Wayne Taylor: Continuing the Harvest - Calvary Chapel, Evangelism & Church Planting

[00:00:00] CGN is something that has always had a great hunger to spread the gospel far and wide around the world. And we love the lost in every single country, and that's our connection. And I really wanted to be

[00:00:18] supportive of Brian in his role, and all the other guys now who are going out because people are going everywhere. And it's exciting. And I think we're on the verge of seeing another great awakening,

[00:00:33] much like the Jesus movement. I think in some ways our culture is worse than it was when our Jesus movement happened and to us, you know, it's still happening, right? But there's others that really need to be blessed.

[00:01:21] Who we are as a network. In this episode, we speak with Wayne Taylor, as the founding pastor of Calvary Fellowship in Seattle, Washington, Wayne is part of the first generation of Calvary Chapel pastors. In his over 40 years of ministry, Wayne has been involved in planting over 50 churches

[00:01:39] in the Pacific Northwest in Europe and in Russia. Wayne is passionate about prayer and evangelism, and in this episode he shares about how the work of C.G.N is carrying on these important

[00:01:51] aspects of what the Calvary Chapel movement has been about since the beginning. Here's the episode. Welcome to the C.G.N Mission and Methods Podcast. My name is Nick Katie, and I'm joined by

[00:02:03] Pastor Brian Broderson. And today we are joined by another member of the C.G.N Executive Team, Pastor Wayne Taylor. I Wayne. Hey, good to see you Nick. Brian. Hi Wayne. Great to see you too.

[00:02:17] Wayne, tell us a little bit about yourself who you are, your background, where you serve currently and kind of the journey God's led you on up to this point. Yes, I'm in Seattle. I passed

[00:02:29] her the first Calvary in the Northwest. In Seattle for like 42 years and you know, I was just truly in shock of how the Lord was moving so intensely I had been to Southern California and

[00:02:46] seen that Jesus movement, you know, up close and personal and I talked to Chuck about, you know, we really need this in Seattle. And he said, well, just go up and if you need any

[00:03:00] encouragement, give me a call on all of that. Anyway, the Lord started doing some of the same amazing things which he always loves to do and that is reach people for his kingdom and just draw

[00:03:13] them in and then pouring out of his spirit and young people in particular, just began to overflow the church and her while it was just growing into a mega church and then the Lord kind of said,

[00:03:30] hey, all these, you know, larger cities and even some small ones there in the greater Seattle to go in the area, they need church it. You know, they may not drive all the way from some of

[00:03:43] these places to come here but if you have a good Bible teacher, a good pastor in all these cities. So the Lord just raised up guys and started sending them out and so we maintain the large size

[00:03:58] but then there were churches that started a 50, 100, 200 people in it and so it was just super great to see all these young guys stepping out and planting churches. And so anyway, now my

[00:04:14] sons take an over that work and I've been doing a lot of missionary work and speaking at other churches, the missionary work is extremely joyful. It's very, very much your pleasure, Brian and I

[00:04:31] have been doing missionary work and planting, you know, abroad for a long time and so we got really close through some of the conferences and things that we've done together. We had you out at our

[00:04:47] church in Colorado to talk about church planting once and tell our listeners how many churches have been planted through Calvary Fellowship. Well, let's see about last count might be around 50, three or four half abroad and half, you know, more local. So probably 26 or seven here in the

[00:05:08] North West and then, you know, another 25 abroad and where those located of the ones abroad. Yeah, well, what are the first church plan was Nick Long in Germany and he had this Christian rock band

[00:05:27] and they get given to all the schools because Germany's a Christian nation and so they allow and they allowed his, his band to come in and they wanted me to come in. I actually had us

[00:05:41] out of band for a little while as well, but mainly to preach and stuff. And so many young people came to the Lord, Nick is quite an evangelist and that the young guys again were coming in

[00:05:52] gals and they were just, you know, sharing and spreading it and that was the first one in Europe and then there were others in Europe and then France, one of our elders, air patron Yani,

[00:06:08] he was starting to feel like God wanted him and Nancy to go and planted something on the Riviera, which he has done and it's one of the largest churches. It's the largest church on the Riviera

