Pastor Paul Van Noy and his family moved from Northern California where Paul had been a pastor for 14 years to Coeur d’Alene to work with Chuck and Nancy Missler at Koinonia House. Not long after that Paul began to teach a bible study and lead worship.
Calvary Chapel – Coeur d’Alene was born in Paul and Brenda’s home with 5 families. After 4 weeks, another local church affiliated with Calvary Chapel asked Paul to change the name of the church to minimize confusion. After much prayer, the name was changed to Candlelight Christian Fellowship along with “It’s better to light a candle than to curse the darkness” as the added byline.
Before long, the Van Noy house was unable to accommodate the congregation which had grown to 12 families. Consequently, the church rented a location on Sunshine Street. While at this location, Pastor Paul developed and taught Candlelight’s tenants of faith. Once again, as the church continued to grow, the congregation found that it was too large for the present facility.
Candlelight moved into a larger facility on Government Way, embracing the challenges of continued growth. As the congregation grew to 120 people, Candlelight expanded to additional suites within the facility to accommodate the growing church and its programs.
In light of our continued growth and need for expansion at the Government Way location, a 2ndfloor, classrooms, and a sound system were added, and Paul became a full-time pastor and hired an associate pastor.
As the congregation increased, Candlelight bought a free-standing building on Lancaster from the Golub family that would allow us to continue to grow and accomplish the mission of leading people to know and serve Jesus. A church secretary, receptionist and worship leader were added to the staff. Shortly after, the Youth and Children’s ministries developed. However, as the church continued to expand, it outgrew its facility and eventually was sold back to the Golub family.
Candlelight purchased the Showboat Theater and remodeled it into the current church facility. Existing ministries were expanded and new ones developed. Over time, more staff and pastors were added to keep up with needs of the church.
In order to meet parking needs and to create additional outreaches to the local community, Candlelight purchased the adjoining parking lot and Skate Plaza. Skate Plaza is a family recreation center where we provide regularly scheduled skate sessions, interactive and interpersonal relationship building, social development, and child, teen, and family counsel.
The future ministries of Candlelight are known only to the Lord. We trust Him for His continued leadership and provisions. Through these exciting days at Candlelight, the Lord is at work in incredible ways! Current ministries have been revitalized and a number of new ministries have begun. All are within Candlelight’s vision and mission as we seek to be faithful followers of Jesus Christ, displaying and proclaiming His love and truth.