A BRIEF HISTORY OF CALVARY CHAPEL STROUDSBURG
Pastor Matt Fisher grew up in Philadelphia and attended Calvary Chapel Philly before moving to the Poconos with his wife, Sharmila. In 2005, Pastor Matt took over pastoring a small group of believers in the Stroudsburg area.
After a period of conducting Sunday morning services in a home association clubhouse (affectionately called "Mooseheads"), a search for another location began. In 2009, Pastor Matt and the elders found a space to rent in a Tannersville strip mall which shared a parking lot with a Friendly's restaurant.
Sunday services and Wednesday evening Bible studies continued at the new location while Pastor Matt was working full-time as an imaging technician at a VA hospital in New Jersey. The church began to grow and Sunday school rooms were added. The church rented an additional space in an adjoining suite at the strip mall, but soon outgrew that space and faced parking issues. It was evident that more room was needed and the landlord offered to lease the church an 8,000 square foot building on approximately ten acres in Sciota, PA. The board voted to accept and so commenced the necessary renovations and repairs before beginning services there in 2017.
In 2019, the property was purchased, and the Lord blessed the church with continued, steady growth. People were hungry for God's Word, and attendance remained stable through COVID as the church remained open with no mask mandate.
Currently, the church has a progressive children's, youth and young adult's ministry, services are "live streamed" on social media platforms and the church supports many missions, both local and abroad.
As an affiliated Calvary Chapel, the church adheres to the "distinctives" as established by founder Chuck Smith and Pastor Matt teaches through the Bible in an expository, verse by verse style. Calvary Chapel Stroudsburg of PA holds a 501c3 tax exemption status.
After a period of conducting Sunday morning services in a home association clubhouse (affectionately called "Mooseheads"), a search for another location began. In 2009, Pastor Matt and the elders found a space to rent in a Tannersville strip mall which shared a parking lot with a Friendly's restaurant.
Sunday services and Wednesday evening Bible studies continued at the new location while Pastor Matt was working full-time as an imaging technician at a VA hospital in New Jersey. The church began to grow and Sunday school rooms were added. The church rented an additional space in an adjoining suite at the strip mall, but soon outgrew that space and faced parking issues. It was evident that more room was needed and the landlord offered to lease the church an 8,000 square foot building on approximately ten acres in Sciota, PA. The board voted to accept and so commenced the necessary renovations and repairs before beginning services there in 2017.
In 2019, the property was purchased, and the Lord blessed the church with continued, steady growth. People were hungry for God's Word, and attendance remained stable through COVID as the church remained open with no mask mandate.
Currently, the church has a progressive children's, youth and young adult's ministry, services are "live streamed" on social media platforms and the church supports many missions, both local and abroad.
As an affiliated Calvary Chapel, the church adheres to the "distinctives" as established by founder Chuck Smith and Pastor Matt teaches through the Bible in an expository, verse by verse style. Calvary Chapel Stroudsburg of PA holds a 501c3 tax exemption status.
HISTORY OF CALVARY CHAPEL
The roots of Calvary Chapel can be found in Costa Mesa, California. A non-denominational Christian church, Calvary Chapel was founded by Chuck Smith in 1965. 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."
For more information about Calvary Chapels go to:
www.calvarychapelassociation.com
For more information about Calvary Chapels go to:
www.calvarychapelassociation.com