You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.
2 Timothy 2:1-2
Ten years ago, the Lord blessed us with an $8 million building and Calvary Bible Institute was born. We met with a number of Calvary Chapel Senior Pastors who had previously been involved in different Calvary Chapel Bible College campuses. About twenty-five pastors gathered together in what would become CBI, and, in one afternoon, we laid out the foundation and the establishment of CBI. We decided on a one-year program that would take young people all the way through the Bible. This is how Calvary Chapel was born, with Pastor Chuck taking a number of young men through the Bible and teaching them about the power of the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
Our theme verse for CBI is 2 Timothy 2:1-2: “You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.”
In addition to pastors teaching through the Bible, it was decided that the students needed to learn servanthood and have practical opportunities for ministry. The idea was not to have one giant campus, but rather to have smaller campuses that could disciple young people who would then be ready to go into ministry.
Since starting CBI, we began branching out into international campuses , including CBI Peru, CBI Israel, & CBI Republic Of Georgia. I then realized that we were a part of a move of God‘s Holy Spirit to raise up the next generation of Calvary Chapel leaders around the world on a greater scale than I had ever realized. At the same time, I knew that the church that I had pastored for 34 years needed to be handed over to the next generation as well! This enabled me to devote myself full time to Calvary Bible Institute. No one could’ve ever written this story as to the worldwide impact and what would happen with Calvary Chapels around the world!
Currently, we have 26 campuses that are either operational or soon coming in addition to more on the way. Our goal with our international campuses is to reach the people who live in those countries and raise up the next generation of leaders for those great countries.
From the beginning, the Lord had laid on my heart that each campus, outside of being tied to a church, needed to be independent in the same way that Calvary Chapel churches are. We would, however, keep the same style of teaching because we believe in the power of teaching the Bible book by book, chapter by chapter, and verse by verse. We also believe in the power of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. As this was the beginning of Calvary Chapel, it is the way that it will continue to grow, and I’m very excited watching this next generation being raised up. And, without a doubt, I believe the best days of Calvary Chapel are in front of us!
In Christ,
Pastor Jerel