The mission of Calvary Chapel Birmingham is to courageously seek the lost, show them the love of God, and lead them into a relationship with Jesus Christ, discipling them, and equipping the Saints through teaching God’s perfect Word.
Calvary Chapel Birmingham is an evangelical Christian church with a solid emphasis on teaching all of the Bible verse by verse and chapter by chapter. Every Sunday morning and Wednesday evening we explore the difficult questions of life and we learn to apply God’s instruction as stewards of His Word. At Calvary Chapel Birmingham, we cast off the yoke of tradition in exchange for the better yoke of Jesus. As we study our Bibles we become more like our Lord. It’s not about what we look like, but about Who we resemble. It’s not the size of the church, but the size of the Christians who make up the church. Won’t you join us on this incredible, God-sized and Spirit led adventure in faith?
We believe the Bible to be the inspired, infallible Word of God. We invite you to join us as we study and learn the Word of God and apply it in our lives. Our style of worship is contemporary. We are a place where anybody with any style of dress feels welcome.
We are fully committed to fulfill the mission of our Lord as found in the Great Command and Great Commission (Matthew 22:37-39 and Matthew 29:19-20). We believe that a healthy church is a well fed church and thus we place a great deal of emphasis on the systematic verse by verse study of the entire Bible. The practical application of that study guides our worship of God and our service to one another.
Calvary Chapel has been formed as a fellowship of believers in the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Our supreme desire is to know Christ and be conformed to His image by the power of the Holy Spirit. We are not a denominational church, nor are we opposed to denominations as such, only to their over-emphasis of the doctrinal differences that have led to the division of the Body of Christ.
Church government of Calvary Chapel is modeled after the Old Testament theocratic government under God. Moses was called by God to lead the nation of Israel, but Moses appointed men (elders) to help carry the burden of caring for the needs of the people. Later on the Synagogue system followed a similar pattern of government that eventually became the pattern for the church government. We believe we follow that model. Church government is very simple, not a complex bureaucracy of committees and sub-committees. We believe that Christ is the head of the church, and the pastor is responsible for the church God has called him to. The pastor is responsible to hear from God, to feed and love God’s people faithfully. When a congregation grows and elders are needed, they are appointed to help the pastor care for the spiritual needs of the congregation, to pray with and for him, and to provide counsel…We are neither formal and rigid, nor careless or unstructured in our ministry. Rather we believe our ministry is open and relevant to the spiritual needs of people today. Jesus said in John’s Gospel (chapter 15) that if we abide in Him and His Word abides in us, our lives will be fruitful, joyful and overflowing with His agape love, which this world we live in so desperately needs.
In His Love,
Pastor Shawn
Statement of Faith
Calvary Chapel has been formed as a fellowship of believers in the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Our supreme desire is to know Christ and be conformed to His image by the power of the Holy Spirit. We are not a denominational church, nor are we opposed to denominations as such, only to their overemphasis of the doctrinal differences that have led to the division of the body of Christ.
Doctrinal
We believe in what is termed "The Apostles' Creed" as embodying all the fundamental doctrines of orthodox evangelical Christianity.
We believe there is one living and true God, eternally existing in three persons; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, equal in power and glory; that this triune God created all, upholds all, and governs all.
We believe in God, the Father, an infinite, personal Spirit, perfect in holiness, wisdom, power, and love; that He concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of men; that He hears and answers prayer; and that He saves from sin and death all who come to Him through Jesus Christ.
We believe in Jesus Christ, God's only begotten Son, conceived by the Holy Spirit. We believe in His virgin birth, sinless life, miracles, and teachings; His substitutionary atoning death; bodily resurrection; ascension into heaven; perpetual intercession for His people; and personal, visible return to earth. We believe that He is one and the same as God. He was fully human and fully God. We believe in the Holy Spirit, who came forth from the Father and Son to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment and to regenerate, sanctify, and empower in ministry all who believe in Christ. We believe the Holy Spirit indwells every believer in Jesus Christ and that He is an abiding Helper, Teacher, and Guide. We believe that Jesus Christ baptizes the seeking believer with the Holy Spirit and power for service, either at the time of or subsequent to regeneration, which is a separate work from the indwelling Spirit for salvation. We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit and in the exercise of all biblical gifts of the Spirit as reflected through the fruit of that same Spirit.
We believe that all the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the Word of God, fully inspired and without error in the original manuscripts, and that they are the infallible rule of faith and practice.
We believe all people are by nature separated from God and responsible for their own sin, but that salvation, redemption, and forgiveness are freely offered to all by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. When a person repents of sin and accepts Jesus Christ as his/her personal Lord and Savior, trusting Him to save, that person is immediately born again and sealed by the Holy Spirit, all of his/her sins are forgiven, and that person becomes a child of God, destined to spend eternity with the Lord.
We await the pre-tribulation rapture of the church, and we believe in the literal Second Coming of Christ with His saints to rule the earth, which will be personal and visible. This motivates us to holy living, heartfelt worship, committed service, diligent study of God's Word, regular fellowship, participation in adult baptism by immersion and Holy Communion.
We are neither Five-Point Calvinists, nor are we Arminians. We adhere firmly to the biblical teaching of God's sovereignty and man's responsibility. We avoid any theological systems of belief that go beyond the written Word and thereby divide the body of Christ.
We do not believe in "positive confession" (the faith movement belief that God can be commanded to heal or work miracles according to man's will); human prophecy that supersedes the Scriptures; the incorporation of humanistic and secular psychology into biblical teaching; the overemphasis of spiritual gifts and experiential signs and wonders to the exclusion of biblical teaching; or that true Christians can be demon-possessed.
We believe in the universal Church, in the living spiritual body, of which Christ is the head and all regenerated persons are members.
We believe the Lord Jesus Christ committed two ordinances to the Church: 1) baptism, and 2) the Lord's Supper. We believe in baptism by immersion and communion, both of which are open to all believers in Jesus Christ.
We believe in the laying on of hands for the sending out of pastors and missionaries, and in conjunction with the anointing of oil by the elders for the healing of the sick.
Practical
We believe the only true basis of Christian fellowship is Christ's (agape) love, which is greater than differences we possess, and without which we have no right to claim ourselves Christians.
We believe worship of God should be spiritual; therefore, we remain flexible and yielded to the leading of the Holy Spirit to direct our worship.
We believe worship of God should be inspirational; therefore, we give great place to music in our worship.
We believe worship of God should be intelligent; therefore, our services are designed with great emphasis upon the teaching of the Word of God that He might instruct us on how He should be worshiped. We seek to teach the Word of God in such a way that its message can be applied to the individual's life, leading that person to a greater maturity in Christ. We teach both expositionally and topically.
We believe that the Bible clearly delineates that spiritual gifts are for the edification of the body and that they are to be exercised in love. We believe that love is more important than the most spectacular gifts, and without love, all exercise of spiritual gifts is worthless. In our services, we focus on a personal relationship with God through worship, prayer, and the teaching of the Word of God. We do not practice speaking in tongues during worship or while a Bible study is in progress because we do not believe that the Holy Spirit would interrupt Himself. God is not the author of confusion. These gifts are encouraged in more intimate settings, e.g. afterglow services and small groups where their benefit can accomplish the purpose for which they have been given - the edification of the body of Christ.
We believe worship of God should be fruitful; therefore, we look for His love in our lives as the supreme manifestation that we have been truly worshiping Him.
We believe that the church government should be simplistic rather than a complex bureaucracy, and we depend on the Holy Spirit to lead, rather than on fleshly promotion.
