Joe Focht

Calvary Chapel has been formed as a fellowship of believers in the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Our supreme desire is to know Christ and be conformed to His image by the power of the Holy Spirit. We are not a denominational church, nor are we opposed to denominations as such, only their over-emphasis of the doctrinal differences that have led to the division of the Body of Christ.

We believe the only true basis of Christian fellowship is Christ’s agape love, which is greater than any difference we possess, and without which we have no right to claim ourselves Christians.

We believe in one personal, transcendent, Triune God, the creator of all, who is eternal, and who manifests Himself in three separate persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

We believe that Jesus Christ, though fully God, became a man for the suffering of death. We believe that He is the promised Messiah, born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, provided for the atonement of our sins by His vicarious death on the Cross, was bodily resurrected, ascended back to the right hand of God the Father, and ever lives to make intercession for us. After Jesus ascended to Heaven, He poured out His Holy Spirit on the believers in Jerusalem, enabling them to fulfill His command to preach the Gospel to the entire world, an obligation shared by all believers today.

We believe in the person and work of the Holy Spirit who indwells, seals, and empowers every believer, baptizing them into the Body of Christ. We further believe that the Holy Spirit will come upon any believer who asks in faith, enabling him/her to preach the Gospel in power. We also believe all of the gifts of the Holy Spirit mentioned in the Scriptures are valid for today, and that they are to be exercised within the scriptural guidelines set forth by the Spirit. We believe that love is more important than all the gifts, and without this love all exercise of spiritual gifts is worthless.

We believe that all people are by nature separated from God and responsible for their own sin, but that salvation, redemption, and forgiveness are freely offered to all by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. When a person repents of sin and accepts Jesus Christ as personal Savior and Lord, trusting Him to save, that person is immediately born again and sealed by the Holy Spirit, all his/her sins are forgiven, and that person becomes a child of God.

We believe Jesus Christ is the head of the Body, His church, and that church government should be simplistic rather than complex and bureaucratic. We desire to be under the authority of the word of God and led by the Holy Spirit in all the ministry of the church.

We believe in the inerrancy of Scripture: That the Bible, Old and New Testaments, in the original autographs, is the inspired, infallible Word of God, a complete and final written revelation of God. We reject doctrinal viewpoints or spiritual phenomena which are based solely on experience. We look to the Word of God for the basis of all our faith and practice.

We await the pre-tribulational rapture of the church, and we believe that at the Second Coming of Christ He will visibly set up his throne on earth and personally rule with His saints for 1000 years. This motivates us to holy living, heartfelt worship, committed service, diligent study of God’s Word, regular fellowship, and participation in baptism by immersion and in Holy Communion. We believe that the nation of Israel still has a special place in God’s plan and that all the promises of the God of Israel will be fulfilled.

We believe in a personal devil called Satan, and fallen angels who are destined to spend eternity in hell. We believe they now seek to deceive people and defeat the work of God. However, they can be resisted by believers, as they are indwelt by the Holy Spirit, protected by God, and interceded for by the Lord Jesus.

We believe worship of God should be spiritual. Therefore, we remain flexible and yielded to the leading of the Holy Spirit to direct our worship.

We believe worship of God should be inspirational. Therefore, music is an important part of our worship. Our worship is contemporary, with the emphasis on “worship” rather than “contemporary.”

We believe worship of God should be intelligent. Therefore, our services are designed with great emphasis upon the teaching of the Word of God that He might instruct us how He should be worshiped. We seek to teach the Word of God in such a way that its message can be applied to an individual’s life, leading that person to greater maturity in Christ.

We believe worship of God should be fruitful. Therefore, we look for His love in our lives as the supreme manifestation that we have been truly worshiping Him.