Calvary Church of Placentia - History
A PART OF THE EVANGELICAL FREE
CHURCHES OF AMERICA
Although not always a part of the Evangelical Free
Church movement, Calvary joined this denomination in 1988.
Since its inception, Calvary had been an independent church, but
after a time of prayer and deliberation the people of Calvary felt that it
was important for Calvary to be a part of a group of fellowshipping
churches. This would enhance
the impact of Calvary on both the community and the world while increasing
our accountability to a higher authority to stay true to the teaching of
God’s Word and the proclamation of the good news about Jesus Christ.
The Evangelical Free Church has its roots back in
Europe and in Lutheranism. Over
the years since the impact of Constantine on Christianity, there was
confusion among many people over the unique authorities of state
government and church government. At
times the state was controlling the church and at times the church was
controlling the state. It was
during a time when the state was closely aligned with the church in
certain Scandinavian countries. As
a matter of fact, the church was a state church.
Birth records were kept in the church through baptisms.
Therefore, all who were to be on the state records had to be
baptized in a state church. Many
believers took strong exception to this practice since it meant that many
unbelievers were being baptized---a practice reserved for believers in
Christ. As a result,
believers pulled out and began a new church that they call the “free”
church because it was free of government interference.
The only requirement to belong to this new church was a belief in
Jesus Christ and adherence to the Bible as God’s Word.
Needless to say that when people relocated to the
United States, they brought their faith with them.
Ethnic communities formed and held onto their churches and
practices. Three of those
communities were the Swedes, the Danes and the Norwegians.
The Swedes formed the Swedish Evangelical Free Church and the
Norwegians and Danes organized the Norwegian-Danish Evangelical Free
Church Association. Both
groups were actually birthed in the revival movements of the late
nineteenth century. The Swedish group had its formal beginnings in Iowa in 1884.
In that same year, two Norwegian-Danish groups began to worship and
fellowship together in churches on opposite coasts with one in Boston and
the other in Tacoma. By 1912
both groups had been formally formed.
The two associations represented some 275
congregations. In 1950 they
came together at a conference to discuss merger near
As a denomination, the Evangelical Free Church has
hundreds of churches with over 100 here in our own Southwest District,
which includes Southern California. We
also have two excellent colleges and a world renown seminary, Trinity
Seminary. The Evangelical
Free Church is a denomination that is on the rise.
Many new and independent churches are brought into its fellowship
each year. There is an active
and aggressive program of starting new churches, but there are also many
existing churches that desire to align with the goals, philosophy and
programs of the denomination. One
of the most attractive aspects of the Free Church philosophy is
recognizing the local church as autonomous in dealing with its own
affairs. As an independent
church, Calvary joined the denomination as a long-established church.
The denomination also has an excellent missions
program and is considered a “pace-setter” in missions strategy. We are in many countries around the world.
Presently Calvary does not support financially any Evangelical Free
Church missionaries because of our longstanding commitment to several
other missionaries with well-established missions.
CALVARY – ITS OWN HISTORY
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By 1924 the class had become virtually independent so the Placentia Presbyterian Church made the separation official by informing Fuller and the leadership that their class was no longer to be considered a part of the Placentia Presbyterian Church’s program. Although some of the attendees returned to P.P.C., most members of the bible Class chose to continue and even began some aggressive evangelism by bringing in an outside evangelist for a series of meetings. At the conclusion of the series the people of Placentia Bible Class decided to organize as a church. On May 4, 1925 the articles of incorporation were signed and Calvary Church of Placentia came into existence.
At that same meeting, the people of Calvary
established a committee to get a building program going.
Property was purchased on the
southeast corner of Bradford and
Chapman and plans were drawn up for a 250 seat auditorium with Sunday
school space and a fellowship hall. The
facility was completed and dedicated on February 21, 1926.
Charles Fuller was a gifted man who became much in
demand as a conference speaker. He
also began an evangelistic radio program in 1930 that God prospered.