[00:06:18] and also very large church in France. So and it's evangelical and so since then another five have started in France and Russia, Brian, Brian and Chuck and I forget there might be one other guy

[00:06:35] came up to me but I remember Brian saying, well Wayne, we're planting, we're starting to plant churches. We have ongoing in Moscow and they might have had another one also I can't remember

[00:06:45] but we need one he said in Saint Petersburg and so we put the word out and it's you know, it's just mushroomed. I mean overnight you could, you could seriously have a hundred two

[00:07:00] people coming to a Bible study after just a few days of preaching the gospel. It was right after the fall of the Soviet Union so the people especially the young people were just excited for

[00:07:14] what's going on in the world and and and what's it like to be free and so we came through and we were just rocking it for Jesus and yeah and so that got started and another one got started

[00:07:28] and then there were eight more that got started in more inland. You know Wayne, you think about that and I've heard I've heard a few people say this recently and I think yeah I think there's some

[00:07:39] truth to you know we you came in like you mentioned you came to Calvary in the right in the probably the moment when the Jesus people thing was really exploding church was full of young people

[00:07:55] Pastor Chuck was kind of at his height of just you know evangelism and all of that stuff was going on music coming out of here right in left bands, Maranaka music it started so

[00:08:09] you were here for that I came in a little bit later than that but then I think both of us got to experience a bit of a Jesus people movement in Europe as well because you know like you're saying

[00:08:20] I mean we were on the streets of Eastern European cities or cities in the former Soviet Union and you know we were preaching the gospel to hundreds of people and I remember one time in

[00:08:31] Nick you would appreciate this because you lived in Hungary for all those years being in the city of by a hungry and having 5,000 bibles that we gave away in 10 minutes I mean it was that

[00:08:44] crazy how hungry people were for the work you know and so that was unusual to say the least found ourselves kind of plopped down in that and you know things have changed over time obviously

[00:08:58] and it's not exactly like that anymore but we hope it we hope for another out-porn of the spirit Wayne one of the things that you're really passionate about and one of the things that you're leading

[00:09:09] with C.G.N. are these kind of global prayer times and like a lot a lot of the fruit from those decades ago when we were doing all of that stuff you're meeting with still some of those same

[00:09:24] guys on a monthly basis and praying for friends and praying for Germany and praying for Russia and Ukraine and you know all kinds of other places as well yeah you know what when you think of it

[00:09:40] it all springs from the presence of God in Jesus in the Holy Spirit and when you couple that was the idea that you as a person individually need God really bad yes no matter how long you've been

[00:09:57] walking with him we agree whatever's happening you need him really bad and the cool thing is he's the answer to your personal anxieties or insecurities or or just nasty attitudes you know one

[00:10:13] thing that that I've been thinking about lately is when you're praying and talking to God in so often Paul would speak for the Lord and say grace to you and peace from God our Father and from

[00:10:27] the Lord Jesus Christ you know he would say that and I've been thinking how do you know if you're really receiving grace personal how do you know if that's that's happening and I think if you have you'll be

[00:10:41] you'll be more of a graceful person you know you're gonna you're gonna be pleasant to a certain to be around but graceful in the sense of security and God's love and not only that you'll be a

[00:10:55] grateful person you'll be thankful so really if you're not graceful or you're not grateful you need more grace you really do and you need to you know acknowledge that need and and receive

[00:11:11] them so that I've been learning that personally in my life because you know doing a lot of these things that require travel and require planning and stuff like that I don't have like you

[00:11:24] guys have assistance this is one thing when you when you're a lead pastor senior pastor you've got assistance you know and I don't even know how to do ministry digitally hardly at all but I did it

[00:11:37] you know quite a bit but through other people you know I don't have an assistant now you know like me and Kathy doesn't want to do it so I'm getting a little bit better but you know this whole

[00:11:50] thing of thankfulness not only to God but there are people around us who've been encouraging to us whether they be friends or other pastors or or just Christian people we know you know when we do

[00:12:05] those Christian prayer meetings and things we may have anywhere from over 100 people to maybe 25 30 and you get to know these people and they are so hungry to help their families and to help

