Connect
Many churches have lists of programs to help you connect with others in the congregation. You won’t find much of that here. Instead, we are a relationship-driven church. If you ask “how do I get involved,” we won’t point you to programs but to people. Below you'll find the main ways that we encourage newcomers to connect with the people of CBC, as we seek to live out the relational model of the New Testament church.
Membership
The Bible teaches that membership in a local church is the normal expectation for a healthy Christian. Christians are called to assemble together regularly to build one another up in Christ (Hebrews 10:23-25), to encourage one another regularly (Hebrews 3:12-14), to evangelize, disciple, and baptize (Matthew 28:18-20), to confess our sins to one another and pray for one another (James 5:16), and to be built up by the regular teaching of God’s Word through gifted teachers (Hebrews 13:17).
1-on-1 Discipling
God in His grace has not made us to walk alone in the Christian life. In one-on- one discipling relationships, two Christians of the same sex meet to study Scripture, hold one another accountable, and pray. Within this basic framework, discipling relationships may take a number of different shapes: an elder member may disciple a younger member, a more mature Christian might disciple a younger Christian, or peers in the faith might effectively disciple one another.
These discipling meetings center on discussion and application of a spiritually rich book or Bible passage and prayer. One-on-one discipling acts as a catalyst to Christian growth, helping us bear one another’s sorrows and joys.
Hospitality
Hospitality in the New Testament seems to be less of a specific activity (e.g. "invite someone to your house for dinner") and more of a mindset of inviting strangers into your life. That Biblical idea of hospitality is what undergirds much of the relational fabric at Calvary Baptist Church. If this congregation becomes your church home, you'll likely discover that much of the ministry here falls into this simple category of hospitality. So what does that look like?
Share a Meal Together
Admittedly some folks may feel awkward about being the one to invite people over, or out, when you're new. But we are building a culture at CBC where hospitality is normal. So we hope that members will reach out to newcomers, but we also hope that newcomers will step up and invite longer-term members and other new people over for a meal or out for an activity from the very early days of their time at CBC. Living these kinds of open lives together is a big part of how we create and sustain the hospitable culture of a gospel community.
Stay Around After Services
One very simple way to express hospitality is to simply stay around after the conclusion of our morning service. We encourage you to stay around and talk, to speak to visitors and to people you don’t know, and to make initial connections with others in the church. It's part of how we're building a church that feels like the family of God.
Small Groups
Our weekly group studies provide our members with opportunities to fellowship, pray, and learn from God’s Word with other committed Christians.
We have Men’s and Women’s small groups which meet weekly to dig through a Christian book or Bible passage.
Each of these small groups carries with it the mission to build up brothers and sisters in the Lord by close, accountable, and committed fellowship. Our studies serve as a profitable adjoining activity to the corporate fellowship of CBC experienced on Sunday morning.
Volunteer And Serve
There are as many ways to volunteer and serve at Calvary Baptist Church After all, for those who are Christians, service to the body of Christ is a primary way that we live out the gospel message (Matthew 25:40).
As someone who is new to our church, though, we want to serve you and see your spirit nurtured in this community before we ask anything of you. For that reason the gateway to all service in our church--from volunteering in childcare to assisting with parking to leading a small group--is membership. We want you to commit to love this body, and we want to commit to love you in the same way. Then together we can discover the unique gifts and opportunities God has provided for you to serve this church. You can find out more about membership here.