Gail Mays has spent the past decade encouraging other widows that God still has a plan for their lives and to lean into His love. It was a lesson she learned when her husband Steve Mays passed away in October of 2014 after more than 40 years of ministry together.

Nurtured in the Word, Steve and Gail Mays grew in grace as the Calvary Chapel movement blossomed and spread. From the 1960s to today, Calvary Chapel has grown from one small church in Costa Mesa, CA, to nearly 1,800 worldwide.

In the early 1970s, lost in a life of confusion and sin, Gail saw a new light shining: the hope of Jesus Christ, transforming hippies and burnouts into born-again Jesus People. In one of Calvary Chapel’s Christian homes, she became a new creation in Christ and eagerly embraced her future with Steve Mays, a zealous young house leader.

Pastor John Higgins of Calvary Chapel Tri City, AZ, fearlessly shared the Gospel and impacted many lives for Christ for more than six decades after he left behind the counter-culture of the 1960s to follow Jesus. He passed away on June 3.

Long time Calvary Chapel pastor John Higgins has sadly passed away. John had been instrumental in the connection between Calvary Chapel founder Pastor Chuck Smith and Lonnie Frisbee. John had led one of the early church homes called House of Miracles, a place where the recently “saved” hippies who had given their lives to Christ could find refuge in an environment without drugs and alcohol. John later moved to Arizona and pastored what became known as Calvary Chapel Tri-City in the Tempe–Phoenix area.

As a young man, Pastor Raul Ries left the battlefield of Vietnam only to enter a mental and spiritual battle at home. Through the documentary Taking the Hill, he reached out to fellow veterans of past and current wars, sharing how Christ’s hope and compassion set him free. Read this story from our archives and find out where you can view the traveling three-quarter-size exhibit of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial this summer.