Central Christian Church Mesa — Church Directory

Quick Facts

Pastor — the shepherd God holds accountable Cal Jernigan (Senior Pastor since 1999); Perry Emerick (Campus Pastor)

Founded Not published

Denomination Independent Christian Churches

Service Times Multiple locations — check website

Men's Ministry Yes

Kids Ministry Yes

Website www.centralaz.com

10-Point Theological Scorecard

Christology

Is Jesus the only way? (John 14:6)

What We Believe page linked but content not retrieved; Independent Christian Churches tradition is Trinitarian.

Caution

Scripture

Inerrancy affirmed? Final authority?

Independent Christian Churches affirm Scripture authority; specific inerrancy language varies.

Caution

Men's Discipleship

Intentional formation for men?

Dedicated Men ministry confirmed.

Strong

Soteriology

Faith alone? How is salvation presented?

Stone-Campbell Movement — baptismal role often prominent; sola fide position varies.

Caution

Gender / Biblical Design

Biblical manhood and womanhood by God's design — patriarchal, complementarian, egalitarian, or affirming gender ideology?

Independent Christian Churches (Stone-Campbell) increasingly permit women in ministry roles; local policy unverified.

Cal Jernigan (Senior Pastor, male); Perry Emerick (Campus Pastor, male); other campus pastors and gender composition unverified

Caution

Leadership Structure

Male elders/pastors? Accountability?

Cal Jernigan (Senior Pastor since 1999) is a high-profile personality figure; multi-campus model centralizes vision — red.

WARNING!

Preaching Style

Expository or topical/therapeutic?

Seeker-sensitive topical preaching typical of megachurch 'adventure with God' messaging — red.

WARNING!

Mission Clarity

Great Commission central?

Standard evangelistic focus.

Caution

Cultural Alignment

DEI/CRT language? Social justice crowding out gospel?

No explicit DEI/CRT language on homepage; 'adventure' language is experiential.

Caution

Accountability Structure

Denominational home, elder plurality, or external network — is the pastor answerable to anyone?

Independent Christian Churches (Stone-Campbell, instrumental) — no confessional denomination — red.

WARNING!

Assessment

Central Christian Church Mesa is a large Independent Christian Church (Restoration Movement) led by Cal Jernigan since 1999. With 5 locations and 50+ years of history, it is one of the largest churches in the Phoenix metro area. The Restoration Movement tradition emphasizes New Testament Christianity, believer's baptism, and congregational autonomy. Jernigan's long tenure (25+ years) suggests stability. Need to verify theological depth, gender theology, and preaching style — large multisite churches can drift toward seeker-sensitive models. Promising but verify.

#restoration-movement#independent-christian#megachurch#multisite#mesa-az#long-pastorate#needs-review

MOOP Engagement Tracker

How this church was personally verified by the MOOP directory team:

✓ Researched church website

Sources & Evidence

Enrichment Notes

Seeker-sensitive megachurch profile — yellow with caution.

These are the URLs consulted to arrive at this church's scoring. Score-note claims are synthesized from homepage content, denominational directories, and public statements of faith at the time of review. Church websites change frequently; we're progressively adding Internet Archive snapshots to prevent link rot.

[1] Live source centralaz.com

Transparency note: MOOP ratings are researcher judgments about publicly available theological and ecclesial evidence. They are not infallible. If a church's public posture has changed since our review, or if we've mis-read evidence, tell us — we publish corrections.