In 1933 Pastor Fuller decided to step out of his role as the pastor
of Calvary to give more time to the radio ministry.
This radio ministry became internationally known as “The Old
Fashioned Revival Hour.”
Before turning the page on this chapter of
Calvary’s history, it is important to note the following. Today, the current leadership of Calvary recognizes that the
birth of Calvary was not in accord with the biblical principle of unity of
the Body, and that we are to submit to the sovereignty of God, who works
His will in spite of our human failings.
Further, it is important to note that in the mid 1980’s the
people of Calvary corporately renounced and repented of the divisive
spirit that characterized the formation of the church.
This repentance was communicated to Placentia Presbyterian Church
which continues to effectively minister in this city today.
From 1933 to 1948 the pastorate of Calvary was filled
by five different men who each had a varying impact on the people and
ministries of Calvary. In
1948 the Lord led Chester J. Padgett to pastor Calvary Church where he
remained in ministry for nine years.
He began his ministry by splitting his time with the Bible
Institute of Los Angeles (BIOLA) where he was a full time teacher.
Although some were uneasy with the
arrangement, after one year the people overwhelmingly wanted him to
stay on as their pastor. Pastor
Padgett was a gifted preacher with strong people skills.
Under Padgett the church reached an average attendance of about
500, and the people built an addition to the auditorium that presently
houses our fellowship hall and children’s department.
Pastor Padgett resigned his position in 1957.
From 1957 through the middle of 1964 several men
filled the pulpit of Calvary including a couple of short-term pastorates.
BIOLA College was very helpful in that men from its faculty often
filled the pulpit to provide good Bible instruction even when Calvary was
without its own pastor.
On May 3, 1964 John Tebay was called from a church in
Alhambra to come to Calvary. So
on July 12 with his wife, Grace and four children, Pastor John began a
relationship with Calvary that has lasted over 40 years.
His leadership and vision has carried it through a variety of
significant changes.
Under Pastor John’s leadership, the elders and
people of Calvary have intentionally worked to keep this fellowship a
biblically based and Christ-centered church.
They have endeavored to create a “family” feeling through an
open and honest approach to ministry.
Calvary has become strongly committed to the principle of
discipleship and helping people both understand the Word of God and live
it out in a practical way day to day.
In June of 1998, David Tebay began serving as Pastor of Family Ministries. While Pastor of Family Ministries, Dave was actively involved in Children's Ministries and Youth Ministries of Calvary Church. Upon the retirement of Pastor John Tebay in June, 2006, David Tebay was called as the Senior Pastor of Calvary Church. Dave & Carrie, his wife of 20 years, are the parents of four children: Taylor, Tara, Amy & Austin. They are passionate about encouraging and equipping families in godly parenting skills. Each year, they lead a 10-week seminar entitled, "Family Equipping Fellowship" that focuses on biblical parenting strategies to build stronger families to face the world of today.
Each church develops programs and a personality that
are unique to it. At Calvary
you will find as its trademarks practical biblical preaching, God-honoring
music, sincere worship, loving fellowship, effective discipleship
training, and active and inclusive men’s, women’s, youth and
children’s ministries. At
the core of our training is a commitment to the development of strong
families. This is carried out
through both our regular programming and our special programming which is
highlighted by our annual family camp where over 100 of our people
(families and singles) camp together in tents and RVs.
It is a wonderful experience!
Because of our strong commitment to the biblical
principles of unity, accountability and authority, the elders and
congregation of Calvary felt it appropriate to move away from being an
“independent” church, so in 1988 Calvary Church joined
the Evangelical Free Church denomination.
As a church, we face the challenge of bringing Jesus
Christ to a changing community. We invite you to join us in addressing these
challenges and helping to shape this decade as one filled with exciting
stories of changed lives and effective ministry.
We pray that the future writers of Calvary’s history will record
that God’s Spirit filled His people who did His work with power and
love.