Leadership

Pastor Sam is the senior pastor at Calvary Chapel Chico and teaches the Bible studies on Saturday evening, Sunday morning and Wednesday night. He also leads worship during Saturday evening services. Pastor Sam’s Bible studies and services reflect his dedication to, and love of the Word of God. His every effort is directed to glorifying our Lord and leading all who would hear to the Mercy and Grace of God. Pastor Sam studied at the School of Ministry at Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa under the tutelage of Pastor Chuck Smith, until God led him to Northern California where he worked for a couple of years as assistant pastor in a church in Yuba City. After gaining experience there, he moved on to Chico to shepherd the church the Lord is establishing here. Over the years, Sam has seen this body grow from a few believers meeting in one room to a large congregation bulging at the seams of a ten-screen multiplex theater, and we still continue to grow. 

Pastor Bud was raised as a Christian Scientist, but met Jesus Christ at the age of 17 on the lawn of his high school through a hippy evangelist. A year later he met and married his wife, Janelle, then fell away from the Lord and lived a wild life for 13 years. Empty and miserable, on the verge of divorce he repented and returned to the Lord in 1985 and has been on staff at Calvary Chapel Chico since October of 1989 and served as the youth pastor until 1996. Since then his duties have been to assist Pastor Sam by overseeing the Men’s Ministry and overseeing the ushers and safety team and serving as a chaplain with Chico Police Department. Throughout the week he teaches premarital classes along with his wife Janelle, conducts weddings and funerals, and provides Biblical instruction for couples and men. Pastor Bud developed and leads a ministry called God’s Man’s Boot Camp which is a discipleship ministry designed to connect men with men and help them establish godly disciplines in their lives. Pastor Bud says, “Since returning to the Lord, He has made sure that my life is anything but boring or uneventful.” He also points out that it helps that God has blessed him with Janelle, “a wonderful wife who loves me and the Lord.” He has been married for over 45 years (to the same woman by God’s grace) and has two adult sons, two daughters in law and 5 grandchildren. Bud has no formal credentials, just a BD (Back of the Desert) degree. He has been a voracious student of the Scriptures since realizing his desperate need for a true relationship with Jesus and loves to tell everyone he meets about the hope he found in Jesus. 

I grew up in San Mateo, CA, which is 20 miles south of San Francisco. Our home was a good family home and I remember both my mom and dad as loving parents and good providers. Like most families, we had our share of trauma and failings, which from time to time brought a lot of heartache into our home.
With the exception of my dad, we were practicing Catholics. I attended both Catholic grade school and high school. I remember having a childlike faith in my early grade school years, believing that Jesus truly was God and that He died for my sins. But that belief was mostly ignored from my early teens until my young adulthood. I attended Chico State in 1976 and have lived in Chico since that time.
I met my wife Konnie, while finishing up at Chico State. After a prolonged courtship, I came to my senses…Konnie said ‘Yes’ and we married.
It was around 1 year into our marriage that God, through many ways and through many people, drew me to Him. He convicted me of my sins and my need for Him.
The Holy Spirit seemed to be working simultaneously in both my life and in Konnie’s life. Eventually, after attending Calvary Chapel Chico for a few weeks, we both said ‘Yes’ to Jesus. When Sam gives an invitation to receive Christ and uses the phrase ’10,000 pound arm syndrome’, it resonates for both Konnie and I. What is it in our hearts that makes us fight against saying ‘Yes’ to the greatest person we could ever know? Our new life in Jesus had begun. I was 30 years old and Konnie was 26.
After 2 years attending Calvary, we were baptized at our church’s old site, on 16th & Hemlock. This was in response to Jesus’ instruction to ‘believe and be baptized’. Though I had been baptized as an infant, I wasn’t able to ‘believe’ as an infant. So having made a grown up decision to place my faith in Jesus, it followed that we should also be baptized to proclaim our faith in Him.
Before our baptism, we were blessed with the arrival of the first of our 3 kids. Around this time Konnie & I both were feeling the need to be involved to a greater degree in the work of ministry. It became clear to both of us that Jesus calls us to be servants. We also found out, that as we obey His commands, there is tremendous blessing for the believer.
Since those amazing days Konnie & I have been blessed to serve for many years, in many different areas of ministry at Calvary. Most of that time our service has been in the area of Children’s Ministry, where we find ourselves serving today. I have also served as an Elder and Board Member of our church for a number of years.
It has been amazing through many seasons, to see the faithfulness of God in honoring His Word. I am very thankful that our Pastor is committed to upholding God’s Word and proclaiming it, in season and out of season. 

My name is Janelle Chauvin and I have been married to Pastor Bud for 45 years. I am proudly the Mom of two amazing sons, two wonderful daughters-in-law (who are more than daughters to me!) and I have five brilliant grandchildren. Through an act of divine grace, God has called me to serve Him as the Women’s Ministry Director. I was born in 1952 and raised primarily in Chico. I went to Oakdale Elementary (which has since been torn down due to old age!), attended Chico Junior High and graduated from Chico High School in 1970. Mrs. Pierce, my 12th grade English teacher, saw in me a spiritually bankrupt soul deeply desperate for love and belonging. As she talked with me, she lovingly told me that the Person I was looking for was the Lord Jesus. I was shocked! I thought He was dead because I had always seen Him defeated and dead on the cross at the church I attended as a small child. She said, “Oh no honey, He’s alive and reigning as King right now! He loves you! He’s been calling your name, waiting for you to call upon Him! He has the authority to forgive all your sins and to give you everlasting life. All He’s been waiting for is your permission!” Permission indeed…absolutely! I surrendered my heart to Jesus and began to walk with Him. These past 46 years, my life as a believer has been full of personal defeats and great victories. I backslid for many years and tore my marriage apart with my own two hands. Even after returning to church, it took several years for me to face my own sins of pride, jealousy, bitterness and unforgiveness. Through the Lord’s abundant grace, He has forgiven me and fully restored my marriage. I am so overwhelmed by all that God can accomplish with willing hearts! As the years have passed, He continues to prove to me that His grace is greater than my sin. Because of Jesus, I now stand unashamed…finally willing to spend the unlimited riches of His mercy.