Calvary Church

It is the mission of Calvary Church to bring glory to God through the growing of a biblically healthy spiritual family of fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ who make disciples among the nations. Therefore, we want to be a center for the faithful teaching of Scripture, for mobilizing, for world evangelism and for equipping disciples to serve and worship God.

We are called to flesh out the life of Christ in Lancaster County, to be and to do as the Lord Jesus would, for He is at work in us to accomplish His will. As we experience and express His life together over the next 10 years, we believe that He will continue to transform us into His image. As we respond to His leading in His power, we are committed to grow in the following areas.

Faithful to Scripture
We will continue to give priority to the study, teaching and preaching of Holy Scripture. Our foundation has always been the Word of God, and we will continue to exhibit its relevance to the needs of our world. We will develop a comprehensive systematic approach to the study of Scripture to combat the biblical illiteracy of our age and to equip every person to handle accurately the Scriptures.

Diverse and United
We will strive to be a multigenerational, multiethnic, intergenerational, inter-cultural Body in which a variety of ages and races joyfully experience our diversities and our oneness in Christ. We will be sensitive to varying cultures in order to capture our world for Christ and reflect the supernatural oneness that shows we are followers of Christ.

Multiplying Disciples
We will provide opportunity for each individual to be discipled from spiritual birth through spiritual reproduction, with each one loving the Lord and the Word. That discipleship will be reflected in service to God and others, and in growth in understanding and applying Scripture to all of life, in living by the church covenant, in experiencing a biblical devotional life and in godly interpersonal relationships within the social family and the spiritual family

We believe that each Christian is gifted and called by God to serve Him, His Church and His world, and that it is the responsibility of the Ministry Staff to equip others for the work of service until each member comes to maturity in Christ. This includes the multiplying of lay leaders for ministries that reach into all areas of Lancaster County, as well as investing in those called to professional ministries through formal internship programs.

We will give priority in programming and facilities to our children and youth, desiring to change the world by capturing each new generation.

Multiplying Small Groups
Building biblical community is a priority. That includes connecting people to people in a safe environment where each believer can be known, shepherded, cared for and held accountable in his or her spiritual life and growth. We believe that the New Testament pattern of church family life includes the small group through which believers are involved in one another’s lives, are discipled and are deployed for service. We will increasingly seek to develop small groups within geographical neighborhoods.

Dynamic in Worship
We will be joyful, participative, expressive in our love for and adoration of God, utilizing both contemporary and traditional music appropriate to our worshipers, as well as other art forms that communicate the greatness of God and His message to us. We believe that as we grow in our capacity to worship, God will use Calvary Church as a center for training in worship and Christian arts.

Passionate and Compassionate in Evangelism
We want to see significant numbers of seeking and newly saved people become part of the constituency of Calvary Church through our personal relationships and ministries as we attempt to impact our neighborhoods and networks for Christ. We will also move out of our personal comfort zones and outside our own church to reach out to the unloved, unlovely and unreached of our community. We want to create a caring and safe environment where people can explore the truths of Christianity. We will challenge non-biblical world views, and help Christians to defend their faith.

We also will join in what God is doing to reach the least reached locally by partnering with other evangelical ministries within Lancaster County, promoting, participating and significantly investing in local outreach.

Mobilizing for Missions
World evangelism will be a priority for every member of Calvary Church. We will be a sending church with hundreds of our own people active in missionary service. Each student will offer himself or herself to God for at least a period of cross-cultural ministry. Increasing numbers of finishers will become involved in cross-cultural service. Each member will be globally aware and active, and every leader will experience some form of missionary involvement.

We believe that we can be a central influence for missions among churches in the North East region, mobilizing missionaries from our own church and from others. We will see a majority of our new missionaries sent to the less reached peoples of the world, and we will be a strategic partner in various projects to reach unreached people groups. We will see a new birth of prayer commitment to the cause of world evangelism, especially cross-generational prayer groups. Our giving will reflect our commitment, by faith increasing our budget at least in proportion to our sending.

Healthy Family Life
We will promote godly living in both our social families and our spiritual family. We believe the family is foundational both to the Church and society, therefore we will promote faithfulness to the marriage covenant through mentoring, counseling, accountability, teaching and encouragement. We will encourage and strengthen those families that have experienced brokenness, being to them extended family.

We will confront pressures that threaten our families, especially our hectic lifestyles and uncontrolled busyness. We will promote the discipleship of children and youth, with family and church partnering to produce thoroughly equipped World Christians who are influencers from campuses to continents at every age level.