Calendar
Contact
Location
|
|
Bulletin Calendar Contact Location |
|
| Home | About US | Ministries | Missionaries | Special Events | Newsletter | Sermons |
| About CBC |
| Values | Doctrinal Statement | Vision Statement | Constitution | Staff | Services | History | Do you know? |
|
Calvary's History
50 Years of God's Faithfulness |
|
By Michael Dellosso - Sept. 2005 In the 19th century, European liberalism began making its way to America and slowly infiltrated denominational churches and seminaries. In response to the liberalism movement, several denominational leaders assembled and began a movement to return to the teaching of the fundamentals of the Christian faith as found in the Word of God. They became known as “fundamentalists.” After World War II there was a movement to completely sever ties with denominational affiliations and form independent Bible churches that were grounded in the fundamentals of the Christian faith. It was in the spirit of the Bible church movement that, in 1954, after breaking away from the Independent Fundamental Church of Hanover, several families began meeting for Sunday worship in the Grange Hall on John Street—they called themselves Calvary Bible Church. They also met on Wednesday nights for prayer meeting at the rented parsonage located on 7½ Mt. Royal Avenue. Shortly after forming, Rev. Paul Wilt, who was twenty-five years old at the time, was called as the first pastor. Rev. Wilt, a founder of the Christian School of York and instructor at the Lancaster School of the Bible, was widely known for his teaching ability and heart for missions. When he arrived at in the fall of 1954 he was welcomed by a group of about thirty-five. On February 16, 1955 a special meeting of the congregation was called to approve the Constitution and By-laws—the church was officially chartered. Applications for charter membership were accepted from February 16 to April 1, and on April 6 eighteen charter members were approved by the first board of elders which consisted of Edgar Long, President; Elmer Walker, Vice President; Harry Rother, Secretary; and Charles Boyer, Treasurer. Carlton Kessler was the first Sunday School Superintendent. At the time Calvary was chartered there was not a strong evangelical presence in the Hanover area. In 1955, the first missionaries, Pete and May Stehfest, were supported at $35 a month. Dave and Beth Russell, missionaries to Bolivia, were also supported that year along with nine other missionaries and mission organizations, including Carol Baral, a charter member. Rev. Wilt also started an annual Mission’s Conference that year, the first of its kind in the area. That first year, 1955, saw ten people accept Christ as their Savior and an average Sunday morning attendance of forty-five. In August of 1956 the church
purchased a plot of land on In 1958, Rev. Wilt resigned to
accept a teaching position at One month later Rev. George
Stannard accepted the call to be the second pastor of In July of 1960, Doug Baptisti agreed to fill the pulpit for the church as an interim pastor only, not wanting to commit to the permanent position of full-time pastor. A little over two years later, in September of 1962, he resigned. The first seven years of According to Iva Kessler, a
charter member of the church, some of the highlights of the early years were
the annual Daisy Stuffle and Phyllis
Mosebrook, both early members, attested to the unity and bond among the
families of Without question, the strength
of In the year following Mr.
Baptisti’s departure Soon after Rev. Joines started
at Rev. Joines immediately set his
sights on building projects and organizational planning to allow the church
room to grow. In 1964, a large garage was built next to the parsonage-church
building. In 1965, The late sixties and early
seventies were a time of tremendous growth for In 1976, land was purchased on Church growth continued through the late seventies and early eighties swelling to a Sunday morning attendance of over 800 by the mid-eighties. In 1982 Rev. Joines spearheaded
the formation of American Technical Outreach Ministries, Inc. (ATOM, later
changed to International Partnership Ministries (IPM)),
which began providing technical assistance to national ministries and their
leaders in The eighties also saw growth in the facility. In 1985, a $1 million education wing was added consisting of classrooms, a full gymnasium, a commercial kitchen, and The Shepherd’s Fold Daycare on the second floor. By the late eighties attendance
was around 850 and Rev. Joines resigned in 1992, followed by the departure of two associate pastors. The church then went through a transition phase welcoming Rev. Bill Walker and Rev. Bill Hanmer as interim pastors until Rev. Henry Johnson was called as Senior Pastor in 1993. Rev. Johnson was instrumental in the formation of a new pastoral position, Pastor of Adult Ministries, and welcomed a new Youth Pastor and Worship Pastor. Under the ministry of Rev. Johnson and his associate pastors the church began to grow again and many new outreach ministries were developed. Annual highlights included the July 4th God and Country Night, Family Vacation Bible School, Thanksgiving and Christmas Adopt-A-Family, the ministry kick-off celebration each September, the Sportsman’s Outreach, and various other outreach events. 2001 saw a major renovation of the sanctuary, foyer, and office area. One new classroom, a prayer room, a counseling room, and a new conference room were also added. In 2004 another chapter in the
history of Dr. Ron Gibson, an Adjunct Professor
at During the beginning of the new
millennium Over its fifty-year history, Our Pastors
The Early Years (Click any picture for a larger image)
| ||||||||||||
)
)
)
)
)
)
)