My boyfriend, children, and I have been attending this church for the past month and a half every Sunday and I just would like to say that everybody there is incredibly kind and welcoming. The children's ministry is awesome and my son's absolutely love Sundays! They get so excited to go to church and that warms my heart. I love hearing Pastor Sam preach. You can tell he really loves Jesus and it means even more to me that he reads the Bible verse by verse every Sunday and shares the word of God with us. When they do worship, Pastor Sam has written some songs of his own, and he enjoys singing them during worship service, which I think is pretty cool. Although I absolutely love when he does other songs as well like yesterday, when he did a Phil Wickham song! Phil Wickham is my favorite and I felt like when he chose that song, God was using Pastor Sam to speak to me through that song during worship. Overall, it's a very welcoming church and they have made me feel like family. I was skeptical at first because my oldest son is five years old and is on the spectrum of autism. Not everybody is kind and welcoming to that but we have never had any issues since we started going there! My son tells me how much he loves it and how everyone is so kind which makes my heart so happy. They truly are showing the love of Jesus Christ at this church! I also enjoy that they don't make tithing the main focus like a lot of churches do. The main focus every time we walk in is Jesus Christ, His salvation, His love and His Word! read more

Calvary Chapel Chico - My boyfriend and I - Churches Near Me - Chico, California

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All I can say is be very careful of wolves in sheep clothing! Pastor Sam gives a pretty good sermon but one clue I should have picked up on is the amount of pastors they have. Even security pastors...it was strange. I donated over $1000 to the church and was never sent a receipt and I confided to the pastors about abuse and they just told me to read my Bible. My children were bullied so bad in the children's ministry and one was told to go to a temple as he said his background is Jewish. To say it nicely, this church scared 2 out of 4 of my children away from wanting to become Christian and I understand why! read more

I guess this used to be a movie theater but now the only movie that plays there is god :) and let me tell ya he looks great on the big screen! Almost as good as Mel Gibson :) read more

I'm really disappointed in this church, and I've never even stepped foot in the place, but their actions (or lack thereof) have made it very clear that my family and I are not welcome. We know a few people who attend here and so we wanted to check it out ourselves as we are new to the area and seeking a new church home, however we have a young non-verbal autistic child and so before going anywhere I like to message ahead of time and explain the situation. So I went online and filled out the form to email them and in the message I explained my daughter was autistic and I asked if they happened to have a special needs ministry, or if they'd be willing to accommodate a special needs child. Radio silence. I waited for a week before emailing again, telling them I never heard back from my previous inquiry and was following up as we were interested in visiting. No answer again. This is very unusual behavior for a church as I know most of them are very quick to respond to any potential guests, but still I knew there was always a POSSIBILITY (though slim) that maybe my emails had not been read yet. So I decided to put it to the test and ask someone else to email the church regarding something else, lo and behold this person heard back from them in less than 24 hours, meanwhile I'm going on 2 weeks with no response. That was all the confirmation I needed that their silence was in fact deliberate. It's a shame because I know there are good people who go there but I want zero to do with a church whose leadership doesn't welcome the most vulnerable of our society with open arms. Meanwhile, I emailed Chico Community Church regarding the same thing and heard back right away in the most heartfelt and welcoming way so that's where we will be visiting. Good to know there are still churches out there who exemplify the love of Christ, this one just doesn't seem to be it. read more

Well, sure weren't made to feel welcome...right away wanted us to check in backpacks like we were criminals. Condescending attitudes from the whoever's in charge. But we are here so will make the best of it. Next tailback to Remedy Church! read more

Calvary Chapel Chico - Churches Near Me - Chico, California

Love Sam the pastor, all of the staff are super friendly. The worship is modern contemporary and easy to sing to. The church is non denominational so we just study the word of God, which is refreshing. They also have a nursery for small children and a full coffee menu to enjoy. read more

