PHOCAL Church – The Potter’s House of Calgary

In 1970 Wayman and Nelda Mitchell moved to Prescott to take over a small, struggling congregation. Shortly after arriving, God saved a number of young hippies who were very different than anyone in the church. But as they were welcomed, God began to pour out His Spirit on the congregation.

As Pastor Mitchell sought to reach young people, they saw the possibilities of the “coffee-house” concert ministry. At the first concert they ever tried as an evangelistic tool, more than 200 young people attended, with many saved. Out of this a regular concert ministry was birthed. 2 nights a week, bands played, testimonies of salvation were given and the Gospel was preached, with many being saved each night.

From the beginning, Pastor Mitchell understood that concert ministry was to be a training ground of ministry development; It was run by young people who were committed to Jesus and His church. From the beginning, people who had been radically converted sought to share with others what God had done in them. Personal evangelism began to be one of the basic foundations of the church. Then came impact teams: Groups of people that would travel to other nearby cities to help people there experience what God was doing here.

Over time, God began to reveal His plan of discipleship: Training young couples for ministry within a local church. In 1973 the first couple was launched directly into the ministry – and God blessed them! Churches then began to be planted throughout the Southwestern United States, and then further across America as converts prayed for the Gospel to be preached in their hometowns.

In 1978 the first couple was planted into another nation – Australia; and we discovered the Gospel worked there, just like it did here. After that, churches were planted in Mexico, Holland and Germany then as we came to understand God’s global mission more and more, churches began to be planted throughout the world.

To date, there are over 3,700 churches throughout the United States and the World.

What We Believe Statement of Faith for The Potter’s House.

• There is only one God, and that He is eternally existent in Three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

• God the Father is the Creator of the universe. He created man in His own image for fellowship, and called man back to Himself through Christ after the rebellion and fall of man.

• Jesus Christ is eternally God. He was together with the Father and the Holy Spirit from the beginning, and through Him all things were made. He left Heaven and became incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary; henceforth, He is forever one Christ with two natures–God and man–in one Person.

• The Holy Spirit is God, the Lord, and giver of life, who was active in the Old Testament, and given to the Church in fullness at Pentecost. He empowers the saints for service and witness, cleanses man from the old nature, and conforms us to the image of Christ.

• The baptism in the Holy Spirit with evidence of speaking in tongues, subsequent to conversion, releases the fullness of the Spirit, and is evidenced by the fruits and gifts of the Holy Spirit.

• In the Bible containing the Old and New Testament is alone the only infallible, inspired Word of God, and that its authority is ultimate, final, and eternal. It cannot be added to, subtracted from, or superseded in any regard. The Bible is the source of all doctrine, instruction, correction, and reproof. It contains all that is needed for guidance in godliness and practical Christian conduct.

• Christ’s vicarious death on the cross paid the penalty for the sins of the whole world. Its benefits of healing (body, soul, and spirit) are provided for in the atonement as well.

• That salvation is a free gift of God, based on the merits of the death of His Son, and is appropriated by faith. Salvation is affected by person repentance, belief in the Lord Jesus (justification), and personal acceptance of Him into one’s life as Lord and Savior (regeneration).

• The Christian life is to be one of consecration, devotion, and holiness. The shortcomings of the individual are because of the still progressing sanctification of the saints. The Christian life is filled with trials, tests, and warfare against a spiritual enemy. For those abiding in Christ until their deaths or His return, the promises of eternal blessing in the presence of God are assured.

• The Church is the Body of Christ, the habitation of God among the saints through the Spirit. Every believer born of the Spirit has a place in the church designated by God. A place where Christ is working in the lives of the called out ones and calling ministers to the great commission to go into all the world and make disciples of every nation.

• In the ordinances of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Baptism is the outward sign of what God has already done in the individual’s life and is a public testimony that the person now belongs to Christ. It is identifying with the death and resurrection of Jesus and is done in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Lord’s Supper is a commemoration of the death of the Lord and is done in remembrance of Him until He comes again; it is a sign of our participation in Him.

• In the bodily, personal, second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, the resurrection of the saints, the millennium, and the final judgment. The final judgment will determine the eternal status of both the saints and the unbelievers, determined by their relationship to Jesus Christ.

• Evangelism: The Gospel taken outside the four walls is the absolute foundation of our church, in obedience to Mark 16:15 And He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature’… We emphasize personal evangelism, and a large variety of outreaches to share the Gospel.

• Conversion: We witness, testify and preach for a decision. The Gospel has the power to save and transform lives. 1 Peter 1:23 having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever… The bulk of our congregation consists of people converted here by the Power of God.

• The Local Church: God has placed everything necessary to accomplish His will in the setting of the local church. Ephesians 1:22-23 …the church. Which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way. God’s will is accomplished in us and through us as connect and commit ourselves to a local church.

• Discipleship: God intends for calling to Him, and for Him, to be accomplished through being trained and equipped within the setting of a local church. Therefore, the highest calling of a Pastor and congregation is to obey God’s command in Matthew 28:19-20 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

• Church Planting: The result of disciples being raised up is that they be released into the harvest field. Matthew 9:37-38 Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. 38 Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.” We send couples to plant brand new congregations, with the aim of reproducing our vision in a new area.

• World Evangelism: From the earliest Bible record, God’s vision is worldwide testimony and impact. The gospel message and the vision God has revealed to us is not simply American, but God-inspired; so therefore it works, and is relevant in every nation and culture of the world. Mark 16:15 all the world/every person…Matthew 28:19 all the nations… Our job as believers, and as the local church is to pray, train, invest, send and support workers to go into all the world!

Best Western Plus 1804 Crowchild Trail NW , Calgary, Canada