COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL | WEDNESDAY, APRIL 17, 2019 | 3A
Community News
Calvary Chapel celebrates 20th anniversary in Th e Grove
By Cindy Weeldreyer
For Th e Sentinel
Easter Sunday is a much
anticipated day for Chris-
tians around the world. For
those who worship at Cot-
tage Grove’s Calvary Chapel,
the day holds an extra special
meaning. On Easter Sunday
1999, Pastor Jeff Smith pre-
sided over the church’s fi rst
service in the former Lane
Community College Center,
on the corner of Fift h Street
and Washington Avenue.
In a joint celebration ser-
vice held March 31, Smith
led the trip down a memory
lane marked with milestones
revealing God’s faithful-
ness to him and those who
call Calvary Chapel their
spiritual home. Th e service
included a video made at a
get-together of well-wish-
ers just before he and his
wife, Sherry, moved their
young family from Medford
to Cottage Grove to start a
church here.
“We established Cottage
Grove’s Calvary Chapel
with four simple values built
around relationship, Bible
teaching, serving and dis-
cipleship,” Smith said. “We
state it clearly on our web-
site that we believe no mat-
ter what generation you fi nd
yourself in, you are import-
ant. Our purpose is to reach
out and equip every genera-
tion to follow Jesus as Ephe-
sians 3:21 tells us to do.”
Planting and growing
churches is a long-stand-
ing tradition for Calvary
Chapel, a non-denomina-
tional Christian fellowship
founded in 1965. It has since
grown into an internation-
al ministry of over 1,800
fellowships
throughout
the world making Calvary
Chapel one of America’s ten
largest Protestant churches.
In the past two decades,
as the local church grew in
attendance it outgrew four
other locations before mov-
ing into its current one in
the Village Shopping Center.
Continued church growth
in recent years, especially
in youth ministry, required
more space. As the church
elders prayed for a solution
it came in an unexpected
way.
Th e recent closing of
King’s Chinese Restaurant
created an opportunity for
Calvary Chapel to remod-
el it into “King’s Court,” a
multi-purpose space for
gatherings before and af-
ter Sunday services; for
middle school students to
meet; special events and
celebrations; overfl ow seat-
ing during large gatherings
in the sanctuary; and for
utilizing the commercial
kitchen for church potlucks
and community outreach.
Smith noted the Friends of
the Cottage Grove Carousel
will be using the sanctuary
and King’s Court for a series
of monthly fundraising con-
certs starting in May.
When asked to share the
church’s milestones in the
past 20 years, Smith said
there have been many. In
addition to their larger fa-
cility, he is delighted the
Cottage Grove church has
planted two successful Cal-
Are you a senior? Have a passion for working with seniors?
If yes, please consider applying for the Senior & Disability
Services (S&DS) Senior Services Advisory Council. S&DS
serves all of Lane County with a wide range of publicly funded
services for older adults and persons with disabilities. The
council advises S&DS on services and advocates on senior
topics. For more information please contact us at:
sdsadvisorycouncil@lcog.org or download an application
from: http://www.lcog.org/827/SSAC-Council-Membership
Application deadline: April 26, 2019.
we
vary Chapels in Oregon, in
Lebanon and Burns. He has
led church members on six
trips to Israel with a seventh
trip planned in 2020.
Smith said he is also
thankful for the members
who have taken this 20-year
faith journey with him and
for many new ones who
have joined them along
the way. Other milestones
include annually bringing
the entire church together
for a monthly joint service
in Coiner Park during the
summer months and form-
ing the Calvary Creek band
that regularly performs at
community events.
Cody and Khristina Con-
ley are a young 20-some-
thing married couple with
a one-and-a-half-year-old
daughter and expecting
their second child later this
year.
“I love how my church
stands fi rm on what the Bi-
ble teaches,” Khristina said.
“We’ve always had a phe-
nomenal children’s ministry
and youth ministry and I
feel honored to be the new
Children’s Ministry Di-
rector. I believe the vision
for children’s ministry, as a
whole, is bringing the Bible
to life for our kids so that
they can understand what
is being taught and make it
applicable to their lives at
home.”
She noted their Vacation
Bible School will be June
17-21 from 6 to 8:30 p.m.
for students in grades K-5.
VBS details are is available
at www.calvarychapelcot-
tagegrove.com
Richard and TeriAnn New
spent several years looking
for a church when they fi rst
attended Calvary Chapel in
2016 with their seven chil-
dren. Today they serve as
the church’s Youth Ministry
Directors.
