1969 

Two separate and distinct occurrences took place which together prompted the formation of CMI: the Jesus Movement among Hippies in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and the beginnings of the Paul and Timothy Program. This revival among hippies produced over six hundred (600) baptisms during the summer of 1969.  About the same time, six (6) young men asked Dr. Paul E. Paino, the founder and Bishop of CMI, to teach them about the ministry seeing they each sensed a call of God to preach.  Dr. Paino met weekly with these six men.  In 1970 he met with nine and the next year with eleven.  He Biblically referred to these trainees as "Paul and Timothies."

1971 

In order to provide a legal covering whereby clergy credentials could be issued to those sensing a full-time, apostolic call CALVARY TEMPLE MINISTRIES was incorporated.

1972 

The CHRISTIAN TRAINING CENTER was formally established as a two year, four semester Junior Bible College offering each student a well-rounded Bible program with an emphasis upon the practical application of the material taught.  Graduates were given an Associates Degree in Biblical Studies.  The PAUL AND TIMOTHY program was continued as an extension of the CHRISTIAN TRAINING CENTER.  The CENTER was housed in and given oversight by the CALVARY TEMPLE CHURCH in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

1976 

The corporate name CALVARY TEMPLE MINISTRIES, INC., was changed to CALVARY MINISTRIES, INC.  The Paul and Timothies began planting churches in the Tri-State area around Fort Wayne.  From 1976 through 1979 there were twenty-five Calvary Chapels planted.

1978 

The corporate name, CALVARY MINISTRIES, INC., was changed to CALVARY MINISTRIES, INC., INTERNATIONAL.

1981 

Recognizing the necessity to grant autonomy to the churches being planted and open the door for existing churches not planted by CMI to join corporately with CMI, the corporate structure was altered to accommodate these two essentials.

1982 

These structural changes brought rapid growth and the need to establish a central office with an administrator; therefore, CMI established a central office on the grounds of the Calvary Bible Conference Grounds Center in Angola, Indiana, and the position of Executive Secretary.  The first Executive Secretary was Rev. Dennis L. Kutzner.

1987 

The central office was moved to Fort Wayne, Indiana and the CHRISTIAN TRAINING CENTER (CTC) was formally transferred from CALVARY TEMPLE CHURCH'S oversight to CMI in 1987.  Offices for CMI and CTC were set-up in the former Calvary Temple Church building on Clinton Street in Fort Wayne.

1989 

The CMI office was re-located once again to Calvary Bible Conference Grounds, whose name had been changed to OAKHILL.

1990 

CMI was again re-structured, this time on a regional basis, originally, with three (3) regions, the Northeast, Southeast, and Ohio Valley.  The following year a fourth region was established in the Great Lakes.  Each region was designated with an office and a regional director in the following locations: Northeast, Calvary Temple, New Castle, Pennsylvania, Rev. Abel Robles, director; Southeast, Countryside Christian Center, Clearwater, Florida, Rev. John A. Lloyd, director; Ohio Valley, Christ Life Sanctuary, Kettering, Ohio, Rev. Fred Wilson, director; and Great Lakes, CMI Office, Angola, Indiana, Rev. Paul C. Paino, director. Rev. Jess L. Jessup joined the CMI staff to direct the Christian Training Center and work with students during the summer season as counselors during the camp program at Oakhill in Angola.

1991 

Departments were the next re-structuring to CMI.  Each department was given an area of responsibility and a director was placed over each department.  The first departments and directors were: Home Department, Rev. Dennis Kutzner; Training and Development Department, Rev. Jess Jessup; Missions Department, Rev. Larry Goodwin; and the Oakhill Department, Rev. Rod Buzzard.  Rev. Kutzner and Rev. Jessup were full-time employees of CMI while both Rev. Goodwin and Rev. Buzzard, who were pastoring their own churches, served in a volunteer capacity.

1996 

The department structure was replaced with one central office, that office being re-located to Fort Wayne, Indiana, in the Calvary Temple Worship Center building.  The former Oakhill Department was placed under the auspices of Calvary Temple Worship Center, which included the summer camp program, spring and fall retreat program, and the summer missionary project.  In addition, the Christian Training Center was also placed under the direction of Calvary Temple Worship Center.  The Missions Department was kept in tact with Rev. Goodwin as the director, Rev. Buzzard continued as director of Oakhill, Rev. Jessup, at his request, was released to pursue pastoral ministry, and Rev. Kutzner was put over the general offices and given again the title of Executive Secretary.  The expansion of the various Regions was encouraged as structural growth for the Fellowship.

