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Learn About Us
OUR AFFILIATIONS
Calvary Baptist Church of Elyria is one of 6,000 congregations
nationwide who together form American Baptist Churches USA. We join
together with nearly two million other American Baptists to support
domestic and overseas missions, with 150+ ABC missionaries sharing
the Good News in more than 70 countries. Calvary Baptist Church is
also affiliated with American Baptist Churches of Ohio and the North
Central Association.
OUR HERITAGE
Calvary Baptist Church was first organized in 1912, as the First
Hungarian Baptist Church of Elyria as a mission sponsored by the
First Baptist Church of Elyria. It was comprised of fifteen charter
members. The first church, built on West River Road near Second
Street in Elyria was completed in 1920. When the church became
English-speaking in 1954 its name was changed to Calvary Baptist
Church of Elyria. In 1964, the present church was built on Hope
Court.
 WHAT DO AMERICAN BAPTISTS BELIEVE?
American Baptists:
- Worship the triune God of the Bible, who is
eternally one God in three persons.
- Proclaim the Good News of the atoning death
and resurrection of Jesus Christ, knowing that salvation
(forgiveness of sins, release from guilt and condemnation,
reconciliation with God) and eternal life are granted in grace
to all who trust Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.
- Accept no humanly devised confession or creed
as binding. The Scriptures, Old and New Testaments are our final
authority.
- Affirm that God is sovereign over all and
that this sovereignty is expressed and realized through Jesus
Christ.
- Celebrate Christ’s charge to “make disciples
of all nations” and to bear witness to God’s redeeming reign in
human affairs.
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| Dr. Martin Luther King
Jr., an American Baptist pastor, brought a ministry of
justice, peace and love that transformed U.S. society in the
1950s and 60s. |
THEREFORE the following facts are
representative of the tradition and practice of American Baptists:
- American Baptists believe that Jesus Christ
is Lord and Savior, and that the Bible is the divinely inspired
word of God that serves as the final written authority for
living out the Christian faith.
- For American Baptists the local church is the
fundamental unit of mission in denominational life. (Baptists
have always maintained the need for autonomous congregations,
responsible for articulation their own doctrine, style of
worship and mission.)
- American Baptists partake of two ordinances:
believers’ baptism and The Lord’s Suppers.
- American Baptists believe that the committed
individual Christian can and should approach God directly, and
that individual gifts of ministry should be shared.
- American Baptists take seriously the call to
evangelism and missionary work.
- American Baptists support religious freedom
and respect the expressions of faith of others.
- American Baptists acknowledge that God’s
family extends beyond our local churches, and that God calls us
to cooperative ministries.
- American Baptists have been called to be
Christ’s witnesses for justice and wholeness within a broken
society.
- American Baptist Churches USA celebrates the
racial, cultural and theological diversity witnessed within its
membership.
- American Baptists heed the biblical call to
renewal and the need for a vital witness in a new millennium
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