“We enjoy the warm wel-
coming atmosphere and the
strict adherence to Biblical
principles and expository
teaching,” Richard said.
“God has confi rmed in me
multiple times over the past
year that He wants to see the
culture of Cottage Grove
change and His plan is to use
the youth of the community
to do it. I believe that there is
a revival coming to our town
and we had better hold on to
see what God has in store.”
Smith noted that begin-
ning in May the Sunday
worship times are changing
to 8:30 a.m. and 10:15 a.m.
M I NG S O O
CO
LCC in CoƩage Grove
Mon-Thu 9-5 pm & Fri 9-2 pm
lanecc.edu/coƩagegrove
(541) 463-4202 - 1275 S. River Rd.
We offer more than just personal enrichment classes...
Credit Student Support Services
x Study Rooms
x Proctored Tesng
x Computer labs
x Student lounge
Room Rentals
x Meeng Rooms
x Classrooms
x Computer labs
x Recording Studio
It’s Junkin Time!
Primitive, Vintage, Repurposed, salvaged, Farmhouse,
Garden & Good old Rusty goodness!!!
our libraries!
Be sure to
check out a
LIBRARY
near you!
Rusty & Primitive Treasures
Spri ng Vi ntage Market
Saginaw Vineyards
80247 Delight Valley Rd. Cottage Grove, OR
May 17th 4pm-8pm & May 18th 9am-4 pm
(Friday night early picking 4pm-8pm $5.00)
Community EducaƟon
...but we do have some great
enrichment classes too. Treat
yourself and bring a friend.
Cottage Grove Library
700 Gibbs, CG
541-942-3828
Mon & Tues 10am-7:45pm,
Wed-Sat 10am-5:45pm
Th e Cottage Grove Business
Challenge wants to thank
the South Lane community
for its commitment to the
growth of commerce in
Cottage Grove. Attendance
was high and so were spirits
at the Kickoff Networking
Event held March 16 at the
Brewstation. Th e business
growth focused event was
held in an eff ort to generate
more interest in the Cottage
Grove Business Challenge,
and it did not disappoint.
Since the event, participants
have been able to take part
in a four-part Business Plan
Accelerator course as well as
a one-day seminar, brought
to Cottage Grove by the Lane
Small Business Development
Center
through
Lane
Community College.
Challenge
Participants
are due to submit their
no more than four-page
executive summary business
plans by Wednesday, May
1. Submissions should be
emailed to contactme@
cgbizplan.com
More information about
participating and submission
can be found at www.
cgbizplan.com.
For more information,
email contactme@cgbizplan.
com or call Brunneis, Pacifi c
Northwest Productions, at
541-357-1930.
N
SENIOR SERVICES
ADVISORY COUNCIL NEEDS
NEW MEMBERS
CINDY WHEELDRYER PHOTO
The Calvary Chapel Worship Team performs during the March 31 celebration.
Business
Challenge
submissions
due May 1
Creswell Library
64 W Oregon Ave.
541-895-3053
Mon & Fri 12-6pm,
Tues-Thur 10am-7pm,
Sat 10am-4pm
Brad’s Cottage
Grove Chevrolet
2775 Row River Rd., CG
541-942-4415
“Little Blue Truck’s
Springtime”
by Alice Schertle
&*&KDPEHU
2OG0LOO)DUP6WRUH
6WDU¿UH/XPEHU
700 E Gibbs Ave
Cottage Grove
(541) 942-2411
327 S. River Rd.CG
541-942-3042
2795 Mosby Creek Rd
Cottage Grove
(541) 942-0168
“Dragons
Love Tacos”
by Adam Rubin
“The Last Tempta-
tion of Christ”
by Nikos
Kazantzakis
.DODSX\D%RRNV
%RRNPLQH
*UDFH2OVRQ
637 Main St. CG
541-942-6143
702 East Main St. CG
541-942-7414
Cottage Grove
“Beyond the War of
Invasive Species”
by Tao Orion
“Unsheltered”
by Barbara
Kingsolver
“The River of
Doubt”
By Theodore
Roosevelt
“This Moose
Belongs to Me”
by 7TQ^M2MЄMZ[
6WDWH)DUP
,QVXUDQFH0DWW
Bjornn
1481 Gateway Blvd. CG
541-942-2623
“Cool IT”
by Bjorn Lomborg