[00:12:21] the people at the churches and they're just super grateful and graceful people and it's a better than to have gratitude than it is to have attitude that's well I'm sure yeah I'm so glad you're doing

[00:12:36] that I'm glad the Lord put that on your heart I'm glad you've been even really faithful with doing it and I think it is it's so essential because you know we can get into all of our strategies and plans

[00:12:48] and and structures and things which are all fine but man we need to pray we need the power of God right yeah I'll just jump in and say yeah this one of the things I really appreciate about cgn

[00:13:01] is the importance of prayer it's not just like a nod to the idea that praying is good and we should do it but you know we've mentioned with Nate Holdridge when we spoke with him he mentioned some of our

[00:13:12] our gatherings like we have executive team gatherings and one of the things I tell people coming out of those is like you know prayer was given a place of priority it wasn't just like we should

[00:13:23] we should go around a circle and pray but it was like let's spend some dedicated time yeah and I really appreciate that I think that says a lot about values and it says a lot about dependence on

[00:13:34] the Holy Spirit yeah yeah one of the things I would I thought would be good you know with Wayne especially because with with the network itself when we're talking a little bit about you know cgn and kind

[00:13:46] of what you're passionate about cgn and so forth and so Wayne you know has really been with me from the get go with cgn he I mean we were right alongside of each other in uh in the position as

[00:14:02] members on the the cc accounts all and so forth and then when the Lord put it on my heart to kind of step away Wayne was right there pretty much alongside of me and when we did that together

[00:14:12] and Wayne now I would just ask you you know I mean that was back in 2016 here we are in 2023 now how do you feel about all of that today you feel like that was a the right move that we made

[00:14:27] are you still excited about what the Lord's doing with that decision and all. Oh wow I'm I'm super happy in in our our movement of course there are help re guys that are maybe plugged into a little different stream I still love those guys

[00:14:49] but what what the Lord's shown us to do and to like you said give grace and you know just really not create you know a situation where I know I battle pride like anyone I battle you know

[00:15:08] the desire to be significant or whatever that's not our pursuit there is great significance in serving the Lord but the main thing is helping others become what God wants them to be and so yeah I really enjoyed being with Brian like he said we got together early

[00:15:31] and the Lord had already linked our hearts through missionary work and just as brothers in the leadership of Calvary under Chuck he was one of the guys and we were I was one of the guys that he you

[00:15:46] know took under his wing brides really relational and this is this is something I would also really encourage is be relational with people and be pleasant seriously if you have a meaning

[00:15:59] and you meet up with people they should have a better sense of nearness to God after they've been with you right then then before I mean because a lot of times people have great need and so

[00:16:15] the Lord's meeting your need then you do it and then when you're in need you know he'll do it for you so we just really appreciate it C. G. N is something that has always had a great hunger to

[00:16:30] spread it far and wide around the world and we we love the lost in every single country and that's our connection that's part of our connection and I really wanted to be supportive of Brian

[00:16:46] in his role and all the other guys now who are going out because people are going everywhere and it's it's exciting and I think we're on the verge of seeing well another great awakening

[00:17:00] much like the Jesus movement I think in some ways our culture is worse than it was when our Jesus movement happened and to us you know it's still happening right but there's others that really

[00:17:16] need to be blessed so yeah it's really been good I don't regret it's thing I like reaching out to my brothers in other movements that's the no thing I like about C. G. N is you know working with

[00:17:32] A. G. working with reform people we working with real Christians who want to spread the kingdom and the gospel is okay we don't have to agree on every little point but non-essentials we can you know give grace and they're on the essentials you know we want to

[00:17:52] definitely make sure that we're believing all that he has given us to believe in the gospel so yeah no Queen what does life look like for you right now you're no longer in the day to day of

[00:18:04] pasturing one local church what what is your life look like what he involved in you know it it's varied but because I left maybe what four or five years ago from the senior pastor role

[00:18:16] and at the first little bit I was speaking like all over to calvaries around the nation and such and doing some missionary work and then a church lost their pastor in a difficult situation so

