Mesa
Arizona
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Central Christian Church of the East Valley
Our Beliefs
Our deepest convictions affect every decision we make as a church. While the Bible itself is our formal document of faith, the following statements should help you understand those biblical ideas that most fundamentally define who we are:
-We believe in one God who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
-We believe God is the Creator of all things.
-We believe in Jesus Christ, God's only Son and Savior of the world.
-We believe in the Holy Spirit, who encourages, guides, comforts, and transforms in the way of Christ.
-We believe the Bible is the inspired, written Word of God and the authoritative rule for all matters of faith and practice.
-We believe that man, created by God, willfully sinned and as a result, is lost and without hope apart from Jesus Christ, whose death, burial, and resurrection, opened the way for salvation.
-We believe that salvation - the forgiveness of sins - comes by grace through the blood of Jesus Christ. It is offered to all persons, all of whom were created in the image of God.
-We believe the Bible clearly outlines the pattern to follow to receive Christ as Lord: To believe in Christ as God's Son and Savior of the world, to repent of personal sin, to confess Christ publicly, and to be immersed in baptism.
-We believe that the Church is the body and bride of Christ, was founded on the day of Pentecost, and consists of all Christians everywhere.
-We believe that death seals the eternal destiny of each person. The saved will be assigned eternal life; the unsaved will suffer eternal separation from God.
Our History
In 1959, Mesa was a growing city with a population of 30,000, and Central Christian Church held its first worship service on July 19 at the Church of the Nazarene, located at First Street and Hibbert. There were 61 present at the service, and Joe Carson Smith was the first pastor.
In December of 1959, the property was purchased from the Church of the Nazarene for $42,000. Joe and Barbara Smith served the entire first year without a salary. When the charter closed on April 10, 1960, there were 84 members. The church purchased property on Third and Hobson Streets in 1962. The first service was held in the new building on December 15, 1963, exactly four years from the date of possession of the first building.
In 1968, Joe C. Smith resigned his ministry here and Dr. Charles E. Cook was called and began serving later that year. He had a record of growing ministries in Indiana and Kansas . In his ten years at Central, the attendance more than doubled. On December 31, 1978, Dr. Charles Cook delivered his farewell sermon to take a professorship at Manhattan Christian College in Kansas .
Dr. LeRoy Lawson and his wife Joy arrived in Mesa in April of 1979 from Indianapolis , Indiana . He began his ministry as the third senior pastor at Central.
In 1982, the congregation approved the purchase of 33 acres of land on Lindsay Road, south of Brown. The congregation sold the buildings on Hobson to Gospel Echoes in March of 1985. This meant that interim space was needed until the new facility on Lindsay was completed. The Mesa School Board agreed to rent Mountain View High School auditorium and four classrooms to Central during construction of the new facility.
On October 19, 1986, the $4 million Worship Center was completed. Central had actually grown in attendance and membership during its "journey in the wilderness" at Mountain View . In 1988, the education building was completed on the Lindsay property at a cost of $1.2 million.
In January 1995, Central entered into a fund-raising campaign to build a multi-purpose building with gymnasium, chapel, and classrooms. One year later, Central celebrated the grand opening of its New Life Center with special guest, A.C. Green of the Phoenix Suns, and an attendance of 8,000.
In April 1999, after 20 years as Senior Pastor, with Central growing to mega-church size, Dr. Lawson relinquished his ministry to focus on his work as President of Hope International University based in Fullerton , California .
Cal Jernigan began his term as Senior Pastor of Central on April 19, 1999. Cal has made a successful transition from Student Ministries at Central, where he built a nationally recognized program, to leadership as the fourth Senior Pastor of Central. He and wife Lisa have been a part of Central since 1987.
Under Cal' s leadership, Central closed escrow on 155+ acres of land located on Germann and Lindsay Roads in Gilbert on January 7, 2002. The $10.5 million site will be a second campus for Central in the years to come. This south campus is currently in the planning stages. The first phase of development is scheduled to being construction in Spring 2006.
