Calvary Chapel of Chapel Hill ("CCCH") began in 2003 when David and Michele Marini answered a call from the Lord to plant a church in Chapel Hill, NC. David had spent the previous 23 years in secular careers of law and business, but the Lord began speaking to him about full-time ministry, although the exact kind of ministry and the location were not clear at first. The Lord spoke to David through Matthew 5:14: "You are the light of the world, A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden." He spoke to Michele through Psalm 43:3: "Oh, send out Your light and Your truth! Let them lead me; Let them bring me to Your holy hill and Your tabernacle." Then at a Pastor's Conference in May of 2003, the Lord showed David that the minsitry was going to be a church plant in Chapel Hill, NC. David previously had served as an elder in Calvary Chapel of Stone Mountain in Georgia and in Calvary Chapel of Cary in North Carolina. He brought this word from the Lord to the pastors of these churches to get confirmation. Both Pastor Sandy Adams of Stone Mountain and Pastor Rodney Finch of Calvary Cary gave their blessings to the new work in Chapel Hill.
CCCH began meeting in a small community center on Homesead Road in the fall of 2003. After meeting for four consecutive Wednesday nights to teach through the Book of Colossians, services began on Sunday mornings in the Gospel of John. Within a year, the church moved to its own building in the Timberlyne Shopping Center on Weaver Dairy Road, and it has expanded its footprint in the shopping center three times as the church has grown over the years.
As a Calvary Chapel, from the start the ministry philosophy of CCCH was to teach book by book, verse by verse, through the entire Bible. Over the last twenty years every book of the Bible has been taught in this way at CCCH. In addition to serving Chapel Hill and surrounding communities, the Lord also extended the ministry reach of CCCH through partnerships with other ministries in our community and around the world. The Lord lead us to local partnerships with an international student ministry from the UNC campus, pro-life ministry in Chapel Hill and Durham, and prison ministries in Chapel Hill and Raleigh, among others. The Lord also opened up doors for us to parnter with missions ministires serving the Middle East, Africa, and India, and more. Our church has maintained a focus on missions from our earliest days.
In the late summer of 2021, the Lord brought Vince and Christina Vincent to CCCH with their son Balderich. Almost immediately, it was apperant to both Pastor David and Vince that this meeting was not a chance encounter. It was clear to Pastor David that the Lord had His hand on Vince and Christina, and had prepared them for a future in CCCH. Over the the next two years Pastor David provided Vince with opportunities to minister as youth leader and worship leader. Vince also was given several opportunities to preach at Sunday and Wednesday services. Pastor David and Vince developed a very strong relationship in the Lord and worked together to provide the smoothest possible transition of leadership for our church. The Lord truly blessed that effort. On July 1, 2023, Pastor David retired as Senior Pastor of CCCH and Pastor Vince Vincent assumed leadership of the church.
The next chapter in the life of our church has begun! To learn more, check out the Welcome Letter from Pastor Vince.