1997

Rev. Larry L. Goodwin was asked by the Executive Board to assume the full-time duties of Director of the Missions Department, February 1, which Larry did.  The general office of CMI was further re-structured with Sharon Bauer functioning as Office Manager and Carol Kutzner working under Sharon's supervision.  Brothers Kutzner and Goodwin were freed to work out of their homes and on the road with no office administrative responsibilities.  The Church Planting Policy was revised stating that CMI did not plant churches, rather, local churches plant churches; therefore, CMI, through the Missions Department, was to assist local churches in producing workers and planting churches.  A Global Division of membership was established under the Missions Department in order to recognize ministers and ministry outside the United States with the intention that when a nation reached a certain number of Global Division members that nation could then begin its own indigenous CMI.  A CMI/CTC Board of Regents was established to deal with a core curriculum and minimum standards for all CTC schools.

1998 

Rev. Matthew W. Keller was placed on staff as the Director of the National Youth Department within CMI, and he also assumed responsibility as the Program Director for the Oakhill Camp.  He, like Brothers Kutzner and Goodwin, was instructed to work out of his home and spend time on the road for the fellowship.  The bylaws of CMI were amended to reflect a new structure which broadened the regional configuration from four to nine and established the potential for districts formed by state boundaries.  The process of electing the Executive Board, General Presbytery, Regional and District leadership was altered by the amended bylaws.

1999 

With the conclusion of the Annual Business Meeting, September 28, 1999, the new structure, which was voted into place in 1998, was fully functional.  The Officers of the various Regions and Districts and the four At-large Presbyters were as follows: SOUTHEASTERN REGION: Presbyter: Bill Strayer, Secretary: John Lloyd, Treasurer: Jack Wolfe, FLORIDA DISTRICT: Presbyter: Nick Panico, Secretary: Randy Foran, Treasurer: Bill Craver, CENTRAL REGION: Presbyter: Fred Wilson, Secretary: Tim Hacker, Treasurer: Lindsey Smith, OHIO DISTRICT: Presbyter: Don Barnett, Secretary: Roy Harless, Treasurer: Katrina Wilson, NORTHEASTERN REGION: Presbyter: Abel Robles, Secretary: Paul Price, Treasurer: Harold Hills, GREAT LAKES REGION: Presbyter: Lonnie Shields, Secretary: Bill Steere, Treasurer: Ralph Diehl, INDIANA DISTRICT: Presbyter: Rod Buzzard, Secretary: David Totman, Treasurer: Arley Higginbotham, MICHIGAN DISTRICT: Presbyter: Bill Mindel, Secretary: Ron Ives, Treasurer: Toby Tyler, AT-LARGE PRESBYTERS: Paul Craig Paino, Philip Palser, Sr, Jack Wolfe, and John Lloyd.  Further amendments were made to the amended bylaws, now titled 1999 Amended Bylaws.

2000 

Once again there were major changes made to the Bylaws of CMI.  The Statement of Fundamental Truths or Doctrinal Statement was amended from sixteen (16) tenets to seven (7) tenets.  Non-church organizational members were given one (1) vote in voting meetings, instead of three (3), and church organizational members would now designate only one (1) person to cast its three (3) votes instead of the option of having three (3) individuals cast those votes.  The year saw successful meetings in all the Regions and Districts enhancing the fellowship geographically.

2001 
For the first time in the 30 year history of CMI, the Annual Convention was held outside either Angola or Fort Wayne, Indiana. September 24 and 25 the 30th Annual Convention was held in Indianapolis, Indiana at the downtown Adam’s Mark. It was a good change in location and a move toward hosting the Convention in other geographical areas of the country. Plans were discussed by the General Presbyters for a 2003 Convention in another State, either Florida or Ohio. CMI founder and General Overseer, Dr. Paul E. Paino addressed the Convention outlining CMI’s roots by stating, “Grace, Restoration, Renewal, and Revival have always been the foundational structure of CMI.” CMI was founded to provide the legal foundation to license and ordain ministers; to provide stability through fellowship; to provide practical training of ministers; to provide for world missions; and to provide for the planting of churches. Dr. Paino urged the members to consider the purpose for which CMI had been founded when looking to the next thirty years, should the Lord tarry. With leadership’s blessing, Matt Keller, CMI’s National Youth Pastor from 1998, announced his departure from the National Office to plant a new church, “Next Level Church,” with his wife, Sarah and son, William, in Fort Myers, Florida, for which everyone was excited and encouraged.

2005 

In the fall of the year (September 3) CMI’s beloved Founder and Bishop, Dr. Paul E. Paino, passed into his eternal reward. His home going service was a wonderful occasion, September 10 in the Carroll Road Christian Church in Fort Wayne, Indiana. During the Annual Convention, September 26 the General Presbytery unanimously voted to appoint his son, Dr. Paul Craig Paino, as the General Overseer of CMI which was overwhelmingly received by the convention.

