Brian Brodersen (born 1958) is an American pastor and Bible teacher who led Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa, the flagship church of the Calvary Chapel movement, from 2013 to 2025.
As son-in-law to the late Chuck Smith and president of the Calvary Global Network, Brodersen guided the movement’s most influential congregation through the years after its founder’s death, a stretch marked by global church planting, a major denominational split, and no shortage of controversy over the movement’s direction.
[IMAGE: Brian Brodersen preaching at Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa]
Brian Brodersen at a Glance
| Personal | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Brian Brodersen |
| Born | 1958, Southern California, USA |
| Age | Approximately 67 to 68 (as of 2026) |
| Nationality | American |
| Spouse | Cheryl Brodersen, née Smith (m. May 23, 1980) |
| Children | Kristyn, Char (Brian Charles), Kelsey, Braden |
| Grandchildren | Five grandsons, one granddaughter |
| Father-in-law | Chuck Smith, founder of Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa |
| Education | |
| Graduate | M.A. in Ministry and Leadership, Wheaton College |
| Ministry | |
| Current title | Pastor Emeritus, Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa; President, Calvary Global Network |
| Church tenure | Senior Pastor, Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa (2013 to 2025) |
| Prior churches | Calvary Chapel Vista (1983 to 1996); Calvary Chapel Westminster, London (1996 to 2000) |
| Denomination | Calvary Chapel (non-denominational, Charismatic-adjacent) |
| Other roles | Chancellor, Calvary Chapel Bible College; Co-founder and Director, Creation Fest UK |
| Career | |
| Radio | Back to Basics; Pastors’ Perspective (co-host) |
| Books | Spiritual Warfare, Following Christ in the Modern World, Caught Up, Consuming Fire, and others |
| Net worth | Estimated $2 million to $5 million (unverified) |
Early Life and Background
Brian Brodersen was born in 1958 and raised in Southern California. He did not grow up in a churchgoing home in any serious sense, and he became a Christian relatively late by evangelical standards, at age 22, rather than through a childhood conversion.
After becoming a Christian, Brodersen began attending Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa, then led by its founding pastor, Chuck Smith.
He got involved in youth ministry and started teaching Bible studies, the same entry point that launched many of the young leaders who would go on to plant Calvary Chapel churches around the world during that era.
Meeting Cheryl Smith
Brodersen met his future wife, Cheryl, the youngest daughter of Chuck and Kay Smith, at a Bible study in Huntington Harbor.
Cheryl was 20 at the time, and their courtship moved through long walks, Bible study, and conversations about faith. Chuck Smith himself officiated their wedding at Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa on May 23, 1980.
Ministry Career
In 1983, Brian and Cheryl moved to Vista, California, where Brian took over as pastor of a small Calvary Chapel congregation.
The church grew quickly, and during those years Brodersen began traveling overseas for ministry work, first to Yugoslavia and Hungary, planting the seeds of what would become a much larger Calvary Chapel presence across Eastern Europe.
In 1996, the Brodersen family relocated to London to plant Calvary Chapel Westminster, a church that started small but eventually helped establish dozens of affiliated Calvary Chapel congregations across the United Kingdom.
In 2000, at Chuck Smith’s request, the family returned to California so Brian could begin working alongside his father-in-law directly at Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa, splitting his time between local ministry and international travel and teaching.
Taking Over Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa
Chuck Smith died on October 3, 2013, after a battle with lung cancer, at age 86. Five days later, on October 8, 2013, the church board appointed Brodersen, then 55, as the new senior pastor of Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa, the congregation widely regarded as the mother church of the entire Calvary Chapel movement.
Brodersen led the church for the next eleven years, continuing the movement’s emphasis on verse-by-verse Bible teaching while also expanding its global missions work through what became the Calvary Global Network.
He also took on the role of chancellor of Calvary Chapel Bible College and co-founded Creation Fest UK, an outdoor Christian music and teaching festival.
Rise to Prominence
Brodersen’s public profile grew substantially after 2013, both because of the size and history of Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa and because of his role steering the wider Calvary Chapel movement through the transition after its founder’s death.
