“to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”
Ephesians 4:12, 13
About Us
The Calvary Church Board, staff and congregation members are committed to a balanced ministry of biblical teaching, worship, prayer, personal caring, and opportunities to be equipped for personal and family growth and service.
Calvary Church History
Calvary was founded as Calvary Undenominational Church in 1929 by Dr.
Martin R. DeHaan. Under his pastoral leadership Calvary’s ministry
grew rapidly. Within a few years church services were broadcast over the
Michigan Radio Network (WMRN). That continued until March of 1934. After
leaving the full-time pastorate, Dr. DeHaan further developed Radio Bible-teaching
ministries, resulting in what is known today as the worldwide outreach
of RBC Ministries.
Rev. Thomas Carter (1938-1939) completed the first decade of ministry at Calvary Church.
In 1940 Dr. Malcom Cronk became pastor of Calvary Church at age 26. Three
years later, Dr. Cronk felt called to travel with the Children’s
Bible Hour. Then in 1945, he resumed leadership of Calvary Church, where
he ministered until 1948. During his pastorate at Calvary, Dr. Cronk joined
the Rev. John Miles in founding the Grand Rapids School of Bible and Music.
While Dr. Cronk was pastor, our country was at war. The church services
were broadcast over what was then called The Wolverine Radio Network,
which included a station in Battle Creek, Michigan, home of Fort Custer.
Next, God called Dr. Louis Paul Lehman to Calvary. Although he received
no formal education, except through tutoring and correspondence school,
his creative teachings touched lives at Calvary Church for more than 30
years. During Dr. Lehman’s first 12 years at Calvary the church’s
ministry and outreach greatly increased. His daily “Bit of Heaven” radio
ministry began when Dr. Lehman left Calvary in 1964.
Calvary’s fourth decade was completed under the ministries of Rev. Frank Currie (1964-1965), Rev. Raymond Befus (1966-1968), and Rev. John Miles (1968-1971 Interim).
In 1972, Pastor George Gardiner came to Calvary Church following an 11-year
senior pastorate at the Christian Tabernacle in Dayton, Ohio. Pastor Gardiner
encouraged the church board and congregation members to fund and plan
for a new facility. Pastor Gardiner passed away unexpectedly in 1984. Dr.
Lehman filled in on an interim basis until 1986, at which time Calvary
moved seven miles east of downtown Grand Rapids to the current church
building.
Dr. Edward G. Dobson served as Senior Pastor from the spring of 1987 through
the summer of 2005. During his tenure, Calvary Church experienced phenomenal
growth and dramatic increase in staff, programs, facilities and evangelistic
outreach. He was heavily involved in church planting. Pastor Dobson lived
the motto “preach the Word and love people.”
In March of 2006, God brought Dr. James G. Samra to lead Calvary Church
forward. He is a graduate from Dallas Theological Seminary and received
his D. Phil from Oxford University in England. With God’s guidance
the primary goal remains the same: to equip followers of Jesus to impact
their world to the delight of God.
Calvary Church Today
Calvary is blessed with a large, dedicated and closely-knit staff. Currently,
42 people are employed full-time by Calvary Church. 30 individuals are
employed part-time (total FTE of 57 employees) and 24 serve in an on-call
catering capacity for the Food Service Department. A Senior Pastoral Team
(made up of the Senior Pastor, Associate Pastor, Worship Pastor, Shepherding
Pastor and Executive Pastor) provides leadership to the staff.
In addition to gifted staff members, the ministries of Calvary Church are supported by numerous volunteers. They provide assistance to staff members in various capacities, from general building maintenance to teaching in Kingdom Kids and overseeing weekly Bible Study groups.
