The roots of Calvary Chapel Eastside can be traced back to Costa Mesa, California.
In 1965, Pastor Chuck Smith began his ministry at Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa with just twenty-five people. At a pivotal time in history, Pastor Chuck welcomed all, young and old, without judgment, into the local church. With a sincere concern for the lost, Pastor Chuck and Kay Smith made room in the church and their home for a generation of hippies and surfers, serving in the midst of a powerful movement of the Holy Spirit. What people saw was different. No one judged visitors by appearances. Smith preached in an open-collared shirt, pacing back and forth across a platform instead of standing glued in a pulpit. The music was contemporary, the forerunner of Christian folk and rock. What people heard, was the preaching of the uncompromised message of the gospel. In his ministry, he emphasized the teaching of the Word of God.
It has been estimated that over 8,000 baptisms were performed in a two year period at Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa in the mid 70’s. During that same period, Pastor Chuck Smith and his church were instrumental in bringing 20,000 conversions to the Christian faith. Chuck Smith has come to be known as a leading figure in what is today called “The Jesus Movement.”
It wasn’t long before Calvary Chapels were established in other cities. And in the wake of that move of the Holy Spirit, Calvary Chapel has grown into a brotherhood of churches, affiliated with one another through their common beliefs. Each local church is modeled on Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa while retaining their own identities. What began as a small local church God grew into an international family of over 1700 churches around the world.
Which leads us miles away from Costa Mesa, to Colorado Springs, Colorado. After serving on staff with Pastor Chuck Smith in Costa Mesa,
Pastor Jim moved his family back to Colorado Springs. In September of 1989 God led Pastor Jim to begin a new work on the east side of Colorado Springs, aptly named Calvary Chapel Eastside. It was by God’s grace that the doors stayed open in those early days as we saw God move mightily in providing for our needs.
After 5 years in that original location on east Platte avenue, the building was sold and we were forced to find a new location. Again God provided a little old church building for us to rent near Prairie rd. and Uintah st. During those years Pastor Jim felt that God was leading us back to the east Platte ave. corridor. After three years in the little church building God moved us back to Platte ave. to an old heating and air-conditioning warehouse. During the ten years in the old warehouse God provided for us once again with the owner gifting the church the building. While this was a blessing we realized that the building we occupied was not sustainable due to zoning and parking issues.
After much prayer God led Pastor Jim to an empty piece of property further east on Platte ave. On the last Sunday of July 2006 we were finally able to hold our first service in our new building. Over the years we have watched God build and provide faithfully and steadily for his church.
In the almost sixty years since its founding Calvary Chapel has been faithfully committed to teaching the whole word of God, verse by verse and chapter by chapter. And now many years later our desire to teach the word of God has not changed. God has placed us near two major cross streets on the east side of Colorado Springs as a beacon of light to our city. God in his wisdom has brought us to this place, that was once considered out of the way, because he knew that the city and county would be expanded right at our front door.
NOTE: For a more in-depth look at the history of Calvary Chapel, we recommend reading The Reproducers. You can download a free digital copy as a PDF or ePub.