About Us - Pastor Eric Irwin
 Pastor Eric Irwin grew up in Huntington Beach, Ca. and from very early in his
life, he became involved in a variety of sporting activities. These included
baseball (his first love), surfing, skiing (water and snow) , and
backpacking in the Sierra Mountains. His Dad had also introduced him to
hunting and fishing, which he grew to love. Before he came to know Jesus as
his Lord and Savior, Eric was becoming swallowed up in the culture of the
1970’s that was experimenting with all kinds of things such as parties,
alcohol, drugs, sex, and the like.
Then in 1976, before the drug culture could sink its claws into him, he gave
his life to Jesus Christ, when his older sister Lisa, invited him to a
Saturday night concert at Calvary Chapel in Costa Mesa, CA. He was 15 years
old. However, this hadn’t been the first time Eric heard the gospel of Jesus
Christ. Every time he went surfing, there were these Jesus Freaks walking up
and down the beach handing out Bible tracts that talked about the gospel of
Jesus Christ.
Sometime later, Lisa invited him to go to a Friday night film outreach
where, following the movie, a young longhaired youth pastor came out and
shared the gospel. He gave an invitation to receive Christ, but Eric
rejected the message that evening and left, though under the convicting
power of the Holy Spirit. The following week at High School and everywhere
he went, all Eric could remember were the words of how much God loved him,
wanted to forgive him of all his sins, and give him a new life, eternal
life.
A week later, he was invited to go back with his sister to an outreach
concert and that evening he received Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior.
His life has never been the same! Following this radical life changing
experience, all he ever wanted to do was talk about Jesus and share the
gospel with any and everyone he came in contact with. As time went on, his
knowledge of the word of God began to increase under the teaching ministry
of Pastor Chuck Smith, where he attended for twelve years.
Shortly after getting saved, Eric was sharing the gospel with students at
his high school, and noticed a girl named Karen who was very interested in
what he was sharing. The girl was a believer and later would become his
wife.
Baseball has always been very important to Eric. As a teenager, he played
in multiple leagues year round, trying to improve his skills to someday be
good enough to be a professional player. However, the Lord began to turn his
attention toward a career as a firefighter, and he began to learn basic
firefighting skills through the Huntington Beach Fire Explorer program. It
wasn’t long before he laid down his baseball bat and glove and pursued a
career with the Fire Department. Four days after his twentieth birthday,
Eric became a Firefighter/Paramedic where he served for twenty years.
Because Eric loved to hunt and fish, he began to visit his relatives in
Dickson, Tennessee during deer hunting season. He fell in love with
Tennessee, but little did he know God was preparing his heart to serve Him
in Tennessee!
It was also during that time that Eric was blessed to serve as leader with
his fire department’s chapter of Firefighters for Christ International,
where he served for six years. And he also taught a home fellowship, where
his love for teaching began to grow .At Calvary Chapel Murrieta he
encouraged and served in the missions ministries through prayer, writing
letters of encouragement, and assisting with short term mission teams around
the world.
During his career as a firefighter, Pastor Eric suffered with continual back
injuries, and finally underwent major back surgery, resulting in an early
retirement in 2000. This injury, no doubt, was life changing.
However, the Lord confirmed many things during that time, one of them being,
the calling to serve Him in Tennessee. Eric knew that he and his family were
to take a step of faith and start a new season of life by planting a Calvary
Chapel fellowship in Dickson. The Irwin family had been blessed by serving
at Calvary Chapel Murrieta for thirteen years under the leadership of Pastor
Brian Bell. While serving in Murrieta, the Lord was preparing and equipping
them for their next stage of ministry.
Eric and Karen have raised their three children, Andy, Alison and Aimee
and have sent them off to college.
The Irwin family has been serving Jesus Christ in Tennessee since 2000.
|
Who we are and what we believe
Calvary Chapel Church has been formed as a fellowship of believers in the
Lordship of Jesus Christ.
Our supreme desire is to know Christ and be conformed into
His image by the power of the Holy Spirit.
We are not a denominational church, nor are we opposed to
denominations as such, only their over-emphasis of doctrinal differences
that have led to the division of the body of Christ.
We believe that the only true basis of Christian fellowship is His
(Agape) love, which is greater than any differences we possess and
without which we have no right to claim ourselves Christians.
We Believe: worship of God should be Spiritual.
Therefore: We remain flexible and yielded to the Holy Spirit to direct our
worship
We Believe: worship of God should be Inspirational.
Therefore: We give a great place to music in our worship
We Believe: worship of God should be Intelligent.
Therefore: Our services are designed with great emphasis upon teaching of
the Word of God that He might instruct us how He should be worshiped
We Believe: worship of God is Fruitful.
Therefore: We look for His Love in our lives as the supreme manifestation
that we have truly been worshiping Him
|