Meh...the pastor seem nice but listening to him reminds me of a 90s disc jockey...it seems very plastic. But I'm sure he's nice and it not intentional. But back to why I'm only giving 3 stars....today was my first day visiting this church. I left the sanctuary after 45 min to go to the bathroom. Before I got out the door I was approached by a guy guarding the door telling me I couldn't return to my seat because I would distract everyone..and that was what the "enemy" trys to do. Well... I thought I was just going to the bathroom. I discussed it with a couple "door guards" that said they would let me return to my wife seated inside the sanctuary ...this time. I mentioned that this didn't seem like something Jesus would do...and what if I wasn't a christian and this was my first time visiting? They said it was their policy . I said they should get together with their elders and discuss this policy again. I most likely will not be returning anytime soon. read more

At home or in our RV travels, we attend Calvary Chapel. This is the 82nd we have visited. We consistently find talented worship teams leading the congregation in contemporary Christian songs that are theologically sound. (Here we were in for a special treat. The lead pastor was also the bass player in the worship group. As an old rocker from the '60's myself, it was a real treat to hear such an accomplished musician. Both he & the lead vocalist were beyond excellent!) Verse by verse teaching directly from the Bible is Calvary Chapel's curricula. Godly men teach sound doctrine in a manner that is easy to understand no matter how complex the material. On our Sunday morning visit Luke 2:49 was covered. I knew it is acknowledged as the first recorded that Jesus said. Pastor Sam pointed out it would be another 18 years before Jesus was quoted again. Never heard that pointed out before! Church is not the building, but the people. This large church - it meets in a repurposed movie theatre - made this visiting couple feel very welcome. Excellent experience. We also visited a Wednesday evening service with Pastor Jonathan. Two very different personalities, both nothing short of excellent! read more

I read the other reviews, and can understand some of the concerns. We are big on limiting distractions, and even as a long time person, I have been offended at least once, so I hear that. I have medical problems, and left a few services because I was in terrible pain. I had someone stop me and ask why I was leaving, and was very disconcerted the first time, until I realized there was real caring behind. The person prayed for me before I left. I love that our pastors teach the Bible chapter by chapter, verse by verse, adding teachings about the culture of the day, and the original language. It is so refreshing after years at other churches preaching a few verses heavily laden with personal opinion. I feel the church is very accurately teaching the Bible, and balances it all with kindness. The pastors each have a different personality and style, all so worth hearing speak! The main Pastor, Sam, so obviously LOVES the Word, and it is infectious. He helped me learn to love the Old Testament, too. We take security rather seriously. I work in the nursery, and like everyone else, had to be at the church for six months, and pass security and was fingerprinted. The person who signs a child in must be the person who signs the child back out. I'm sure this has led to frustrating situations, but your child is SAFE. I've had to say sorry, no, to Grandma, to the aunt, the big sister. This policy prevented a non-custodial parent from taking a child. I can't imagine going to any other church. I'd like to leave Chico, and this is a big part of why I don't. I've been attending since 2002. I did have some trouble finding new friends there, mostly because I'm a bit introverted. There are a LOT of people who have been at the church for 30-25 years, and of course, they are very attached already to the others who started back then. read more

This church has the most Narcisstic leaders of any church I have ever gone to. Being a Pastors kid, A Missionary daughter and have lived in a third word country most my life, I do think that I am being honest here. I have more experience than at least 3 of the leaders put together however, no matter how hard I tried to fit in to their little "cliche" I was not even able to volunteer for things such as "cleaning -up" simply because I had not been at the church "long enough" ...say what? Talk about power control. What does that have to do with anything? Are we in High School? I have preached to thousands of people, church planted, been to seminary. I couldn't even make friends. Typical Sunday morning... Someone grabs coffee next to me says,"How are you?" I respond, "Well, I had 20 seizures on my way here (honestly)..." he walks away saying, "Have a nice day." I think, hm...okay, benefit of the doubt, nope. I do believe in "Kill with Kindness." But I went a year doing that. I gave up. There is/was a sound man who volunteers(ed) with the Jesus Center downtown "BOB" ... a kind and helpful man, he will be your friend. But I left the toxic environment. Sometimes you have to leave if they don't want what you have to offer and vs. versa. read more

Love the people and staff. The services have modern music. My kids love the children classes on Wednesday nights. We also enjoy listening on-line. You can connect from their website. read more