At the age of 7, Chuck knew there was a definite great call on his life. On April 13th at his home in southern California, seven angels stood at the foot of his bed and fell into him, an experience forever etched into his mind and a constant reminder that God’s intentions were extraordinary for his life. Chuck received the baptism of the Holy Spirit the very next day, and the direction of his life was brought into perspective as he saw everything through that lens. Chuck traveled extensively in the United States with the Lawrence Family Evangelistic Team. During this time of travel, he was reassured by multiple ministers that he was designated by God to speak to thousands. While this seemed scary, it also resonated within him. God continued to use Chuck’s family in a powerful way ministering around the country which eventually led the Lawrence family to Huntington where he met Jamie. Three years later in 1980, Chuck and Jamie married at the altar where they met. Neither Chuck or Jamie were from Huntington, but God ordained that they would meet here and remain here.
When Chuck first made his move to Huntington, he worked as a DJ for WEMM radio as well as created a successful design business. Chuck was also a prolific song writer with Meadowgreen Music with prominent songwriters like Michael W. Smith and Amy Grant. One of Chuck’s songs, “He Grew the Tree,” has been recorded over 1000 times including by country artist, Barbara Mandrell, and featured on her Grammy and Dove award-winning album. Other songs written by Chuck had nominations for song of the year and also reached the top 10 of the Gospel music charts.
On the eve of 1981, a prophetic word from Pastor Gardner set in motion the plan for Chuck. Through an unbelievably miraculous moment, he became the music minister at Christ Temple where he served in this role for 14 years. The Christ Temple choir was renowned for their high level of anointing and had performed with nationally known artists, featured on many TV networks, and toured across the nation, as well as in Israel with Morris Cerullo Ministries.
In 1996, days before his death, Pastor Gardner prophesied that Chuck would become the next pastor of Christ Temple. Although this word was privately given, it came to pass just as Pastor Gardner had prophesied. Upon assuming this new role, Pastor Chuck’s goal was to hold everything together on a bi-vocational basis, but God had another idea. Soon thereafter, Chuck received a word from God that he could have his current business or he could choose to go on a Great Adventure. He was immediately aware that God was in this so he gave away his business to two trusted employees and fully submitted to the plan that God had for him.
Not long after becoming the pastor, the congregation began to grow, filled up the auditorium, and soon invaded the fellowship hall of the church building forcing Christ Temple to begin holding services in a local basketball arena. There, they experienced the growth that God intended. Through one miraculous event after another, the church purchased property to build a new facility. After initially approving the excavation, the city of Huntington shut down the project. One year later, a judge overturned that decision giving Christ Temple the right to build on their 51 acres. After that decision was made, Pastor Chuck went to the banks to find a partnership, but not one bank could loan them even 10% of what they needed to build. Through a magnificent moment dedicated to worship that evening, a word came from God that made them confident that God’s plan was still intact. Left with no other options and an assured word from God, Christ Temple was forced to build and forced to build debt-free which ultimately caused the church to experience God in a whole new dimension. Eighteen months later, the $6.8 million project was finished completely debt-free. The church filled up and began having three services each weekend to accommodate the growth.
The now 66-acre campus that includes surrounding properties and new buildings are all being used for the glory of God and continue to proceed debt-free. The church has been and continues to be a positive impact on the city of Huntington and the surrounding area. Salvation, baptisms, healings, and the infilling of the Holy Spirit happen weekly at Christ Temple and its ancillary ministries. From Pastor Chuck’s heart of worship, pure-hearted worship is evident at Christ Temple, and God has blessed the church with incredible abilities that give God glory. The musical talent of Christ Temple impacts the nation including Grammy and Dove award winners, platinum records, and music ministers that gleaned from this platform.
Through this, Pastor Chuck began to minister abroad including Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, South Korea, Brazil, and many more. However, it is when he went to Zambia that he found the most ministry opportunities. During the time of encouraging ministers with the story of the miraculous power of God of building Christ Temple, this began to resonate with their own set of circumstances. Because of Pastor Chuck’s relentless pursuit of sharing the gospel and Christ Temple’s testimony of God’s faithfulness, we now have well over 400 churches in Zambia and surrounding nations.
Pastor Chuck and Jamie have been married 42 years this November and have two children: one daughter, Anneliese, and her husband Aaron Caserta, with their sons, Elias & Joel, and daughter, Claire Marie and one son, Chase and his wife, Kristen. If you want to hear more from Pastor Chuck about Christ Temple’s history, structure, and beliefs along with Pastor Chuck’s personal journey, we invite you to attend our Get Acquainted classes. You can see upcoming dates and register for a class at https://www.ctcwv.com/getaquainted/.
About Pastor Chuck June 29th, 2023admin
