knowing god and making him known
About Us
God has shown His love for us by revealing Himself through His Word, the Bible, and through His Son, Jesus Christ. Our aim is to honor God in all aspects of our lives, within our community of believers, and in the world around us by living according to His teachings, sharing our knowledge of Him with each other, and spreading His message to all. In doing so, we strive to bring others into a relationship with Jesus, guiding them to become disciples who, in turn, lead others to Christ until His return.
Our Story
Almost a century ago, a gathering of believers came together to establish Calvary. The origins of our church are noteworthy. Some of Calvary's founding members departed from another congregation due to its affiliation with racism and the Ku Klux Klan. Meanwhile, others joined them with the shared desire to create a church that operated on a consistent basis. In contrast to many local churches that convened infrequently, these individuals yearned for a deeper spiritual experience. While Calvary has undergone various transformations over the years, our dedication remains unwavering: to cultivate a church that welcomes everyone, regardless of background, who seeks to honor God wholeheartedly in their lives. We exist to make disciples of Jesus who make disciples of Jesus. Following are our core values and beliefs.
our core values
Jesus is our message
People are our priority
Love is our motivation
Unity is our goal
Community is our home
Service is our calling
Sacrifice is our measure
Sabine Parish is our responsibility
our core beliefs
THE BIBLE
It was written by people who were inspired by God, making it God's way of revealing Himself to humanity. It's a flawless source of divine guidance, with God as its ultimate author, salvation as its purpose, and truth, free from any error, as its content. Therefore, all of the Bible is completely true and reliable. It lays out the principles by which God judges us, making it the true foundation of Christian unity and the ultimate measure against which all human behavior, beliefs, and religious views should be assessed. Every part of the Bible testifies to Christ, who is the central focus of God's revelation.
god
There exists only one living and true God, who is an intelligent, spiritual, and personal Being. He is the Creator, Redeemer, Preserver, and Ruler of the universe. God is infinitely holy and possesses all perfections. He is omnipotent and omniscient, knowing all things—past, present, and future, including the choices made by His creatures with free will. We owe Him our utmost love, respect, and obedience. The eternal triune God reveals Himself to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, each with distinct personal attributes, yet without division in nature, essence, or existence.
god the father
As a Father, God governs the universe, His creations, and the course of human history with careful providence in line with His grace-filled intentions. He possesses unlimited power, knowledge, love, and wisdom. To those who embrace faith in Jesus Christ, God becomes a true Father, welcoming them as His children. He holds a fatherly disposition toward all humanity.
god the son
Christ is the eternal Son of God. When He took on human form as Jesus Christ, He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born to the virgin Mary. Jesus perfectly revealed and fulfilled God's will, fully embracing human nature with all its needs and challenges, yet remaining sinless. He obeyed divine laws flawlessly and, through His sacrificial death on the cross, provided the means for humanity's redemption from sin. After His resurrection, Jesus appeared to His disciples in a glorified body, confirming His identity. He ascended into heaven and now sits at the right hand of God, serving as the sole Mediator between God and humanity, fully divine and fully human. He will return in power and splendor to judge the world and complete His mission of redemption. Presently, He resides within all believers as their ever-present and living Lord.
God the holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is God's divine Spirit. He inspired ancient holy individuals to write the Scriptures. Through His illumination, He grants understanding of truth. He glorifies Christ, convicts individuals of sin, righteousness, and judgment, and invites them to the Savior, facilitating rebirth. At the moment of rebirth, He unites every believer into the Body of Christ. He nurtures Christian virtues, comforts believers, and grants spiritual gifts for their service in God's church. He seals believers until the day of ultimate redemption, guaranteeing that God will lead them to the likeness of Christ. The Holy Spirit enlightens and empowers believers and the church in worship, evangelism, and service.
