Chuck Smith may have surgery to remove cancer from his lungs. The Calvary Chapel movement’s founder has been receiving radiation and chemotherapy treatment.
“Yesterday I went to my dad’s appointment with the surgeon. He gave us the good news that the cancer is now confined to a much smaller tumor and it has disappeared from the lymph areas where it had spread. PTL!,” Janette Smith Manderson, Smith’s daughter, posted in the Facebook group Praying for Chuck Smith.
“The doctor would like to remove the middle lobe of Dad’s right lung, to remove all the cancer that is left, down to the last cell. However, Dad needs a few more tests to see if surgery is safe right now. If not, then there are other good options that we will pursue. Your continued prayers for God’s perfect will in each step of this journey mean so much to us. We are eternally grateful—yes, literally!”
Smith, 84, is senior pastor of Calvary Chapel in Costa Mesa, Calif. He shocked his congregation in January when he revealed he was battling lung cancer. He is also widely known as the founder of the Jesus People Revolution in Southern California.
The Praying for Chuck Smith Facebook group has more than 8,100 members—and they are actively praying.
“We pray for Pastor Chuck every time we listen to his Bible CDs—which is almost every day! And on the days we miss, we keep praying! We love you Pastor Chuck!” wrote Linda Owen on the group page.
Smith opened the doors to Calvary Church in 1965. The first service had only 25 people. Today, nearly 10,000 people attend the Costa Mesa church weekly and Calvary Churches have spread across the United States and around the world.
