Who We Are

Calvary Church began in 1954 as a small group of ordinary people who gathered in Edna Gooden’s kitchen. They shared a common goal that we still hold today: to know Jesus and share His life-transforming love with Kent County. That love has touched hundreds to thousands as we have reached out to meet the physical, social, mental, and spiritual needs of our community for over 70 years!

Our Mission

We do all we can so all may know God’s love and follow Jesus.

Our Vision

Our vision is to be a disciple-making church that transforms the unbeliever into a disciple of Jesus Christ.

Our Values

  • Worship is to give one’s whole self, heart, life, and praise. Our strong conviction is there is only one true God that deserves all of our worship.

    This means we certainly don’t worship or live for ourselves. Worship is a lifestyle in which, in view of God’s mercy, we offer every part of our lives to Him. We are authentic worshippers when we aim to be like Jesus in everything we do!

    Romans 12:1-2; Isaiah 45:5; Psalm 96:1-4

  • Our faith is best experienced when we live close enough to love and care for one another. We’re not just called to be around each other, but also to motivate, spur, and encourage one another toward love and good works.

    As scripture says, “iron sharpens iron” - but that only happens when we come in real contact with each other in biblical fellowship. This isn’t completely fulfilled only on Sunday mornings, but throughout the week when we meet and gather together. This connection and community with each other is experienced through groups, ministries, and mentoring.

    Acts 2:42-47; Hebrews 10:24-25; Colossians 3:16

  • Reading and listening to the Bible is God’s way of speaking to us. Praying is our way of speaking to God. Prayer is to talk to God as if you were talking to a loved one. Prayer is a direct connection to God no matter where we are and no matter the circumstances, good or bad.

    We believe when God is a priority, prayer becomes a priority. Prioritize God as the most important person to speak with in your life. When we don’t know what to do, pray. When we think we know, pray. Pray until you do what God wants you to do. Prayer says “we care about God’s will, not just our own.” Prayer brought Calvary to where we are today, and prayer will get us to where we are going next.

    Ephesians 6:18-20; Philippians 4:6-7; Acts 1:14

  • When Jesus called His disciples to follow Him, He called them to a life of service. Serving isn’t something we have to do, it’s part of who we are - it’s a way of life.

    Serving is highly valued in God’s kingdom...to be great in the kingdom of God is to serve others. Serving is putting your own needs on pause while you minister and care for others. Serving grows a heart of humility, care, and love for others. Many find that, as they serve others, their worries fade and their hearts are filled with joy. God has blessed you with giftings to strengthen the church and to reach the world. Calvary loves to help disciples discover their gifts and place to serve in the body of Christ.

    Matthew 28:15-18; 1 Peter 4:10; Galatians 5:13

  • God calls the church to joyful and generous giving. Giving to the Lord is, first and foremost, an act of worship. We honor and reflect God’s generous nature when we are generous. We give joyfully and generously, not out of compulsion to the work of the Church, but out of gratitude for the generous grace that God has shown us.

    Giving is an opportunity to grow in faith, trust, and obedience to God. Giving also gives us the opportunity to see the faithfulness, generosity, and blessings of God in action. When we give, we keep the bigger and eternal picture in focus: we are giving to God and His mission through this church, locally and globally.

    2 Corinthians 8:7; 2 Corinthians 9:6-11; Malachi 3:10

  • Jesus was the greatest evangelist and disciple-maker of all. Jesus modeled how to reach the lost through a variety of ways, but one of His most overlooked methods was turning everyday people into disciples who will make disciples.

    Matthew 28:18-20; 2 Timothy 2:2; Matthew 9:35-38

Our Strategy

As a disciple-making church, we reach the unbeliever with the love and Gospel of Jesus Christ, connect them to the body of Christ, help them to grow in their faith, empower them for witnessing, and send them to go and make more disciples.

We REACH, CONNECT, GROW, EMPOWER, and GO.

Our Beliefs

Calvary is affiliated with the Assemblies of God, a worldwide fellowship of Pentecostal churches. As part of the Assemblies of God, we uphold the 16 Fundamental Truths to which all Assemblies of God churches adhere.

  • The Scriptures are inspired by God and declare His design and plan for mankind.

  • There is only One True God revealed in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (commonly known as the Trinity).

  • The Deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. As God’s son, Jesus was both human and divine.

  • Though originally good, man willingly fell to sin – ushering evil and death, both physical and spiritual, into the world.

  • Every person can have restored fellowship with God through salvation (trusting Christ, through faith and repentance, to be our personal Savior).

  • We practice two ordinances: (1) Water Baptism by immersion after repenting of one’s sins and receiving Christ’s gift of salvation, and (2) Holy Communion (the Lord’s Supper) as a symbolic remembrance of Christ’s suffering and death for our salvation.

  • The Baptism in the Holy Spirit is a special experience following salvation that empowers believers for witnessing and effective service, just as it did in New Testament times.

  • The initial physical evidence of the baptism in the Holy Spirit is speaking in tongues, as experienced on the Day of Pentecost and referenced throughout Acts and the Epistles.

  • Sanctification initially occurs at salvation and is not only a declaration that a believer is holy but also a progressive lifelong process of separating from evil as believers continually draw closer to God and become more Christlike.

  • The Church has a mission to seek and save all who are lost in sin. We believe the Church is the Body of Christ and consists of the people who, throughout time, have accepted God’s offer of redemption (regardless of religious denomination) through the sacrificial death of His son Jesus Christ.

  • A divinely called and scripturally ordained leadership ministry serves the Church. The Bible teaches that each of us under leadership must commit ourselves to reach others for Christ, to worship Him with other believers, and to build up or edify the body of believers–the Church.

  • Divine healing of the sick is a privilege for Christians today and is provided for in Christ’s atonement (His sacrificial death on the cross for our sins).

  • In The Blessed Hope—When Jesus raptures His Church prior to His return to Earth (the second coming). At this future moment in time all believers who have died will rise from their graves and will meet the Lord in the air, and Christians who are alive will be caught up with them, to be with the Lord forever.

  • In the millennial reign of Christ when Jesus returns with His saints at His second coming and begins His benevolent rule over earth for 1,000 years. At that time many in the nation of Israel will recognize and accept Him as the Messiah, the Savior who died for them and all mankind.

  • A final judgment will take place for those who have rejected Christ. They will be judged for their sin and consigned to eternal punishment in a punishing lake of fire.

  • We look forward to the perfect New Heavens and a New Earth that Christ is preparing for all people, of all time, who have accepted Him. We will live and dwell with Him there forever following His millennial reign on Earth. “And so shall we forever be with the Lord!”