By Joan Passarelli

Town Crier Correspondent

Clergy Profile

Clay Stokes, 48, a quiet, confident man, has been senior pastor of Community Bible Church in Mountain View for almost 11 years. But it took a movie for him to begin his religious life.

Though Stokes was a churchgoer all through his childhood, it wasn’t until he saw the film “The Exorcist,” at age 20, that he faced his need for faith.

“That was a real conversion for me,” Stokes said. “I went from being a cultural Christian to a follower of Jesus.”

Stokes then moved to this area and joined First Baptist Church of Los Altos as he attended college. After earning a bachelor’s degree in history at San Jose State, Stokes went to Denver Seminary, where he earned a master’s degree in Christian education in 1984.

For the next six years Stokes pastored at Monte Vista Bible Church, until it merged with Community Bible Church in 1991. Shortly thereafter, Stokes became the senior pastor of CBC.

Stokes spoke about CBC’s desire to serve the special needs of Silicon Valley churchgoers. “People here are transient. We have seen hundreds of members move away over the years. So it’s hard for people to make friends and develop relationships with each other,” he said.

To solve this problem, CBC has many small groups for its members, who come from as far away as Gilroy, Newark and San Mateo.

CBC has also changed its services and facility to help people improve relationships. It has replaced pews with movable chairs, and set them up in semicircles. It has also instituted a break in the middle of the service, so people can go outside, get refreshments and greet each other.

“We believe that as you mature in your relationships with God and each other, God matures in you your gifts,” Stokes said.

Stokes and his wife, Candy, who grew up here and attended Los Altos High School, have two daughters and two sons.

Their second child, 16-year-old Heidi, recently survived a yearlong struggle with rhabdomyosarcoma, a type of cancer found primarily in children. Throughout the ordeal, “the body of Christ here was great,” Stokes said. “They supported us and encouraged us. Heidi said she learned this year what it meant to depend on God by depending on everyone who helped us.”

When they can, Stokes and his family like to slip off to Half Moon Bay for some beach time. Stokes also enjoys golf, softball and reading.

Community Bible Church is located at 2050 Miramonte Ave., Mountain View. For more information, call 967-3548 or logon to www.cbcstuff.com.