man
Human beings are a special creation of God, made in His image. God created them as male and female, the pinnacle of His creation. Gender is a gift from God and reflects the goodness of His creation. Initially, humans were without sin and possessed the freedom to choose. However, through their free will, they disobeyed God, introducing sin into the human race. Tempted by Satan, humans violated God's command and fell from their original innocence, resulting in a nature and environment prone to sin for their descendants. Consequently, as soon as individuals are capable of moral actions, they become sinners and are subject to condemnation. Only through God's grace can humans enter into a holy relationship with Him and fulfill His intended purpose for their lives. The value of human life is evident in the fact that God created humans in His image and that Christ sacrificed Himself for humanity. Therefore, every individual, regardless of race, possesses inherent dignity and deserves to be treated with respect and Christian love.
salvation
Salvation encompasses the complete restoration of individuals and is extended freely to all who embrace Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Through His sacrificial blood, Christ secured eternal redemption for believers. Salvation, in its broadest sense, includes regeneration, justification, sanctification, and glorification. Without personal faith in Jesus Christ, there is no salvation. Regeneration, also known as the new birth, is a divine act of grace where believers are transformed into new creations in Christ by the Holy Spirit's conviction of sin, leading to repentance and faith in Jesus. Repentance involves turning away from sin towards God, while faith entails accepting Jesus Christ and surrendering one's entire being to Him as Lord and Savior. Justification is God's merciful declaration of righteousness for all who repent and believe in Christ, bringing them into a state of peace and favor with God. Sanctification begins with regeneration, as believers are consecrated to God's purposes and empowered by the Holy Spirit to grow morally and spiritually. This growth in grace is ongoing throughout the believer's life. Glorification represents the ultimate fulfillment of salvation, marking the final state of eternal blessedness for the redeemed.
god's purposes of grace
Election is God's gracious plan through which He regenerates, justifies, sanctifies, and glorifies sinners. It respects humanity's free will and encompasses all the necessary means to achieve its purpose. It showcases God's sovereign kindness, being infinitely wise, holy, and unchanging. Election eliminates pride and encourages humility. True believers persevere until the end. Those whom God has chosen in Christ and purified by His Spirit will never lose their salvation but will remain faithful until the end. While believers may stumble into sin due to negligence and temptation, leading to a grieving of the Spirit, a weakening of their spiritual qualities, and potentially bringing dishonor to Christ and temporal consequences upon themselves, they will ultimately be preserved by God's power through faith until they attain salvation.
the church
A New Testament church, following the teachings of Jesus Christ, is an independent local assembly of baptized believers who have entered into a covenant of faith and fellowship centered on the gospel. Such a congregation observes the two ordinances established by Christ (baptism and the Lord's supper), governs itself according to His teachings, and exercises the spiritual gifts, rights, and privileges outlined in the Bible. Its mission is to spread the gospel globally. Each congregation operates under the authority of Christ, utilizing democratic processes. In this setting, every member is personally accountable to Christ as their Lord. The scriptural leaders of the church are pastors (also referred to as elders or bishops) and deacons. While men and women are both equipped for service within the church, the position of pastor is reserved for qualified men in accordance with Scripture. Additionally, the New Testament portrays the church as the Body of Christ, encompassing all redeemed individuals across time, representing believers from diverse backgrounds and cultures.
baptism and the lord's supper
Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer's faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Saviour, the believer's death to sin, the burial of the old life, and the resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus. It is a testimony to his faith in the final resurrection of the dead. Being a church ordinance, it is prerequisite to the privileges of church membership and to the Lord's Supper. The Lord's Supper is a symbolic act of obedience whereby members of the church, through partaking of the bread and the fruit of the vine, memorialize the death of the Redeemer and anticipate His second coming.
the lord's day
The first day of the week, Sunday, is known as the Lord's Day in Christianity. It is a day set aside for regular observance by believers. This day holds significance as it commemorates the resurrection of Christ from the dead. Christians are encouraged to dedicate the day to worship and spiritual reflection, both in public gatherings and in personal devotion. It is a time to refrain from worldly entertainment and to rest from ordinary work, with exceptions made for necessary tasks and acts of mercy.
