Vision

At Calvary we want to be a growing church ministering to significant numbers of people, leading them to personal relationships with God through Christ, helping them become spiritually mature and fully integrated into the life and ministry of our church.

History

In June 1878, Dr. T.C. Johnson, the pastor of the Baptist Temple held a revival meeting in an old school house located on what is now the Delaware Avenue Kroger lot. Calvary Baptist Church was organized from this small beginning with 45 members on October 29, 1882. The church was known as the “Elk City” or “the West Side Baptist Church.” It was later known as the “Virginia Avenue Baptist Church” and later changed to “Indiana Avenue Baptist Church” when the street was renamed. The present church building, standing at the corner of Lee Street and Maryland Avenue, was dedicated in 1925 with the educational wing of the building completed in 1955. We are located just minutes off the I-64 exit from Washington Street and the Civic Center, easily accessible from all areas of the greater Charleston area.

Calvary Baptist Church is a part of the American Baptist Church, USA; a family of nearly 1.6 million Christians who worship in more than 5,800 congregations in the United States. As American Baptists, we believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of the Living God, we believe that the Bible is God’s Word, and that as a local church we are called to be a family of witnessing disciples. Calvary is affiliated with the West Virginia Baptist Convention, and actively participates in the Kanawha Valley Baptist Association.