[00:18:34] I stepped in they want to meet to do an interim pastor thing and I've done that and I'm still doing that but fortunately I've also asked them I say you know I really need to travel too because

[00:18:47] I'm linked up with a lot of people and I want to come alongside and just really encourage them and so if you don't mind I'm not going to be able to be here every every week site I

[00:18:59] miss probably once or sometimes twice a month but that's one thing but then the traveling and you know he's open doors to go places I haven't gone yet like the brother down in Rosarito who spoke at

[00:19:13] our last conference awesome guy that was Mike Vincent yes yeah so I'm trying to get freed up more and do those those kinds of things and some of the Lord's opening those doors yeah it's I

[00:19:29] I love being a missionary believe it or not I was kind of worried like how did they get paid you know and when you're a pastor you don't really have to worry about it that much and then I realized

[00:19:42] they they would always tell me hey God will provide and he'll bring people and you know he's done that then you're living the full missionary experience man you're just having to

[00:19:55] he's got so Lord for your your daily bread I have a guy on staff with me who is a missionary for long time and he told me that when he came to the US his biggest concern was that he would

[00:20:08] not have to live by faith anymore because he would be getting a salary and he's actually concerned about that he felt like that actually that that low key anxiety of like how much money is

[00:20:19] going to come in this month was good for him it kept him on his knees that is so true and that's been the story the whole time and I don't ask for money really you know I I've never been good at taking

[00:20:32] offerings none of that you're not asking for money right now are you no okay oh hey Wayne I got another question for you what would you say to a church right I think there's just

[00:20:46] there's something special about you that I hope that you can kind of convey in words let me give you a few examples the church that you're a part of you know you guys did a lot of investing

[00:20:55] in church planting and raising up leaders and now you started a Bible College campus up there and and there's also some about you individual that I remember you came out to our church in Colorado

[00:21:06] and you spoke we had three services and you you gave a time in an opportunity for people to respond to the gospel and each of those services I was kind of nervous about the first one because our

[00:21:17] first one was the lightest attended always was you know and you gave a response and I'm looking out I'm like I know all these people in this room and yet some of them responded right there was

[00:21:28] there was something about it where you gave a response an opportunity to respond and they did and then I'm thinking about this idea that lots of churches also have resources and yet your church that had resources decided to use them in this way which was to

[00:21:44] plant churches raise up leaders do missions what would you what would you say to church leaders like what what is the unique message that you would have for church leaders to think about or or to consider

[00:21:57] and and really in this sense too you know why is it a good thing for your church to be involved in missions to be involved evangelistically rather than just focusing on you know your own

[00:22:09] local church that's a great question each each man or woman is going to have their own gifts and talents and the Lord does give spiritual gifts in my case it's a drive for evangelism that

[00:22:28] is natural you know it's I mean it's it's a it's a definite gift he wants me doing I can't honestly I'm one of these guys that I I picture people in hell it's horrible it's I can't even

[00:22:42] imagine and it's like I want to say to every Christian have mercy on your neighbor they may go to hell you know I mean it's not the only thing but it's it's a drive that God loves these people

[00:22:57] and we don't want to waste what Jesus did but at least giving them the opportunity you know to receive the gospel and then in churches there's two things who knows what's happening they

[00:23:11] maybe backsliding they may have not there might be some problem in their faith where they're not really letting him be Lord and and so they don't have the assurance of salvation and so I'll do

[00:23:29] that at churches or wherever I feel like every opportunity I will do it because people might bring friends and and that best sort of thing so it's just a passion now other people this is what I

[00:23:41] try to tell pastors and leaders that you may be a really good counselor and maybe you get up there and when you teach the word they are students and they are healed and it's fantastic but there's

[00:23:56] people out there that really need your psychology of who God is and what Jesus did to heal people's mind and lives because honestly people are so wacked out these days that unless Jesus heals their brain

[00:24:15] and their passions and their emotions they're going to have a horrible life that we're in that I think at least in the in America and so that's another way you can be an evangelist or maybe

[00:24:29] you're just a really good you know you're have another particular gift this spirit you can use it to evangelize it doesn't have to be that you're a full on full-scale evangelist so I really would love it