He co-hosted the long-running call-in radio program Pastors’ Perspective and became the featured teacher on the daily Bible program Back to Basics, both of which extended his reach well beyond Southern California.
His international work, particularly the church-planting networks built out of his years in Eastern Europe and London, gave him a global reputation inside the Calvary Chapel movement that few American pastors of his generation could match.
Books and Publications
Brodersen has written a number of books focused on discipleship, spiritual growth, and practical theology. Notable titles include:
- Spiritual Warfare: Fighting the Good Fight of Faith
- Following Christ in the Modern World
- Caught Up: What the Bible Says About the Rapture
- Consuming Fire
- The Uniqueness of Jesus
- When God Became One of Us
- Growing Together as a Couple, co-written with Cheryl
- Excellence in Ministry
Personal Life
Marriage and Children
Brian and Cheryl Brodersen have four children: Kristyn, their eldest, born a year after their wedding; Char, whose full name is Brian Charles Brodersen; Kelsey; and Braden.
The family has grown to include two sons-in-law, two daughters-in-law, five grandsons, and one granddaughter.
Cheryl Brodersen has built her own public ministry alongside her husband’s, hosting the podcast Women Worth Knowing and leading Joyful Life, the women’s Bible study ministry originally started by her mother, Kay Smith.
Cheryl also co-hosts Pastors’ Perspective with Brian.
What Brian Brodersen Is Doing Now
On January 5, 2025, Brodersen stepped down as senior pastor of Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa, transitioning into the role of Pastor Emeritus.
The church’s board installed his son, Char Brodersen, then 41, as the new lead pastor a week later, on January 12, 2025, following a two-year transition plan the father and son had outlined to the congregation back in January 2023.
Brodersen remains president of the Calvary Global Network and chancellor of Calvary Chapel Bible College.
In 2025, he and Cheryl launched a new joint ministry called Echoes of Mercy, focused on encouraging believers through teaching, writing, and media, building on their decades of pastoral and discipleship work.
Theology and Ministry Philosophy
Brodersen holds to the core Calvary Chapel distinctives established under Chuck Smith: verse-by-verse expository Bible teaching, belief in the baptism of the Holy Spirit, a pre-tribulation view of the rapture, and an emphasis on grace-centered, servant-style church leadership rather than top-down denominational control.
Within that framework, Brodersen has been noted for a communication style and theological posture more open to engagement with the wider evangelical world than some in the Calvary Chapel movement preferred.
Observers have described his emphasis as centered more on the Gospel message itself than on the specific behavioral and cultural distinctives that some older Calvary Chapel pastors treated as central to the movement’s identity.
Influence and Legacy: Did Calvary Chapel Split?
Yes, the Calvary Chapel movement split during Brodersen’s tenure. Prior to Chuck Smith’s death, a group of pastors had already formed the Calvary Chapel Association (CCA), aimed at preserving Smith’s original vision and distinctives as closely as possible.
After Smith’s passing, Brodersen led the formation of the Calvary Global Network (CGN) as a separate structure, one more focused on global missions coordination and, according to critics, more open to cultural and theological engagement outside the traditional Calvary Chapel mold.
The two networks now operate as parallel structures within the broader Calvary Chapel family, sharing historical roots and core doctrine but differing in governance philosophy and, at times, in tone.
Both networks include large numbers of affiliated churches, and individual congregations have aligned with one network, the other, both, or neither since the split solidified in the years following 2013.
Criticism and Controversies
Brodersen’s leadership has drawn sustained criticism from a more conservative wing of the Calvary Chapel movement, particularly tied to the 2020 CGN Leadership Statement on Racism.
Critics on blogs and forums associated with the Calvary Chapel Association camp accused Brodersen and CGN leadership of adopting language associated with critical race theory and broader “social justice” frameworks, a charge frequently summarized online as Brodersen being “woke,” a label he and CGN leadership have not embraced themselves.
Brodersen has also faced criticism for participating in conferences and events alongside evangelical leaders from outside the traditional Calvary Chapel circle, a practice some critics viewed as a departure from the more separatist posture Chuck Smith maintained during his decades leading the movement.
