Bob Coy is senior pastor of Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale, one of the ten largest churches in the United States. But early in his life, pastoring a church was never something Bob would have imagined.
Born in the 1950's near Detroit to a lower-income family, Bob always dreamed of escaping the mediocrity of his upbringing. Straight out of high school, a job in a record store and a knack for picking hit songs landed him a well-paying position with Capitol Records.
Bob's star rose fast in the world of music promotion, as he moved freely in circles of some of the top music acts of the late 1970's. But it crashed just as quickly when cocaine and alcohol addictions cost him his coveted position with the company.
Bob landed in Las Vegas, eventually working as a show manager at a casino on the Strip. Years of addiction and deepening despair brought him to a critical point on Christmas night in 1980, when he responded to his brother's simple invitation to pick up a Bible and read it. Moments later, Bob's eyes fell on the Bible's most familiar verse: "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whosoever believes in Him..."
Surrendering completely to God in that moment, Bob turned his back once and for all on his old life.
He traded the glitter of Las Vegas lights for a low-paying position as a ministry assistant at a local church, and committed himself to Bible study and teaching. A few years later, Bob and his bride of six months, Diane, crossed the country with everything they owned in a small U-Haul truck and started a small church with Bible study meetings in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Pastor Bob continues to lead that church today-now with over 18,000 weekly attendees at four campuses in South Florida. Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale (
www.calvaryftl.org) has over eighty active ministries including addiction recovery, foster care, and reality discipleship.
The Active Word (
www.activeword.org) is the media outreach of the church.
Share with your friends