[00:24:44] and I think I'm I'm trying to articulate the Lord's heart he wants people to come to you come to me he's always always saying that come to me and I'll give you rest so did that answer the

[00:24:59] question yeah thank you that's really good Wayne what do you excited about for the future of CGM you know a lot of the the same things in the early days and I'm seeing it I'm seeing the you get excited

[00:25:13] about Jesus and and become friends with mobs of other people that want to receive the Lord like my son Riley his church is just multiplying the one he he took over for me and it went through

[00:25:28] COVID shortly after he you know became the senior pastor and it it shrunk I mean it was really difficult plus there was this transition and there's always change in transition well now it's come to a

[00:25:44] point where it's just really cruising on all cylinders in terms of of people coming and being drawn in so yeah I'm I'm really looking forward to that I want us to keep planting throughout the country

[00:26:00] but also a broad church planting I think is I don't even know you know I didn't even know about church planting I was raised and church my whole life and I didn't know anything about it I got

[00:26:13] involved listening to Chuck and then I made friends with some of the guys like Brian and you know some of the guys that are planting churches and Tom stipend different guys you know he was one of

[00:26:26] the first guys over there in Colorado with the gallery right Tom was my pastor yeah and so they were going out I just it's just the joy to see that and then to hook up and in meetings and things once you've

[00:26:42] already started on that path of reaching out because the missionary work is so so joyful it's not it's hard but it's so joyful because you're spreading something the only hope the absolute only hope

[00:27:02] of people so I've been studying in first-less lones and it's it's like I thank my god always for you for your work of faith your labor of love and your steadfast hope in Jesus Christ who saves us

[00:27:21] from the rat that is to come you know I don't even I don't even think or worry about God's rat at all I love His discipline and correction it's not pleasant all the time but I never think

[00:27:38] about I'm not accepted by God or approved by God because He's placed us in Jesus and that's where all our trust is. Yeah I mean you know there's one thing that you said it kind of triggered a thought

[00:27:52] with just you know sort of sort of looking ahead and and talking about the the sense you know we all have a longing to see something happen beyond what our efforts can produce you know we recognize that

[00:28:12] we really need God's help and God of course is helping us all the time if we're depending on him that's gonna do you know he is he is helping us but we look around it are at our cultural moment

[00:28:24] and we just think Lord you know would you please break through this this craziness that we're in the midst of and you know when I always have loved that part of you you know your your an evangelist at

[00:28:38] hearts and you you love preaching the gospel you love seeing people come to Jesus and you know church planting all this stuff we're talking about I mean it really comes down to that's the goal right

[00:28:50] I mean the goal is to stay the kingdom of God's bread one person at a time and I'm just I'm thankful that that remains your heart and that you're committed to that and you know I think at

[00:29:03] at the stage in life you know when when you say I passed through my church for 42 years people are like gosh how old is this guy probably that's a long time but I've been passed through for 42 years now as

[00:29:17] well and so we're we're getting older but you said earlier and I think this is what I want to finish on what and and I think you know you know this I know this guy who are our age or relative of

[00:29:30] a close to our age what we want to do is we want to pour into the next generation you know I'm not at this stage of my life I'm not trying to I need to build a bigger ministry for myself I need

[00:29:41] a bigger platform I need a bigger church I mean that is not even in my thinking process my thinking is Lord how can I take you know the life experiences that you've given me my passion for the gospel and all

[00:29:53] of that and how can I just pour it into other people and that's your heart way as long as the Lord gives us grace we're going to keep doing it. Thanks for this evening to this episode of the

[00:30:08] CGM mission and methods podcast in our next episode Pastor Brian and I will be speaking with Ted Levin worth. Ted is the lead pastor of reliance church in Temecula, California prior to planting

[00:30:21] reliance Ted worked as an EMT and served as an executive pastor and he will be sharing about how these experiences in these other roles shape his approach to ministry today new episodes are released every

[00:30:34] two weeks so make sure you subscribe to the podcast so these episodes will be delivered to your devices as soon as they come out we'd love to hear your feedback on these episodes you can email us

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