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Pastor John Michaels - Biography
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 The founding pastor of Calvary Chapel Spring Valley, Pastor John Michaels has been in the ministry for nearly 30 years. Raised Catholic, Pastor John never found fulfillment through that system. Rather, he lived his early life with little concern for the things of God, attending mass in the morning and partying in the afternoon. But, John Michaels was a part of the sixties generation, and when the Jesus movement swept through the country fueled by the ministries of such people as Pastor Chuck Smith of Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa, John was moved to make a true commitment to Jesus Christ the Lord.
John didn’t move immediately into full-time ministry. As a young man, he served in the United States Navy and after completing his military commitment, John was working in the Bahamas as a meteorological technician. During this time, he met his future wife Dianna and her two sons. They soon married and became an immediate family of four, soon to be five with a daughter born a couple of years later. John worked hard to support his family and complete degrees in Meteorology and Computer Science from Florida State University. He went to work for the U.S. Government, became recognized as an expert in the field of meteorological research and computer science, and winning the 1980 Federal Employee of the Year Award.
Having accepted the Lord while living in South Florida, as a result of the continual sharing of Christ by a family friend, John began attending a small Methodist Church. When his career path led him to work in Washington D.C., he got involved at a small Southern Baptist Church and was discipled by a man who instilled the desire in John to serve the Lord in a new and powerful way. Volunteering in Sunday School and youth ministry is where John began his first service to the Lord. When he accepted a government position in Las Vegas, John and Dianna remained actively involved in the local church.
While John continued his work at the Nevada Test Site, it became clear that the Lord had bigger plans for him. Soon, the pastor-to-be was feeling tugs on his heart, pulling him in the direction of full-time ministry. One day, John astounded his boss by announcing this intent. So taken aback, he put John on a plane, sending him out of town to inform his superior in person. John’s superior responded to the pronouncement by commenting that if anyone was right for the ministry, he supposed it was John Michaels.
Calvary Chapel Spring Valley was established in May of 1986 with the goal of impacting the world for Christ, even while the initial membership was still in the low twenties. But Pastor John nurtured the flock, grounding them in the Word of God, praying, teaching and evangelizing. Soon CCSV grew and grew, now ministering to over 2,000 attendees weekly. But is has always been more than a local ministry. John Michaels has a heart for missions, frequently stating that "Missions is not a ministry of the church, it’s the ministry of the church."
Pastor John has worked extensively in the Philippines, Thailand, India, and Mexico, teaching Inductive Bible Study seminars, instructing the local pastors in “rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15). As well, he’s been instrumental in organizing Calvary Training Centers in Mexico and the Philippines, where new pastors and missionaries can be trained to impact the world. Pastor John’s missionary efforts have been so successful that the Indian government has now revoked his visa, preventing him from personally ministering within the borders of that country. But, true to his heart, John has not allowed the things of this world to stop him. He has since handed the baton to other Calvary Chapel Pastors and group leaders who have continued the ministry to Indian nationals and to date have trained hundreds of pastors to continue that work.
Calvary Chapel Spring Valley currently offers five services weekly, has a fully accredited Christian school, grades K-12, and a large staff all under the direction of Pastor John Michaels.
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