History of Calvary Chapel Lebanon

In 1995, Midway Church of the Brethren planted a new church in Lebanon that went by the name of Cornerstone. The vision behind Cornerstone was for it to be a church for the un-churched — a church that would attempt to reach people who were outside of the church but who were open to seeking a relationship with God. From the very beginning, a core principle was that nothing would be done at the expense of the unbeliever who was seeking God. The message of Christ is timeless and never changes, but as culture changes, so too must the methods.

In the summer of 2001, Cornerstone Church in turn planted their first daughter church – Community Christian Fellowship. Community Christian Fellowships first service was held on October 7, 2001 at what had at one time been the Builders Barn located behind the McDonald’s along 422 on the east side of Lebanon.
Because both Cornerstone and Community Christian Fellowship had been organized and planned following many of the guiding principles of Calvary Chapel, a fellowship of churches based out of Costa Mesa, California, the newly formed Community Christian Fellowship elected to organize under the banner of Calvary Chapel. After receiving the blessing of the District Superintendent of the Church of the Brethren, we made application to Calvary Chapel Fellowship.

On January 1, 2005, Calvary Chapel Lebanon moved to the former Elks building located at 9 South 9th Street in Lebanon. This building afforded us more classroom space and seating for approximately 250 people.

In December 2007, as an outreach ministry, we began renovation on what is now Legends Café which is located on the main level of the 9 south 9th property. The vision behind Legends Café was to be a screen door to the front door of the church – a way of introducing people to the life of the church by way of a non-church, non-confrontive, recovery safe, entertaining, fun environment.