Christian Urban/Dance Pioneer Now Pastor Perez

Christian urban/dance pioneering artist Chuckie Perez has been busy lately with the title as pastor of West Coast Community Church in California, which held its first service in June.

|PIC1|The church takes pride in being a multi-cultural ministry. "From Samoan, African American, Latino, Caucasian and Asian, our goal is to reflect what Heaven will look like," says Perez, who serves as pastor. "The Bible teaching is meant to inspire and encourage, yet is relevant to the world we live in."

The motto of West Coast Community Church reads: "If you can't use it on Monday, we won't share it on Sunday." And Perez is quick to point out why the church is growing so quickly, and targeting a young and broad cultural audience. "I believe far too many people are leaving church services unfulfilled. I want to make sure that when someone attends West Coast, they are able to hear something said in the message that inspires them to draw closer to Jesus and take that home with them and apply it. Many have said that knowledge is powerful, but I believe knowledge can only become powerful when it is applied."

Perez continues to perform concert dates throughout the U.S., but is excited to let West Coast Community Church be at the top of his priority list. "My desire is to just obey God with this great responsibility and continue to serve Him. But I have not walked away recording music. I know He still has a purpose for that part of my life."

Beginning his career as "Chuckie P", the California-based artist helped open the doors for urban artists in Christian music. Releasing English and Spanish-language projects on a variety of labels including Essential and Diadem/Benson, Perez toured the U.S. with artists like dcTalk and the Newsboys, and launched numerous tours internationally. In recent years, Perez has been busy penning tracks for feature films and popular network television shows including One Life to Live, All My Children and notable programming throughout Italy. Perez's latest CD, A Page From My Life, and a companion DVD, were released in August by TAG Artist Group.