Our deepest convictions affect every decision we make as a church. While the Bible itself is our formal document of faith, the following statements should help you understand those biblical ideas that most fundamentally define who we are:
-We believe in one God who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
-We believe God is the Creator of all things.
-We believe in Jesus Christ, God's only Son and Savior of the world.
-We believe in the Holy Spirit, who encourages, guides, comforts, and transforms in the way of Christ.
-We believe the Bible is the inspired, written Word of God and the authoritative rule for all matters of faith and practice.
-We believe that man, created by God, willfully sinned and as a result, is lost and without hope apart from Jesus Christ, whose death, burial, and resurrection, opened the way for salvation.
-We believe that salvation - the forgiveness of sins - comes by grace through the blood of Jesus Christ. It is offered to all persons, all of whom were created in the image of God.
-We believe the Bible clearly outlines the pattern to follow to receive Christ as Lord: To believe in Christ as God's Son and Savior of the world, to repent of personal sin, to confess Christ publicly, and to be immersed in baptism.
-We believe that the Church is the body and bride of Christ, was founded on the day of Pentecost, and consists of all Christians everywhere.
-We believe that death seals the eternal destiny of each person. The saved will be assigned eternal life; the unsaved will suffer eternal separation from God.
Our History
In 1959, Mesa was a growing city with a population of 30,000, and Central Christian Church held its first worship service on July 19 at the Church of the Nazarene, located at First Street and Hibbert. There were 61 present at the service, and Joe Carson Smith was the first pastor.
In December of 1959, the property was purchased from the Church of the Nazarene for $42,000. Joe and Barbara Smith served the entire first year without a salary. When the charter closed on April 10, 1960, there were 84 members. The church purchased property on Third and Hobson Streets in 1962. The first service was held in the new building on December 15, 1963, exactly four years from the date of possession of the first building.
In 1968, Joe C. Smith resigned his ministry here and Dr. Charles E. Cook was called and began serving later that year. He had a record of growing ministries in Indiana and Kansas . In his ten years at Central, the attendance more than doubled. On December 31, 1978, Dr. Charles Cook delivered his farewell sermon to take a professorship at Manhattan Christian College in Kansas .
Dr. LeRoy Lawson and his wife Joy arrived in Mesa in April of 1979 from Indianapolis , Indiana . He began his ministry as the third senior pastor at Central.
In 1982, the congregation approved the purchase of 33 acres of land on Lindsay Road, south of Brown. The congregation sold the buildings on Hobson to Gospel Echoes in March of 1985. This meant that interim space was needed until the new facility on Lindsay was completed. The Mesa School Board agreed to rent Mountain View High School auditorium and four classrooms to Central during construction of the new facility.
On October 19, 1986, the $4 million Worship Center was completed. Central had actually grown in attendance and membership during its "journey in the wilderness" at Mountain View . In 1988, the education building was completed on the Lindsay property at a cost of $1.2 million.
In January 1995, Central entered into a fund-raising campaign to build a multi-purpose building with gymnasium, chapel, and classrooms. One year later, Central celebrated the grand opening of its New Life Center with special guest, A.C. Green of the Phoenix Suns, and an attendance of 8,000.
In April 1999, after 20 years as Senior Pastor, with Central growing to mega-church size, Dr. Lawson relinquished his ministry to focus on his work as President of Hope International University based in Fullerton , California .
Cal Jernigan began his term as Senior Pastor of Central on April 19, 1999. Cal has made a successful transition from Student Ministries at Central, where he built a nationally recognized program, to leadership as the fourth Senior Pastor of Central. He and wife Lisa have been a part of Central since 1987.
Under Cal' s leadership, Central closed escrow on 155+ acres of land located on Germann and Lindsay Roads in Gilbert on January 7, 2002. The $10.5 million site will be a second campus for Central in the years to come. This south campus is currently in the planning stages. The first phase of development is scheduled to being construction in Spring 2006.