Our History – A Lesson on God’s Sovereignty

Our history is a story of the sovereignty of God. It is a story of prayer and seeking God’s will. It is a story of being content and obedient to God’s calling. It is a story that reveals to us once again that God’s ways are higher than our ways. Praise be to God for the wonderful works that He has done.

In 2000, Bunjee Garrett believed that God would one day call him to pastor a Calvary Chapel in South Austin. Though Bunjee believed that God had put this church plant on his heart, he wanted the confirmation of being sent out by his pastor. Two years passed when two visitors from Prescott, Arizona stopped by Calvary Austin. Damien and Erica Clark had come to Austin to prayerfully consider planting a Calvary Chapel in South Austin. Their prayers were confirmed and in June of 2002, the Clark’s arrived and started a Bible study at their house in South Austin. God was blessing the South Austin plant under the leadership of Pastor Damien and by the end of 2003, Calvary South Austin had moved into the Dittmar Rec Center.

In 2004, Pastor Bunjee decided to start a monthly Bible study in South Austin. This Bible study (Generator) focused on being a Christian artist. Bunjee and Brenda began to spend time driving around South Austin praying for South Austinites to know Jesus as their savior. They prayed that God would grow the Generator Bible Study and that God would clearly direct them if they were to plant a church. Generator grew to fill the room that they were meeting in and in December of 2004, Bunjee announced that the next Generator Bible Study must take place at another location. He wasn’t sure where they would meet, but he was sure that they had outgrown the room at Casting Works LA. Bunjee was trusting God to provide larger space within a month.

During the same period of time, in June of 2004, Pastor Damien signed a new lease and began to renovate a warehouse space on South Congress Blvd, one mile south of where the Generator Bible Study was meeting. The members of Calvary South Austin were diligently working to clean up and prepare their new building. Meanwhile, Damien and Erica began to be drawn back to Prescott, Arizona. They believed their work in Austin was finished and so Damien began to pray and seek God to provide a pastor to replace him.

In December of 2004, Damien arranged a meeting with Bunjee’s pastor to ask if he would send Bunjee to continue the work that had been started in 2002. He agreed that this was God’s will and scheduled a meeting with Bunjee to reveal this new turn of events. This was exactly the confirmation that Bunjee had been praying for. In January of 2005, Bunjee moved the Generator Bible Study one mile south on Congress to the Calvary South Austin facility and in February of 2005, Bunjee assumed the position as senior pastor of Calvary South Austin. Bunjee began the affiliation process and in April 2005, Calvary South Austin was accepted as a Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa affiliate.