the kingdom of god
The Kingdom of God includes both His general sovereignty over the universe and His particular kingship over men who willfully acknowledge Him as King. Particularly the Kingdom is the realm of salvation into which men enter by trustful, childlike commitment to Jesus Christ. Christians ought to pray and to labor that the Kingdom may come and God's will be done on earth. The full consummation of the Kingdom awaits the return of Jesus Christ and the end of this age
last things
God, in His own time and in His own way, will bring the world to its appropriate end. According to His promise, Jesus Christ will return personally and visibly in glory to the earth; the dead will be raised; and Christ will judge all men in righteousness. The unrighteous will be consigned to Hell, the place of everlasting punishment. The righteous in their resurrected and glorified bodies will receive their reward and will dwell forever in Heaven with the Lord.
the family
God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society. It is composed of persons related to one another by marriage, blood, or adoption. Marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime. It is God's unique gift to reveal the union between Christ and His church and to provide for the man and the woman in marriage the framework for intimate companionship, the channel of sexual expression according to biblical standards, and the means for procreation of the human race. The husband and wife are of equal worth before God, since both are created in God's image. The marriage relationship models the way God relates to His people. A husband is to love his wife as Christ loved the church. He has the God-given responsibility to provide for, to protect, and to lead his family. A wife is to submit herself graciously to the servant leadership of her husband even as the church willingly submits to the headship of Christ. She, being in the image of God as is her husband and thus equal to him, has the God-given responsibility to respect her husband and to serve as his helper in managing the household and nurturing the next generation. Children, from the moment of conception, are a blessing and heritage from the Lord. Parents are to demonstrate to their children God's pattern for marriage. Parents are to teach their children spiritual and moral values and to lead them, through consistent lifestyle example and loving discipline, to make choices based on biblical truth. Children are to honor and obey their parents.
marriage gender and sexuality
We believe that God wonderfully and immutably creates each person as male or female. These two distinct, complementary genders together reflect the image and nature of God. Rejection of one’s biological sex is a rejection of the image of God within that person. We believe that the term “marriage” has only one meaning: the uniting of one man and one woman in a single, exclusive union, as delineated in Scripture. We believe that God intends sexual intimacy to occur only between a man and a woman who are married to each other. We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of a marriage between a man and a woman. We believe that any form of sexual immorality (including adultery, fornication, homosexual behavior, bisexual conduct, bestiality, incest, and use of pornography) is sinful and offensive to God. We believe that in order to preserve the function and integrity of Calvary Baptist Church as the local Body of Christ, and to provide a biblical role model to the church’s members and the community, it is imperative that all persons employed by Calvary Baptist Church in any capacity, or who serve as volunteers, agree to and abide by this Statement on Marriage, Gender, and Sexuality. We believe that God offers redemption and restoration to all who confess and forsake their sin, seeking His mercy and forgiveness through Jesus Christ. We believe that every person must be afforded compassion, love, kindness, respect, and dignity. Hateful and harassing behavior or attitudes directed toward any individual are to be repudiated and are not in accord with Scripture nor the doctrines of Calvary Baptist Church.
sanctity of human life
We believe that all human life is sacred and created by God in His image. Human life is of inestimable worth in all its dimensions, including pre-born babies, the aged, the physically or mentally challenged, and every other stage or condition from conception through natural death. We are therefore called to defend, protect, and value all human life.
final authority for faith
The statement of faith does not exhaust the extent of our beliefs. The Bible itself, as the inspired and infallible Word of God that speaks with final authority concerning truth, morality, and the proper conduct of mankind is the sole and final source of all that we believe. For purposes of Calvary Baptist Church’s faith, doctrine, practice, policy, and discipline our elders are the church’s final interpretive authority on the Bible’s meaning and application.