On the secular plane, there was the sexual revolution (from skirts to blue jeans at school, work, and everywhere), the surge of promiscuity with the birth control pill, the hippie movement, Vietnam, riots in the streets, the Civil Rights Movement, the race to space, well-publicized assassinations of well-known men, drugs, overdoses of celebrities, and on and on.
On the spiritual plane, there were the Jesus Movement, the Charismatic Movement with outstanding leaders like musicians such as Andre Crouch, conversions of celebrities (Keith Green, et al), megachurches, and the phenomenon of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church and Evangelism Explosion.
Here is a historical record of decisions made to grow the Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. While it may seem tedious to read, it is a record of events that made tremendous impact in that area and also in the world. Since God put 2 books of Chronicles in His Bible, maybe He likes a well organized account in chronological order.
Keep in mind that this was a church that was booming. People had to wait in line to get into a service. Evangelism Explosion teams were really "exploding." The pastor went out weekly with teams of three people of at least ONE FEMALE, in order to get people to open the door. (A pregnant female was even more non-threatening.) This was a new concept of sending teams to evangelize and to propagate their ministry. They did not use a single person trying one-on-one to spread the message of a free salvation through faith alone in the shed blood of Jesus Christ.
The church made the decision to leave a denomination they loved (Presbyterian Church of America, PCUSA) which had become more liberal, to join a new effort to remain conservative, the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA).
This history is also a lesson to Christians everywhere to remember that Jesus Christ loves His church, with all its varieties. Each group may have a denomination tag, but a friend of mine assured me that there is a waste basket just inside heaven's door. In it go all the denominational tags (Catholic, Baptist, Anglican, Presbyterian, Methodist, Pentecostal, Church of Christ, Charismatic, etc. etc.).
Now for a closer look at Coral Ridge.
CHRONOLOGY BEGINS HERE:
A Timeline of Events in the Life of Coral Ridge
June 22, 1959 - First worship service in McNab School, D. James Kennedy, Pastor.
May 22, 1960 - Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church officially chartered.
July 31, 1960 - Rev. D. James Kennedy, now formally ordained, is officially installed as minister of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church.
FROM RENTED FACILITIES TO ITS OWN PROPERTY:
October 1961 - Groundbreaking ceremony for the new church building situated on two and one half acres of land on Commercial Blvd.
May 13, 1962 - The new church building is dedicated; sanctuary capacity of 500.
1966 - An annex is added to the sanctuary increasing the capacity by 300 persons.
LARGER FACILITIES:
1967 - Ten acres along Federal Highway (US1) are purchased for the building of a larger church facility.
April 11, 1971 (Easter Sunday) - Groundbreaking for new church facility on Federal Highway. Mr. Harold Wagoner of Philadelphia, Penn. is selected as the architect.
December 23, 1973 - First service is held in the new church building on Federal Highway with 8,000 in attendance.
February 3, 1974 - The new church building is officially dedicated. Dr. Billy Graham delivers the dedication address to an over-flow crowd of 11,000 people. Nearly 600 decisions for Christ are recorded.
CHANGE IN DENOMINATION:
January 8, 1978 - Coral Ridge votes to leave the denomination known as the Presbyterian Church, U.S. and unites with the newly formed, more theologically conservative denomi-nation known as the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA).
EXPANDING BUILDING FACILITIES:
Easter Sunday, 1988 - Groundbreaking ceremony for flanking expansions added to the main church sanctuary.
December 1989 - The church facility expansion project, which added the flanking, matching structures on either side of the sanctuary is completed.
OUT OF DEBT:
November 3, 1996 - Church mortgage-burning ceremony.
DEATH OF FOUNDING PASTOR:
September 5, 2007 - Dr. Kennedy enters into the presence of God in Heaven.
You can view Coral Ridge ministries at www.crpc.org.
FINAL REMARKS:
The chronological information above was provided by the courtesy of a personal friend, Mr. Rick Habegger, an eye witness of the astounding growth of Coral Ridge. He was one who once had to wait in line to enter the services, along with the new wife God gave him at Coral Ridge.
According to www.evangelismexplosion.org, "In early 1996 EE was planted in all nations of the world. Materials have been translated into more than 70 different languages and clinics have been held in many nations."
Jesus said that He works, and His Father works also. (John 5:17) Was He ever busy in the 1960s!