop lectured him on rebellion and the need to cooperate with the program.
The Lord spoke to Pastor Chuck and gave him the Scripture, "And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved." and "Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord."

Pastor Chuck returned to his church and when he started receiving all the materials for this new contest, he just filed them away and prayed. He never mentioned the contest to the people and let the secretary send in their monthly reports. At the end of the contest he received a letter of congratulation saying "Your church has won first place with the greatest increase in attendance during the contest period." Pastor Chuck was supposed to attend a rally and pick up a trophy. He wrote the bishop, "I thank you for the honor, but it would be embarrassing to bring a trophy to the church, inasmuch as none of them knew a contest was going on. The Holy Spirit added to the church daily such as should be saved."

The Spirit of God began to lead Chuck Smith to make a break from serving the denomination to serving the Lord. So he started in Corona, trusting the Lord to add to the church and to build the church. After about a year, they moved from one building to another to accommodate the increasing attendance.

It was at this time that Pastor Chuck received a call from Calvary Chapel, a small congregation of 25 members who were thinking about closing but thought they would try one more time to ask if Pastor Chuck wanted to come and pastor. So Chuck Smith started pastoring Calvary Chapel in 1965. God began to bless and an excess of money began coming in. They decided to go on the radio but after they were on the radio for a few weeks, the church got so crowded it couldn't hold any more. They went off the radio so no one else would come.

They started looking for property to build a new church. They located a piece of property, sold the old property for cash within three days and then the planning commission rejected their permit because of potential parking problems.

So there they were. They had sold their church and had a growing congregation. Pastor Chuck found a church that would be moving out of their old building as soon as their new building was completed and in the meantime they agreed to share the facilities. Chuck Smith had use of the building on Sunday afternoons and Tuesday evenings. After a time the church was full, and they were putting people up in the choir loft, in the back, and on the floor. They couldn't contain the crowds.
Then the Greenville School came up for sale. The Santa Ana school board had declared it surplus property. Chuck Smith submitted a minimum bid fully expecting someone to come in with a higher bid. But he got a call one morning and was told, "You bought a school last night." They prayed and felt that the Lord had given it to them to build their church there. So, they started building a church.

Around that time, God began to expand their ministry with the young people. Thus started the hippie movement. God began to lay a burden on Chuck and Kay Smith's hearts to reach these kids for Jesus. A revival of unexpected magnitude broke out among the hippies and many came to know the Lord through Calvary Chapel.

During this time they finished building their new church on the school property. It was build to accommodate 300 people and by the time they held their first service, they were already overcrowded. They consequently bought 11 acres located about a block away and put up a big, old circus tent to accommodate the people. They set up 1,600 folding chairs for their first service and every seat was filled and people were standing on the fringes of the tent in both services. They had to buy more chairs. About a year later they built an addition on the back of the tent and put in another 400 chairs. And God just continued to bless.

Construction of the current church on the new site began during this time. The new sanctuary, which could hold 2,300 people, opened in 1974. The first service was packed. People had to sit on the floor again. After five weeks they had to go to triple services again. Over crowding was still a problem so they built their Fellowship Hall to seat 700 people and put in a closed-circuit television. And the Lord continues to send in more people all the time. Presently Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa is the second largest church in the United States with over 25,000 families passing through its doors weekly. Chuck Smith said, "Calvary Chapel isn't an ambition fulfilled. It isn't something where I thought, 'I'd like to have a huge church.' I was so worn out, tired, over-the-hill that I thought 250 was all I could handle. What happened has happened through the power of the Holy Spirit. It's not by my might, nor by my power, but by the Spirit of the Lord.

Since we didn't have to strive to gain it, we don't have to strive to maintain it. That's beautiful, because I can still be relaxed and still be Chuck. I don't have to worry about anything, because it's His church. Jesus said, "Upon this rock I will build my church.' After realizing that it's His church and His work, I just sit back, enjoy it, and watch Him do the work. What a thrill to see God do what we couldn't do at all!" Also during this time the ministry of Maranatha Music was birthed as Calvary Chapel pioneered the way of contemporary worship music.

As the Lord began to draw people to Calvary Chapel from all over Southern California, those who were driving many miles to the services began to request that Calvary Chapels be opened in their own communities. As a result, Bible studies were started in many of the communities in Southern California. These Bible studies subsequently developed into regular churches.

People would move from Calvary Chapel to other areas of the United States looking for fellowships similar to Calvary. They were often discouraged in their endeavor to find a church and would start sending for tapes and many times begin to invite their friends to come over and listen to the tapes. Soon a group would be meeting together listening to tapes. Their fellowship would grow, and they would write and ask for someone to be sent to pastor. As a result, Calvary Chapels have expanded to over 1000 national and international churches in affiliation. In addition, Calvary Chapel's Bible College has over 100 campus locations.

Our history here is much shorter then that of the whole Calvary Chapel movement. Pastor Bruce was an assistant pastor at Calvary Chapel in Santa Barbara and had been there for 14 years when the Lord laid on his heart to consider moving to Texas. Not knowing anyone in Texas, and never having been to Texas, it became a real venture of faith.

With his pastor''s blessing he came out in June of 2000 and returned again in July and September excited but not knowing what God had in store. The word from the Lord throughout the whole process was, "just trust Me" and I will show you what I want you to do, one step at a time.

Being convinced that the Lord was leading they bought a home in The Woodlands and arrived here on December 15, 2000. They started a Friday night Bible Study in their home on the last week of December and by the middle of January were convinced that again the Lord was leading to find a location for Sunday morning worship.

By the first week in February, stepping out in faith again, the lease was signed trusting that the Lord would provide. And provide He has.

We did our first Sunday morning service on April 15, 2001 and continue to trust Him for all that you see. We are truly amazed as we watch Jesus do what He said He would do. He declared that, "He would build the church" and that "He would add to those who are saved." We truly are spectators in watching Him do what He said He would do!

As we are faithful to teach the Word of God and love the people we truly believe God at His word to reach thousands of people in the greater Houston area. We would encourage you to pray and see if this is the place where Jesus would have you plug in and watch with us as the Lord builds his church here in The Woodlands.

May our Lord richly bless you as you walk closely with Him!