Paul Chappell

Paul Chappell

Paul Chappell is the senior pastor of Lancaster Baptist Church, where he has served as the pastor since 1986. He is the president and founder of West Coast Baptist College, Lancaster Baptist School, and Striving Together publications.^[1] He received the citizen of the year award from the city of Lancaster, CA in 2009.^[2]

Early life and education

Paul Chappell was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota but spent most of his early childhood and teen years in Northern California, and he graduated from high school in Seoul, South Korea. Sensing God's call to ministry, Pastor Paul Chappell enrolled at the Pacific Coast Baptist Bible College and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Pastoral Theology in 1983. While attending college, he founded and pastored the Seaside Baptist Church near Indio, California. He received a Master of Arts degree from the Louisiana Baptist University in Shreveport, Louisiana, and was later honored with a Doctor of Divinity degree from Trinity Baptist College in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1995.^[3]

Lancaster Baptist Church

In 1986, twelve members called Paul Chappell to pastor the Lancaster Baptist Church in Lancaster, California. The church was in foreclosure and could offer no pastoral salary. Paul Chappell and his family moved to Lancaster. In the first Sunday evening service, Chappell brought the message from Philippians 1:27 and asked the church to “strive together” with him to reach the community with the gospel. In the months that followed, Chappell personally knocked on five hundred doors each week, inviting people to church and telling them how they could know Jesus Christ as their Saviour. In the pulpit, he began preaching verse-by-verse through portions of Scripture.^[4]

a service at Lancaster Baptist Church in July 2011

In 1994 the church moved to their current campus on the east side of Lancaster. Former Vice-President, Dan Quayle was the guest of honor for the dedication service on January 9, 1994.^[5][6]

In 2011, NBA athlete Michael Redd spoke at Lancaster Baptist Church's annual Teen Outreach Rally.

In June 2014, at Lancaster Baptist's 28th Anniversary Leadership Conference, several conservative members of the 113th United States Congress joined the Tuesday evening service.^[7]

In November 2015, Dr. Chappell announced his endorsement for 2016 Presidential Candidate for the Republican Party, Senator Ted Cruz, an endorsement Cruz requested from Chappell.^[8][9]

Since 1986, the congregation has grown from an average attendance of twenty to become one of the largest Baptist churches in the country. Today, the church occupies 88 acres of land and has built several multimillion-dollar buildings. The church annually gives nearly one million dollars to missionaries worldwide.^[10] The church had over 10,000 attendants for the first time in 2014 for it's Easter service.

Lancaster Baptist celebrated their 30th anniversary on June 13, 2016. GOP Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy sent a special presentation to Chappell and the church.

West Coast Baptist College

In 1995, Chappell led the church to begin a Bible college as a ministry of the church. West Coast Baptist College is training students from nearly fifty states and several foreign countries. The school has over two thousand alumni serving in ministries around the world. In 2015, the school received candidate status for accreditation with TRACS.^[11][12]

Dr. Paul Chappell with a WCBC Graduate

Daily in the Word Radio

Paul Chappell’s Daily in the Word radio broadcast is heard five days a week on over eighty stations nationwide and in some foreign countries. The program began in 1989 as The Sunday Morning Gospel Hour on a local station every Sunday morning. In 1992, the program became a daily ministry on a local Christian station and took the name Truth for Today. In 2005, the name was changed to Daily in the Word and was coupled with a daily devotional website.^[13]

Publications

Chappell has authored numerous books on Christian living and biblical ministry philosophy as well as resource materials such as Sunday school curriculum and minibooks on contemporary issues. In 1999, he began a publications ministry that produces materials to equip Christians and local churches with resources for ministry.^[14]

Speaking and missions trips

Chappell is a frequent speaker in Bible conferences throughout the United States and around the world.^[15]

In 2014, Paul Chappell was personally invited by former Texan Governor and 2008, 2012 Presidential Candidate Rick Perry to the Texas Governor's Mansion.^[16][17]

Personal

Chappell and his wife Terrie were married in 1980, and they have two daughters and two sons. Their four married children and their spouses are all serving in full-time Christian ministry. Their youngest son, Matt, is starting a new church in the city of Fontana, CA^[18]

References