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For years, several families had been praying for something of God's Spirit to begin here. One summer afternoon as the Phinneys and a handful of these families were gathered for prayer and the reading of God's word, the Lord gave them a confirmation from the scriptures; "Blessed are those whose strength is in [the Lord], who have set their hearts on pilgrimage. As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a place of Springs." (Ps. 84:5-6 NIV) The words Valley Springs were clearly and distinctly from the Lord. Still, the decision to begin ministry here was prayed over for another year until pastor Art and his wife, Sherry, moved into the community. The Church began as a Bible study in the Phinney's home. Slowly growing into precious evenings on the front lawn during hot summer July nights until, by October, the need for a Sunday morning service became apparent. Since then, the Lord has raised up a youth group, children's ministry, men's and women's ministries, and a church facility. Calvary Chapel Valley Springs has three home fellowships meeting in Valley Springs and San Andreas. As the Lord blessed our fellowship, we have embarked upon a new building project which is pictured below. The new building will eventually be our new sanctuary, offices, and classrooms - adding to the original building which we have outgrown. Presently the new building is a "shell," while we await God's provision to complete the interior.
Calvary Chapel Valley Springs has been formed as a fellowship of believers in the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Our supreme desire is to know Christ and to be conformed into His image by the power of the Holy Spirit. We Believe: Jesus Christ is the foundation and cornerstone of the church. He came to restore man's broken relationship with God. His finished work on the cross made that possible. Because of His love demonstrated on the cross by dying for our sins, we now have reason to fellowship with one another and proclaim salvation through His life, death, and resurrection. 1 Cor. 3:11, Eph. 2:20, Rom. 5:6-10 The
Bible is the inspired infallible Word of God and is relevant and
applicable to man today. Therefore we place great emphasis upon teaching
it in public, studying it in private and using it as a guide for our
daily lives. Worship: We believe God is worthy of all praise, reverence and love. We take a special time to worship Him in church through song. It is our goal to worship Him with our whole life as well as at home, at work, and at play. John 4:23, Col. 3:16, 1 Thess. 2:13 Christian Growth: Our supreme desire is to know Christ and to be conformed to His image, likeness, and example by the power of the Holy Spirit. We encourage this by abiding in Jesus Christ through His Word, prayer, and fellowship; yielding our lives to the Holy Spirit. John 4:23, Col. 3:16, 1 Thess. 2:13 Love is the greatest virtue and demonstration of the reality of Jesus Christ. We endeavor to show a Christ-like love to all men. Love should be exhibited in our lives by our words as well as our actions. John 13:34-35, 1 Cor. 13:13, Phil. 2:3-5 Christian Service is a part of the Christian life and is the responsibility of all believers. Our goal is to develop the ministry of every member to the benefit of all. Eph. 4:11-13, 1 Cor. 12:4-7
 Born
and raised in Oakland California,
it was 1980 and at the age of twenty-seven that Art gave his life to Jesus Christ.
After years of many meaningless pursuits, Art surrendered his will to the will
of God and was set free to follow Jesus. While employed as a butcher for the Lucky's
corporation and attending various Foursquare churches, he continued to grow in
the grace of God while getting himself grounded in the truths of the Bible. In
1989, Art began attending Calvary Chapel Amador County and entered into an aspect
of the grace of God he had never before experienced. It was there, under George
Stathos' leadership, that he was called into full time ministry, interestingly
enough, Pastor George often included prayer for Valley Springs as a focus for
the month. For several years, Art was content serving the people in Amador, in
various ways and had no desire to leave. In 1996, while at Amador as an assisting pastor, Art was prompted by the Lord to move to Costa Mesa and enter the Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa School of Ministry. It was during his two years there that he furthered his biblical studies under pastor Chuck Smith and yielded to God's call as a pastor. In 1997, as Art was praying about where to venture out and serve the Lord, a certain evening shaped the future for Calvary Chapel Valley Springs. While having dinner with a family from this area a prophecy was given that, "they would in deed be coming to Valley Springs to begin ministry." His response was; "that's fine but the Lord hasn't spoken to me yet!" Months after that evening the Lord began to break Art's heart for this community as several families had been praying for years for something of God's Spirit to begin. In response to those prayers, Art and his wife, Sherry, came to Valley Springs for another visit and pray over the decision. One summer afternoon as a handful of families were gathered for prayer and the reading of God's word, the Lord gave them this confirmation from the scriptures, "Blessed is the man whose heart is set on a pilgrimage. As they pass through the Valley of Bacca, they make it a place of Springs." (Ps. 84: 5-6 NIV) The words "Valley Springs" were clearly and distinctly from the Lord. Art
and his lovely wife, Sherry, are parents to five girls and one son. They are grandparents
to twelve grandchildren and two on the way, they are blessed by them all. Art
& Sherry are committed to teaching the Word of God, loving the people of God,
and reaching the lost, they are in awe at what God continues to do through C.C.V.S.
and would love to have you come visit our fellowship at any time.
Just as Jesus saw the needs of the multitudes and had compassion upon them, so the Lord revealed the needs within our church body and our community, and provided for the opening of "Cornerstone" Resource Table (available on Sunday mornings). This valuable ministry provides biblically based Christian study materials, music, and Bibles at reduced cost. Currently the store is open on Wednesdays and Fridays from 9:00 am to 4:30 pm. We take special orders and would love for you to stop by and check it out.
Through a series of miracles and provision from our Lord, He has opened the door for a local radio ministry. In November of 2002 KWLK was licensed by the FCC to operate a low power radio station, and in December we began broadcasting to the Valley Springs and Calaveras County areas. We feature 24 hour coverage with the teaching of God's Word, contemporary Christian worship and praise, live Bible studies on Wednesday evenings, and local news and information. Our "ministries" page will feature more information about KWLK.
We support missionaries and ministries in Olongapo City and the Bible Study Worship Center and Orphanage ministering to the Aeta tribal areas, both in the Philippines. We support Gospel For Asia ministries, who take the Gospel of Jesus Christ throughout Asia using native missionaries, and we support "For Zion's Sake," a ministry of Calvary Chapel Jerusalem, ministering to the needs of the Olim immigrants.
Calvary Chapel Valley Springs is blessed to have had students from our fellowship enrolled at Calvary Chapel Bible College to prepare for His service throughout the world. As a fellowship we are seeking to serve the people of these foothills by proclaiming the eternal message of salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord. He alone is the Good Shepherd of the flock and promises to bring Life to all who believe!
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As
a fellowship that sprang out of another Calvary Chapel in Amador County,
prayer for this work began back in 1992. Over the years, different
Bible studies had begun in this area but no lasting work was
established.
Updated August 18, 2009