2007

Once again changes came to the fellowship of CMI. Dr. Paul C. Paino resigned, in October 2006, his senior pastoral role at Carroll Road Christian Church in Fort Wayne. In January 2007, the Executive Board of CMI invited him to assume his duties as General Overseer fulltime, which he accepted. Rev. Larry Goodwin consented to an invitation from Carroll Road to assume the lead pastorate of the church the end of January 2007, leaving his position as Missions Director of CMI.

2008

The Annual Convention was returned to Fort Wayne, Indiana, being hosted by Carroll Road Christian Church, where Larry Goodwin was now Lead Pastor.

2009

A year long process of dialoging a flat structure resulted in a unanimous voice vote during the Annual Business meeting in September putting a new set of bylaws in place. The new bylaws consisted of four corporate officers elected from among the Overseers by the Overseers. The Overseers made up a Council of Overseers consisting of Pastoral Overseers and Ministry Overseers. The Pastoral Overseers appointed by the General Overseer were: Ralph Diehl, Ed Gungor, Ron Lemon, Jim Moore, Paul Price, Abel Robles, Lonnie Shields, Lindsey Smith, Jim Solomon, David Totman, and, Fred Wilson. The purpose of the Pastoral Overseers was to help set a relational connection with those members who would choose an Overseer as his or her Pastoral Overseer. Those appointed as Ministry Overseers were: Steve Ardhuerumly – Missional Ministries, Rod Buzzard – Paraklesis Ministries, Adam Diehl – Worship / Arts Ministries, Larry Goodwin – Missional Ministries, Renee Majchrzak – Children’s Ministries, Steve Mills – World Missions Ministries, Alex Moore – Generational Ministries, Jon Paul Robles – Worship / Arts Ministries, Johnny Sloan – Fellowship Development Ministries, Bill Steere – Paraklesis Ministries, Tom Tomson – Ministerial Preparation Ministries, Katrina Wilson – Ministerial Families Ministries. Later in the year the General Overseer appointed two additional Ministry Overseers: John Robles – Multicultural Ministries, and James Shelton – Youth Ministries. The only election now held within the fellowship is that of the General Overseer which election is every five years, the first to be held in the Annual Business Meeting of 2014.

2010

General Overseer, Paul C. Paino, called a meeting in Hamilton, Ohio, of the Council of Overseers and presented a plan making Ed Gungor the Lead Overseer. Ed would be presenting over the year initiatives that would help drive the fellowship toward a positive future. The Overseers agreed with enthusiasm this plan.

2011

Paul C. Paino resigned as General Overseer during the October Annual Convention in Hamilton, Ohio in October. The Council of Overseers nominated Ed Gungor to fill the vacancy, which was unanimously approved by the members present for the Annual Business Meeting during the Convention. Later that month in Chicago, the Overseers met with Ed Gungor who presented a rebranded CMI, now being called cmiGLOBAL. The decision was made to relocate the National Office to Tulsa where General Overseer Gungor lived. The move would take place February 1, 2012. The Fort Wayne staff was busy placing all hard copy files to be maintained in digital format, but, were successful in eliminated all hard copy files from the office and transferring those to be kept digitally and getting to Tulsa in the allotted time. The staff was permitted a kind severance and new staff would be put into place in Tulsa by Overseer Gungor. Dennis Kutzner was asked to continue handling the Church side to cmiGLOBAL. He was permitted to raise personal support from among the members of the fellowship as well.

2012

Paul Avram Paino, the son of Paul C. Paino, was engaged to administrate the Tulsa Office and was given the title of Operations Liaison.

2014

General Overseer Ed Gungor did not wish his name to be in nomination for the schedule election of the General Overseer and the Council of Overseers nominated Paul C. Paino to again be voted on for the office of General Overseer. Paul C. Paino was elected by the members present in the Annual Business Meeting held in Kettering, Ohio.

2015

In October following the Annual Convention, Paul C. Paino activated his retirement and resigned his position as General Overseer of CMI. The Council of Overseers met to fill the vacancy until the next Annual Business Meeting in October of 2016 by asking Dennis Kutzner to be the interim General Overseer. Dennis accepted the appointment. The Council of Overseers decided in December, 2015 to relocate the National Office once again to Fort Wayne, Indiana. Herb Flint was engaged to administrate the office in Fort Wayne and given the title of Executive Director.

