What's in the name Baptist?
This church is a Baptist church by conviction and principle, not by affiliation. This means that we believe the basic Bible teachings for which Baptists have historically stood. As Baptists, we believe the following: the Bible is our sole authority for all matters of faith and practice. The church should be autonomous or self-governing. The believer does not need a priest, other than Jesus Christ, to come boldly to God. Every Christian has equal access to God personally. God's Word gives us two ordinances for the church - baptism and the Lord's supper. Each person is individually responsible for his decision to accept Christ. The believer is eternally secure and cannot lose salvation. There are two biblical offices in the church - pastors and deacons.
What does it mean to be an independent church?
As an independent Baptist church, we are not affiliated with any particular Baptist denomination or ruling body. Because of this we can support our own missionaries, select our own leaders, and support institutions that believe as we believe. In short, our church answers to the headship of Jesus Christ rather than a denominational body. There are currently more than 10,000 independent Baptist churches in America and thousands more throughout the world.
How can I be involved in the ministry?
There are two types of ministry involvement at Calvary Baptist. Numerous People help in a given month, with volunteer projects such as maintenance and office related projects. Feel free to contact the church office if you would like to volunteer your time in this way. If you are interested in teaching, helping, singing, or other visible positions of leadership; we invite you to visit with the pastor or assistant pastor about areas of interest.
What is required for membership?
To be a member of Calvary Baptist you must first be saved and baptized at CBC or a Baptist church of like-faith. Feel free to talk to one of Pastoral Leaders to join with us by baptism, letter of transfer from another church or by statement of faith.
How is the leadership of the church structured?
Ultimately, Christ is the head of this church. On a daily basis, the church is primarily led by the pastor and pastoral staff leadership. We strive through prayer and God’s Word to follow the leading of God for our church ministry. Also, our deacons/trustees serve as a church-elected group that meets with the pastor for review and discuss matters of church importance. This provides for a great spirit of cooperation as we follow God's leading for this church.
What is the philosophy about financial giving?
We have never practiced pressure techniques or schemes. Rather, we choose to occasionally preach and teach what God's Word says about Christian stewardship and giving to strive after following the great commission of our Lord. How you respond to that teaching is a heart issue between you and the Lord. The only time you will be contacted about your giving is either when you request it, or when you receive our annual giving statement summary.
What does this church do to help the needy?
Hundreds of lives are touched weekly through the many outreach ministries of our church. In addition to this, we seek oversee people with basic needs from within and without the church. Each need is evaluated and met to the best of our ability in line with seeking to draw people to the Lord.
edited from EBC