IN THE SPIRIT

-- Michele Marr

* Address: 190 E. 23rd St., Costa Mesa

* Telephone: (949) 645-5050

* Denomination: Nondenominational

* Year church established: 1988

* Service times: 6 p.m. Saturday; 8, 9:30 and 11 a.m. Sunday. On the

second Wednesday of each month, there is a service at 7 p.m., following a

dinner at 6 p.m. The dinner is $5 for adults and $2.50 for children.

* Senior pastor: Tim Celek

* Pastoral staff: There is an eight-person pastoral staff.

* Size of congregation: 1,300 combined attendance at weekend services

* Makeup of congregation: Young adults and young families

* Child care and Sunday school: Child care is provided at all services

for infants. Activities for children through the sixth grade are provided

at all services. Junior high school-age youth meet at 9:30 a.m. Sunday,

and senior high school-age students meet during the 11 a.m. service.

* Type of worship: The message and worship at all services are

identical. The worship is highly contemporary and relevant, using music,

multimedia and drama to communicate the message in a way people in

today’s culture can identify with.

* Type of sermon: Sermons concern life issues. They are thoroughly

biblical, highly practical and application-oriented.

* Recent and upcoming sermons: Each sermon is part of a topical series

titled “Body by God,” addressing issues of faith, trust and spiritual

growth in our everyday lives.

* Welcome wagon: People are allowed to be anonymous and to process

Christianity at their own pace. An information center is available at

service times for anyone seeking more information.

* Outreach programs: Community Outreach serves the local community

through programs such as the Maple Learning Center, an after-school

program that provides tutoring, computer training and one-to-one

mentoring for second- through fifth-grade students. The center is open

from 2:30 to 6:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday. Calvary Church also has

an adopt-a-grandparent program to do acts of kindness, teach English as a

second language classes and serve teens going through recovery issues.

Small groups are available for various ages and life stages. The Helping

Hands Ministry works closely with elementary schools in the Costa Mesa

area, providing food and clothing to children and also to those in need

within and outside of the church.

* Dress: Very casual

* Mission statement: To help people say yes to God at every phase and

in every facet of their lives.

* Interesting note: Celek describes the church as “a church for people

who don’t think they would normally feel comfortable in a more

traditional church.”