Char Brodersen Installed as Lead Pastor of Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa

On Sunday (January 14, 2025), the board of Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa officially commissioned Char Brodersen as the new Lead Pastor of the Orange County based church. The special ceremony recognizing Char’s new role occurred during the morning gatherings in front of the congregation who were lead in a prayer to affirm the appointment. Pastor Char assumes the role from his father, Brian Brodersen, who stepped down on January 5, 2025 after eleven years as the Senior Pastor. In 2023, father and son outlined to the congregation their two-year transition plan which called for Char to assume increasing leadership responsibilities over the period. On Sunday, in keeping with the church’s bylaws, board members: Blake Barnes, Brian Brodersen, Steve Ganem, Ben Lozano, Mike Mugavero, and Sarah Warren commissioned Char after they unanimously voted to install the forty-one-year-old as Lead Pastor in December. Char will now lead the storied church that began in Costa Mesa in 1961 as a group of just twenty-five. Five years later, his grandfather, Chuck Smith, was installed to shepherd the small assembly that would soon welcome thousands in a period known as the Jesus Movement. With Chuck’s passing in 2013, Brian Brodersen was appointed the ministry’s new leader and will now transition into the role of Pastor Emeritus.