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ABOUT CALVARY - HISTORY IN THE BEGINNING The
history of Calvary Baptist Church began July 4, 1908 when
thirteen people met in the home of Mrs. R.J. Gilbert in downtown
Columbus for the purpose of organizing Jordan City Baptist
Church. The church began as a mission of Rose Hill Baptist
Church to reach a new area of the city which developed around
the Jordan Mill built that same year. In 1917
the church body relocated to Talbotton Avenue and was renamed
Talbotton Avenue Church. In 1925, the church relocated to a
building on Dr. B.H. Glaze assumed the pastorate of Calvary Baptist Church March 15, 1948 and served the church for 27 years. In the first year of his pastorate, Calvary’s membership numbered about two hundred fifty. In 1971 it had grown to over eight hundred members. Rev Glaze led the church to sponsor a mission during his pastorate which later became know as Morningside Baptist Church. In 1974 Don Wilhite came to Calvary as co-pastor with Dr. Glaze until his retirement in 1975. Following the vision of their new pastor, the church, under Dr. Wilhite’s leadership in 1976, purchased 40.5 acres in North Columbus, the property where Calvary Ministries is now located. At the same time, Calvary Christian School was organized with14 students in K-4 and K-5 classes. Today Calvary Christian School provides for children K3 through 12th grade. THE CURRENT CALVARY CAMPUS The
church completed construction of the first building on the new
campus in 1978, beginning a satellite
What
is now known as the Old Gym served as the worship center during
the early years of the Old Moon Road location. After
discontinuing services at the old site, the church body began to
focus on accumulating contributions toward the construction of a
new Worship Center with a desire to build debt free. On July 4,
1990, the new Worship Center was completed without adding to
existing debt. The steeple was added in March, 1993. While numbers of people made contributions to the steeple, the larger single gift given to the steeple was in memory and honor of Phyllis Smith who went to be with the Lord in 1992. Phyllis and Jimmy Smith were faithful and committed members. Property was acquired in 1994 from the Abundant Life Fellowship as their church was disbanded. These buildings now house Calvary’s Middle School students. The new High School building was completed in time for the 97-98 school year to begin. As the school moved forward, it became apparent that students with mild to moderated learning disabilities were in need of teaching modifications. The Discovery School was established and in the fall of 2000 Calvary’s first classroom size portable building was installed to accommodate these students. Also in 2000 Calvary purchased 11 acres adjacent to the existing school property for future development. In the fall of 2003 a new student center was opened providing for indoor sports activities, fine art presentations, award ceremonies and graduation exercises. EXPANDING CALVARY MINISTRIES Calvary Community The
pastor’s vision for a nonprofit housing community for the
elderly and handicapped saw construction of the first fifty
units of Calvary Community in 1989. The second phase consisting
of fifty-eight units were completed in 1992. Calvary Community
is an attractive well-kept, garden-style apartment community for
adults, age 62 or older, and for persons with mobility
impairments. It is HUD section 2 housing. Columbus Christian Counseling Center Aware of the growing need for affordable Christian counseling, Columbus Christians Counseling Center was organized in 1996. It is located on the Calvary ministries campus and currently offers four counselors who are certified and degreed in counseling for all areas of personal and family crises. Counseling Center Hope Givers In 2000 the M.A. Thomas Mission House was built for the purpose of housing families on furlough or those in need of a short term place to stay. It served as headquarters and as housing for the president of Hope Givers International for years. Hope Givers has since acquired 10 acres located on Old Moon Road with a home converted to a headquarters building for US operations raising funds for orphanages and schools in India. Calvary ministries is an integral part of Hope Givers through its financial support and provision of educational, medical, and missionary teams to the work in India. The Gardens at Calvary The need in Columbus for quality Christian care for the elderly led to the development of our assisted living home in 2000. The home is licensed for 100 residents and is considered the model for elderly care. The Gardens Moon Road Drive and Bell Tower
FUTURE PLANS The Green House Project
A New Worship Center
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31st Street and was constituted under the
name Calvary Baptist Church. In 1931 the congregation moved to a
Tabernacle located at Thirteenth Ave and Thirty-Third Street.
That old Tabernacle building was later destroyed by fire and replaced in
1940 with a 200-seat worship center and a 12-room brick church
building at a cost of $10,000. In the late 40s the worship center was
enlarged to a seating capacity of 600.
ministry. For the next
eight years, the church met in both the Thirty-Third Street and
the Moon Road locations. The final service in the older location
was held in 1985. A second building was built at the new site in
1986 providing education space to house the kindergarten and
preschool.
When a
portion of Moon Road was moved to allow for growth in the North
Columbus area the change forced the Calvary Ministries campus to
be located on what is now known as Old Moon Road. For years
Calvary Ministries has dreamed of direct access from Moon Road
near the entrance of Calvary Gardens. In September, 2005, the new
entrance became a reality. The Moon road entrance provides easy
access to all of the Calvary ministries. Marking the entrance to the
Calvary campus is a 55 foot bell tower paid for by memorial
donations from church families. Erected on May 16th, 2006, the
tower serves as a community landmark becoming a wonderful
way of directing people to any of the Calvary ministries, "just
turn at the bell tower."
Now in the
early stages of development, the Green House Project is
anticipated to provide a new model of Nursing Home Care. The
project will include up to 10 houses located on our campus, each
providing for 10 individuals in a home setting which encourages
the elderly to thrive in an environment of respect and love. The
first unit was built in 2006/2007 and opened as a Memory Care
Unit of the Gardens at Calvary in April 2007. For more information click here
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After many, many wonderful experiences of worship and celebration in our beautiful worship Center built in 1990, due to a tornado on March 1st, 2007, which brought some destruction to every building on campus, the worship center had to be dismantled leaving only the concrete pad upon which it sat and some of the steel frame which formed the structure around the baptistry. From the ruins of the building enjoyed for 17 years, will rise a new worship center with enlarged seating capacity and a large entrance and transition area. For more information click here - New Worship Center plans.