In the early 1970's, a Japanese-American family, the Shota's, relocated from the city of Gardena to the city of Cerritos. Since they had been attending Gardena Valley Baptist Church, the assistant pastor, Rev. Sam Tonomura, helped start a Bible study in their home. He determined that there was a need for a church in the Cerritos area, and this Bible study became the core group for Cerritos Baptist Church.

In the late 70's, Gary Tawa, a seminary student from Gardena Valley Baptist, was asked to pastor this new church. Gary and his wife, Valerie, took a step of faith, and the first worship service was held on Easter Sunday, April 15, 1979.

The church grew and a year later moved to Stowers Elementary School, and then to Haskell Junior High School a year after that.  They celebrated their first baptisms on January 11, 1981, with 22 adults and children baptized.  

In 1995, CBC purchased the property on Del Amo Blvd, and then moved to its current location. In 2010, Pastor Erik Kakimoto joined the staff as Associate Pastor, and four years later, Pastor Gary turned over the leadership of the church to Pastor Erik. who became Senior Pastor. 

CBC began as a church plant and had a heart for starting new churches.  From 1996 - 2006, CBC participated in planting five new churches: Cornerstone Fellowship in Bellevue, WA, Victory Fellowship in Torrance, CA, Xaris Fellowship in the Sacramento area, Generations Church in Torrance, and Catalyst Christian Community in Long Beach.