On Sunday, the Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa board officially commissioned Char (Brian Charles) Brodersen as the new Lead Pastor of the Orange County-based church. The special ceremony recognizing Char’s new role occurred during the morning gatherings in front of the congregation, who were led in a prayer to affirm the appointment.
Pastor Char assumes the role from his father, Brian Brodersen, who stepped down on January 5, 2025, after 11 years as the Senior Pastor. In January 2023, father and son outlined to the congregation their two-year transition plan, which called for Char to assume increasing leadership responsibilities over the period.
On Sunday, in keeping with the church’s bylaws, board members Blake Barnes, Brian Brodersen, Steve Ganem, Ben Lozano, Mike Mugavero, and Sarah Warren commissioned Char after they unanimously voted to install the 41-year-old as Lead Pastor in December 2024.
I cannot begin to express my deep gratitude for all the love, encouragement, and affirmation throughout this transition. I recognize this is a huge task that lies before us, but I am confident that God goes before us and will be with us. I recently heard it said, “At times life will be wonderful and at times life will be terrible, and the only thing I know for sure is that the wonderful and the terrible are infinitely better with the right people by your side.”
I am so thankful for my wife, my children, my parents, my friends, the staff of Calvary Chapel, and the congregation, and I am ready to embrace both the wonderful and the terrible with you. I expect God to be with us all the way.
—Char Brodersen, Lead Pastor
Char will now lead the storied church that began in Costa Mesa in 1961 as a group of just 25. Five years later, his grandfather, Chuck Smith, was installed to shepherd the small assembly that would soon welcome thousands in a period known as the Jesus Movement. With Chuck’s passing in 2013, Brian Brodersen was appointed the ministry’s new leader and will now transition into the role of Pastor Emeritus. Before rejoining the staff at Calvary Chapel in January 2021, Char served as Lead Pastor at Refuge Christian Fellowship in Santa Rosa, California, for 14 years. He recently completed a Masters in Biblical Leadership at Western Seminary.
Char is married to Grace, and the couple has three children: Judah, Hudson, and Evelyn.
To watch the video of the commissioning, click here.
For questions and inquiries, please email info@cccm.com.
