Calvary exists to connect people to Jesus through discipleship, worship, and mission.

DISCIPLESHIP

We believe that discipleship is not an optional activity for those who desire to go further in their faith.  It is essential to being a follower of Jesus Christ. 

“Discipling someone is walking them through life and teaching them to perceive all of its experiences with a divine insight. That’s what discipleship is. It’s not a class on Thursday night, or any other night. It’s not two hours of reading a book. It’s interpreting life with the mind of Christ.”

Dr. John Macarthur, A Mission of Mercy

There are many aspects of discipleship. The Great Commision outlines many of the details of what Christian discipleship is all about. Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Discipleship requires information that refers to the doctrine, theology, and knowledge of the Bible and the life of Jesus that a disciple should be committed to learning for a lifetime. Jesus commands us to teach them all that I have commanded you. We believe in not only teaching our people what to think, but more importantly, how to think Biblically.  Our programs and teaching environments are aiming to make disciples that are not afraid of questions, either their own or others.  We believe that a robust love of doctrine and theology can and should be present in the heart and mind of all believers.

But, discipleship isn’t just information giving, but we must also show them. Our aim is to create disciples who make disciples. Imitation refers to the deep investment relationally into the life of the disciple.  When one looks at the time that Jesus spent with His disciples, it is readily apparent that it was not through only a weekly teaching setting.  He shared meals with them.  He took trips with them.  He rebuked them.  He encouraged them.  He called them not only his followers, but also His friends.  This sort of deep relational investment tends to be the missing piece in many discipleship strategies.  And yet, when there is a strong relational connection, the context for authentic discipleship occurs in a more natural and organic way.

It communicates the idea of a learning believer—someone who is growing in his faith and his love for the Lord. Discipleship is more than just giving people the Gospel and running. Though certainly our Lord by the command to “go” has an evangelistic aspect, your life in Christ, your faith is more than a “moment.” Our aim is to grow and develop people to mature faith and spiritual growth, grow in godliness. 

Jesus was quite clear in the Great Commission of Matthew 28:19-20, that mission, discipleship, and evangelism are all bound together.  We want to see Calvary become a church consisting of disciples who make disciples.  May we always be looking for opportunities to invite others to ask questions about our faith in Jesus, to invite others to check out our church, and to invite others to trust Jesus for salvation.

WORSHIP

We believe that worship is more than music, although we can certainly worship God with our voices and instruments.  Worship is meant to be part of our daily lives.  It is our active response to God, for who He is and what He has done.  At Calvary, we seek to be worshipers of God, not merely attenders of church.  Baptists believe that the elements of public worship are limited to what Scripture commands. John 4:23 says, “True worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth.” The revealed “truth” of Scripture limits the worship of God to what is prescribed in Scripture. The Second London Baptist Confession 22.1 says:

“The acceptable way of worshiping the true God, is instituted by himself, and so limited by his own revealed will, that he may not be worshiped according to the imagination and devices of men, nor the suggestions of Satan, under any visible representations, or any other way not prescribed in the Holy Scriptures.”

Worshiping God through music is the most well known way to engage God in worship. We love to worship Him through singing at Calvary.  We want to lift our voices to Him in a way that is going to be a powerful offering that invades the very throne room of heaven.  We believe in singing all types of worship songs during our services, from a fresh song that was released this month, to a hymn that is hundreds of years old. Every member has a valuable role in the congregational choir to “make a joyful noise to the Lord!” 

Worshiping God through a radical commitment to prayer. The Apostle Paul writes to us to “pray without ceasing.” In both personal and corporate, is another way we engage God in worship.  Because of the price paid by Jesus Christ on the cross, we can now have a personal relationship with God.  Prayer is the means by which we communicate with God and also one of the primary ways to grow closer to Him.  At Calvary, we are committed to spending time with God in prayer. On Sunday nights, we have our weekly Prayer Gathering, which is a powerful time of directed prayer together.  In our small groups, there is time set aside for prayer each week.  We are also in the process of forming a Prayer Team that will spend time praying over our Sunday Worship services in prayer for God to do amazing things.

Worshiping God through generosity is probably the most curious addition to this list.  We don't always associate our giving with worship.  Yet, the Bible is very clear that everything we have is from God (Psalm 24:1), and that it is our great joy and responsibility to be generous with what He has entrusted to us (2 Cor. 9:6-7). At Calvary, we believe that generosity flows from a grateful heart. We have so much to be grateful for as followers of Jesus Christ, for He has truly given us new lives, a new purpose, and an amazing eternal destination.  How can we not give back to him with generous and grateful hearts? 

MISSION

We believe that as followers of Jesus Christ, we have not only been saved FROM something, but we believe that we have been saved FOR something (Ephesians 2:8-10).  Each and every believer has been given a mission to accomplish for God, no matter what your talents or gifts may be.  We are to be disciples that make disciples.  At Calvary, we want to be a church made up of believers living out this mission. We want to be a church committed to the mission of Jesus Christ, both locally and globally.  We believe that God has incredible things in store for this area, and we want to be a part of it.  The movement of Jesus Christ happens one heart at a time, and God wants to use each of us to see this movement continue to grow and advance.