We are excited that you are looking for a “Kingdom church on a Kingdom Mission.” Should that be the case, look no further? We are so glad that the Holy Spirit directed your attention to our website. Your viewing this website is an indication that you are in search for kingdom living fellowship.
About us
The life of our church is guided by three statements:
- Our Values We aim to take a different approach in reaching out and helping people along the journey. We stress cultural relevancy and utilize all media.
- Our Vision A place where a person with no church background can come and feel comfortable and enjoy the service because the atmosphere will be friendly.
- Our Mission Our mission statement can be summed up in one
word: reach. We reach up through worship, serve God by serving each other to bless.
“At Calvary, we have never forgotten the divine decree preached by both John the Baptist and Jesus the Christ,
“Repent ye: for the Kingdom of God is at hand” (Matthew 3:2; 4:17). If you’re on a divine quest to fellowship with “Kingdom: minded believers—come and fellowship with us.
Until we see you may our prayers and thoughts accompany your quest. Should you have any questions about our church please call our office. We will be more than happy to assist you.
In His Grace Grip.”
Senior Pastor ARTHUR EVANS, SR.
We filter every idea, program, and budget request through our purpose statement. If what we plan doesn’t help us meet our purpose, then we don’t do it. Our statement of purpose is based on two teachings of Jesus:
Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
MATTHEW 22:36-40 NIV
He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe…” Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.
Mark 16:15-17, 20 NIV
A Timeline of Our Story
The founding of Calvary Baptist Church is rooted in the Civil War era of American History. Sunday, October 8, 1865, Citadel Square Baptist Church organized the first African American Baptist Church in Charleston, S.C. with a written charter. On Tuesday, October 10, 1865 Calvary was founded under the pastorate of Rev. Charles Smalls. The original name of the church was The Baptist Church in Charleston, however, to distinguish it from other Baptist churches, it was also called the Colored Baptist Church.
The original administration of Calvary Baptist Church was:
Reverend Charles Smalls – Pastor
Trustee and Chairman of Deacons – D.D. McAlpine
Deacon R.A. Cuttino
Deacon J.R. Prioleau
Deacon, Trustee and Secretary- B.H.R. Reeder
Trustee and Treasurer – J.D. Freelain
Trustee – A. Washington
Calvary originally shared the same place of worship with Morris Street Baptist Church, which was organized during the same year.
In 1867, some of the members of Calvary left and formed Salem Baptist Church. Calvary’s remaining members moved out of Morris Street Baptist Church in 1868, under the leadership of Pastor Gibson, to 172 Smith Street and worshiped with Shiloh AME Church for several years. During this time Calvary saved enough money to purchase property for its own sanctuary. Monday, June 15, 1868, Calvary purchased two lots in the Rickersville area, from Citadel Square Baptist Church, to use as a place of burial. The lots are located on Mechanic Street, in the modern day Memorial Baptist Church Cemetery.