Supporters counter that Brodersen’s willingness to engage the wider evangelical world, and his focus on gospel essentials over secondary distinctives, has helped Calvary Chapel’s global missions work continue to grow at a time when many of its Southern California congregations, including Costa Mesa itself, saw declining attendance in the years after Smith’s death.
Net Worth
Public estimates place Brian Brodersen’s net worth somewhere between $2 million and $5 million, based on his decades of pastoral compensation, book royalties, and speaking engagements.
No independently verified figure has been published, and Flicxa treats this range as an estimate rather than a confirmed number.
Interesting Facts About Brian Brodersen
- He did not become a Christian until age 22, later than many well-known Calvary Chapel leaders of his generation
- Chuck Smith personally officiated Brian and Cheryl’s wedding in 1980
- He helped launch Calvary Chapel’s outreach into Eastern Europe, starting with trips to Yugoslavia and Hungary in the 1980s
- He planted a church in London, England, located near Buckingham Palace and the Houses of Parliament
- He handed leadership of Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa directly to his own son, Char, continuing a family succession that started with his father-in-law, Chuck Smith
Timeline of Key Events
- 1958: Born in Southern California
- 1980, age 22: Becomes a Christian and starts attending Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa
- May 23, 1980: Marries Cheryl Smith, officiated by her father, Chuck Smith
- 1981: First child, Kristyn, is born
- 1983: Becomes pastor of Calvary Chapel Vista, California
- 1996: Moves to London to plant Calvary Chapel Westminster
- 2000: Returns to California to work alongside Chuck Smith at Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa
- October 3, 2013: Chuck Smith dies at age 86
- October 8, 2013: Brodersen is appointed senior pastor of Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa
- 2020: CGN Leadership Statement on Racism draws sharp criticism from the Calvary Chapel Association camp
- January 2023: Brodersen and his son Char announce a two-year succession plan
- January 5, 2025: Steps down as senior pastor, becomes Pastor Emeritus
- January 12, 2025: Char Brodersen is installed as Lead Pastor of Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa
- 2025: Brian and Cheryl launch the Echoes of Mercy ministry
Frequently Asked Questions
What happened to Pastor Brian Brodersen?
Brodersen stepped down as senior pastor of Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa on January 5, 2025, after 11 years leading the church. He transitioned into the role of Pastor Emeritus and remains active in ministry through the Calvary Global Network and other roles.
What is Brian Brodersen doing now?
He serves as president of the Calvary Global Network, chancellor of Calvary Chapel Bible College, and co-founder of Creation Fest UK. In 2025, he and his wife, Cheryl, launched a new ministry called Echoes of Mercy.
Did Calvary Chapel split?
Yes. Following Chuck Smith’s death in 2013, the movement effectively split into two networks: the Calvary Chapel Association, which emphasizes preserving Smith’s original vision closely, and the Calvary Global Network, led by Brodersen, which places more emphasis on global missions coordination and broader evangelical engagement.
How old is Brian Brodersen?
Brodersen was born in 1958, making him approximately 67 or 68 years old as of 2026. His exact birth date has not been widely published.
Who is Brian Brodersen’s wife?
His wife is Cheryl Brodersen, the youngest daughter of Calvary Chapel founder Chuck Smith and his wife, Kay. Brian and Cheryl married on May 23, 1980, and have four children together.
Who is Brian Brodersen’s son-in-law?
This question usually reflects confusion in search terms, since Brodersen himself is the son-in-law in the family, having married Chuck Smith’s daughter Cheryl. Brodersen’s own son-in-laws are the husbands of his daughters, Kristyn and Kelsey, though their names have not been widely publicized.
Is Brian Brodersen woke?
Critics from the more conservative wing of the Calvary Chapel movement have applied that label to Brodersen, largely over the 2020 CGN Leadership Statement on Racism and his willingness to engage with evangelical leaders outside traditional Calvary Chapel circles. Brodersen and Calvary Global Network leadership have not accepted that characterization of their position.
Final Word
Brian Brodersen spent more than a decade carrying the Calvary Chapel movement through the hardest transition any organization faces, life after its founder. He kept the mother church running, grew its international missions work, and then did something his father-in-law never got to do himself: hand the pulpit directly to his own son while he was still alive to see it happen.
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