Ministries at Calvary Baptist Church
Ministries our church provides and supports.
Music Ministry
Calvary Baptist Church has been blessed with a minister of music that believes in the sanctity of sacred music, and that this music should be used in our worship service. It is this pastor's opinion that this is why God has blessed us with many talented people, instrumentally and vocally, who love God and desire to worship Him with music that reflects His character.
Convalescent Home Ministry
Every Friday morning there is a service held for the residents at a local convalescent home. There have been so many that have come to know the Lord. Many who were Catholics, Lutherans, and others have been freed from the bondage of religion and have received the freedom of a new life in Christ. There are many who have been dumped into these homes because their children no longer wanted to deal with them. These sweet people are hungry for love and knowing that someone cares.
I am privileged to work with a dedicated staff at this nursing home that love these people. I can say with all honesty that it is one of the highlights of my week to go and minister to the elderly.
Family Ministry
Family ministry begins in the home. Husbands and wives, moms and dads need more than just a salvation experience with the Lord Jesus Christ; they need to develop that experience into a personal relationship with Him. This relationship then has a powerful, dramatic effect on our marriage, and on our children, which then begins to transform the family into what He wants us to be. When this happens, we begin to see the church as a living organism and not some organization that needs gimmicks and activities to bring people in. When we have our family growing in the Lord in this manner then we can help others. This is how we see the family ministry: getting it right in our own lives so we can help others.
We are also aware of single-parent families and the hard work it is to balance a home and a job with one parent doing the work of two. The spiritual challenges can be overwhelming and the church family needs to be aware of these needs and help in whatever capacity we can.
One area in the family ministry that people seem to like is our potluck lunches that we have every Sunday after the worship service. This gives us an opportunity to enjoy one another's company, minister to others when the occasions arise, and have a safe environment for the children to play and strengthen friendships.
Our activities surround the family: whether it's a game night, bonfire, movie night or whatever, the whole family is involved. The strength of the church depends upon the strength of the family.
Missionaries
We believe that missionaries play an integral part of the local church, and the church should be willing to support those who have been called into service either abroad or at home. The missionaries we support must be doctrinally correct, uphold a godly standard, and have a passion for the lost.
We support home-based and foreign missions. For example, we have a missionary in NYC who has a heart for the Jew; he is a messianic Jew, and he and his wife and grown children and their families are reaching the Jews for Christ. We have another Jewish ministry in São Paulo, South America, with a burden to reach the Jewish people with the gospel of Christ. She and her brother are second-generation missionaries, Romans 1:16. We also support two other missionaries that are second generation: one is in Mexico and the other, with his family, is in Turkey. These are just a few that we support.
At this time we are not supporting any missionaries that start indigenous churches, although that is something we have had in the past, but our missionary has since retired.
Our missionaries are supported by faith promise and from the general fund. A Faith Promise is what you promise God to give each year to the missionaries. It's a promise, not a pledge; it is only between you and God. Each year the Faith Promise continues to go up as people see God blessing them for their faithfulness.