2016

The National Office was officially relocated to Fort Wayne, Indiana, January 5 and the Tulsa Office was closed. In October Dennis Kutzner was elected to a five year term as General Overseer. Attendance at the Convention in Girard, Ohio, saw a doubling in attendance over the previous year, and Dale Yerton was the keynote speaker.

2017 

There were six Spring Area Meetings held in Florida, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Pennsylvania, and New York with good attendance. The Convention held in Auburn, Indiana, once again doubled in attendance from the year before. Luis Reyes was the keynote speaker along with Doug Small.

2018 

The six Area Meetings showed a marked rise in attendance with a combined total of 194, which was just 26 less than the 2017 Convention attendance. The Convention was held for the first time since 2000 in the former Calvary Temple facility in Fort Wayne, Indiana, with Dutch Sheets as the keynote speaker. Each night saw more than 400 in attendance. Doug Small returned as a morning keynote speaker.

2019 

The Spring meetings once again saw an increase in combined attendance to 233. The Convention was held in the Abundant Life Church facility in Fort Wayne with David and Marlinda Ireland of Christ Church, Montclair, New Jersey, the keynote speakers. The theme was Unity in Diversity: Understanding Racial Reconciliation. Attendance held at 220 each evening and the theme brought excitement and enhancement to the organic growth of diversity within CMI Global. Two racially blended CMI couples, Duane and Amanda Grant of Yellow Springs, Ohio, and Chuck and Paris Maine of Olean, New York shared their journeys. And, Melvin Burns and Doug Malear shared their journey of merging an African-American congregation and a White congregation in Muskegon, Michigan and everyone celebrated what God was doing! Bishop Willie and Pastor Rhonda Bolden addressed the attendees on Ministry Marriage. The Council of Overseers was expanded to include Bishop Crystal Thomas of Fort Wayne, Indiana, Archbishop Willie Bolden of Fort Wayne, Indiana, and Pastor Benjamin Lehew [to Shadow the Council] of Marcellus, Michigan.

2021

COVID-19 hit in March of 2020 and speedily affected shutdowns in all CMI related churches and ministries. Within three weeks of the start of shutdowns 99% of all CMI related churches and ministries had an online presence and have maintained their online services. The Spring Area Meetings were canceled in 2020 due to COVID but one meeting was live streamed from New Hope in Waterloo, Indiana. Every CMI related church testified to ether maintaining their weekly income or experiencing an increase due to online giving. Though most CMI churches are not at the attendance levels yet to pre-COVID time all have reopened to in-person services. The 2020 Annual Convention was held in Waterloo, Indiana at New Hope Christian Center and was successfully live streamed for the first time. Dr. Kent Hunter of Church Doctor Ministries was the keynote speaker. The 2021 Annual Convention which was the 50th Annual Convention was also held in Waterloo with Dr. David Shibley of Global Advance as keynote speaker. PETRA and Friends led the worship for the 50th Convention and did an awesome job. Dennis Kutzner was reelected to serve another five-year term as General Overseer and Herb Flint was asked to remain on as Executive Director. The Council of Overseers for the remainder of 2021 and into 2022 were announced, Paul Price, President, Nate Wayman, Vice President, Shelley Norman, Secretary, Benjamin Lehew, Treasurer, Willie Bolden, Chad Collins, Joshua Johnian, Ron Lemon, Nick Panico, Gail Stathis, Crystal Thomas, and David Harris as shadow to the Council.

2022

Once again, we were able to conduct five Area Meetings in Palm Harbor, Florida, Battle Creek, Michigan, Fort Wayne, Indiana, Erie, Pennsylvania, and Jamestown, New York. 150 people attended these meetings which was very good coming out of the COVID days. Our theme was still surrounding prayer and the reasons people don’t pray and it was extremely well received. There was anointed prayer in all five Area Meetings. The 2022 Convention was held in Grace Summit Church in Fort Wayne October 3-5. The theme was Xplosion 22 Celebrating Generations. Eight of the ten speakers were under 40 years of age and were all members from CMI Global. Each did a superb job preparing and delivering a God word to the Convention for the future. We laid hands on 16 new members which was the largest number of new members at the Convention in a number of years. Over half of these new members were under 40 years of age. Dennis Kutzner presented the Council of Overseers for 2022-23: Paul Price, President, Nate Wayman, Vice President, Chrystal Thomas, Secretary, Ben Lehew, Treasurer, J P Price, Recording Secretary, Willie Bolden, Chad Collins, Ron Lemon, Nick Panico, Gail Stathis, and David Harris – Shadow. Courtney Knerr launched a new church plant, Refuge Church, in Butler, Indiana the first of October. The first CMI satellite church was in Butler in 1976, so we have come full circle.