Calvary Baptist Church of Charlotte is a Baptist congregation on Mount Holly Huntersville Road, known for offering both traditional/blended and modern worship while keeping one Sunday message at the center. The church at 2727 Mount Holly Huntersville Rd organizes life around “Love God. Love Others. Spread the Word,” with gatherings for children, students, adults, women, and senior adults, plus a Wednesday supper and Bible study.
Love God. Love Others. Spread the Word.
Calvary begins with love for God as the first and primary calling. Its mission extends outward: to love others by putting their needs ahead of their own in the church family, community, and “to the ends of the earth,” and to spread the word by actively sharing the good news of the gospel. The church serves in the church, community, and wider world “in order to make a difference for the glory of Christ.” Calvary's goal is “To be a people who represent Jesus and His gospel really, really well.”
The practical shape of that mission includes children's lessons and missions activities, student discipleship, adult Bible study, Women of Grace service projects, gatherings for senior adults, and evangelism throughout the community and beyond.
Two Sunday Services, One Message
Every Sunday, Calvary offers Traditional/Blended Worship at 8:30 a.m. This is the piano-driven service, built mainly around hymns and blended with other songs of the faith; the choir often participates. Modern Worship begins at 11:00 a.m. and is driven by a band and praise team. The same message is offered at both services, with the music providing the difference. All worship is Christ-centered, and messages are based on the Bible, intentionally encouraging, practical, and easy to understand.
Sunday School begins at 9:45 a.m. between the two services. Everyone is welcome at either worship gathering. Dress is intentionally relaxed: there is no dress-up requirement, and visitors are encouraged to come as they are and dress comfortably. The church office phone is 704-394-6181.
Wednesday Supper, Bible Study, and Prayer
Calvary's Wednesday rhythm begins with Evening Supper from 5:00 to 6:00 p.m. Bible Study and Prayer follows at 6:30 p.m. Students also meet at 6:30 for their own Wednesday gathering, and children participate in choirs or missions groups during the year. The evening schedule gives families and individuals a regular gathering centered on fellowship, Scripture, prayer, and the church's shared life.
Calvary Kids: Stories, Songs, and Safe Places to Grow
Calvary Kids is built around the idea that children and families are important. Volunteers seek to share Christ's love, and the church describes its role as partnering with families to teach children to love God, love others, and spread the word. Lessons and activities are age-appropriate, interactive, and designed to be engaging and fun. Safety is a priority: every volunteer submits to a background check, the church uses the KidCheck secure check-in system, and security volunteers are present around the church.
At 9:45 a.m. Sunday School, six classes serve children from newborn through fifth grade. They are separated by age and grade, ranging from nursery and preschool to elementary classes. At 11:00 a.m., children in kindergarten through fifth grade attend their own worship gathering during the Modern Worship service. A nursery is available from birth through age 4 during the 8:30 service, with dedicated nursery workers caring for children.
Wednesday children's activities change with the ministry year. From September through December, school-age children practice in the Kid's Junior Choir, led by Music Director Joy Wilkinson, while toddlers sing in the Little Lites Choir. January through August, children join Girls in Action, Royal Ambassadors, or Mission Friends according to age. Girls in Action teaches prayer, giving, missions, and leadership; Royal Ambassadors emphasizes a biblical worldview and practical missions experiences; Mission Friends introduces the love of God for all people to children ages 3 through kindergarten.
Calvary Students: Fellowship and Discipleship
Calvary Students seeks to walk with students, train and equip them as disciples of Jesus Christ, and help them develop a faith of their own. The ministry combines weekly gatherings with activities and seasonal trips. At 9:45 a.m. Sunday School, students work through the “Treasuring Christ” curriculum, which takes them through the gospel from Genesis to Revelation and is intended to deepen their understanding of the Word.
Wednesday at 6:30 p.m., students gather for fellowship, games, worship, and a message from Youth Pastor Ryan Doty. The mix of teaching and interaction gives students consistent time with peers and an intentional setting for Christian growth.
A Sunday School Class for Every Age
Calvary encourages adults and families to try classes until they find the best fit. The age-based groups include a crib nursery for birth through age 1, toddlers for walkers through age 2, pre-K for ages 3 and 4, kindergarten through second grade, and grades 3 through 5. Student classes meet separately for middle school grades 6 through 8 and high school grades 9 through 12.
Adult options are especially varied: Young Married for ages 18 through 44; College and Career for ages 18 through 32; Ladies classes for women 18 and older; a men's class for ages 55 and older; and co-ed classes for ages 55 and older. An Adult Special Abilities class is also part of the life of the church. Each group has an assigned room, allowing newcomers to begin with the age or interest that best matches their needs.
F.I.S.H.: Fun in Serving Him
Calvary's senior adult ministry began with Pastor Emeritus Thurmond Stone, who wanted the “golden years” to be both fun and challenging. Its F.I.S.H. Group meets at noon on the first Thursday of every month. A typical gathering includes opening remarks, a casserole lunch and dessert, a 25- to 30-minute program, church business, and recognition of birthdays and anniversaries. The emphasis is on fun, inspiration, fellowship, food, entertainment, and lasting friendships.
The group also travels nearly every month for a day trip, a two- or three-day trip, or a four- or five-day trip. Calvary tries to keep travel affordable and structures it so no profit is generated. Participants are generally expected to be FISH Group members, but they do not have to belong to Calvary Baptist Church. The ministry also seeks to help every senior adult maintain a living relationship with Jesus Christ.
Women of Grace: Learning and Service
Women of Grace provides ongoing Bible study, fellowship, encouragement, and service. Calvary holds church-wide women's Bible studies in the spring and fall, with an emphasis on God's love, mercy, and grace, stronger friendships, and spiritual growth. Fellowship gatherings welcome women in every season of life, and the annual retreat offers time away for women of all ages to connect with one another and grow in their walk with Christ.
The ministry's service emphasis includes shut-ins, crisis assistance, and hospice. These projects are part of its effort to bring the grace of the gospel into the community through practical care and participation.
What Calvary Believes
Calvary's beliefs center on the triune God: the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are co-equal and one God. Jesus Christ is the Son of God, lived a sinless human life, died as the perfect sacrifice for sin, rose bodily from the dead, ascended, and will return as King. The Bible is God's Word and the supreme source of truth for Christian belief and living. Salvation is God's free gift, received by trusting Jesus and turning from a self-ruled life, and true believers are kept by God's grace and power.
The church teaches that baptism is an act of obedience after salvation and must be by immersion under water; it symbolizes the believer's faith in Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection but has no saving power. The Lord's Supper is symbolic, with bread representing Jesus' body and juice representing his blood. A New Testament church is a local body of baptized believers that observes baptism and the Lord's Supper, uses its God-given gifts, and remains autonomous under the lordship of Christ. Pastors and deacons serve as its scriptural officers.
Calvary also emphasizes evangelism and the responsibility of every believer to make disciples, Christian unity and ending gossip and backbiting, and tithing ten percent of income as the biblical standard. It subscribes to the Baptist Faith and Message of 2000.
Pastor Jack Homesley and the Leadership Team
Senior Pastor Jack Homesley has led Calvary since August 2015. He was saved at Calvary in 1983, then attended Columbia Bible College and Seminary, where he majored in Bible, minored in pastoral ministry, and earned a Bachelor of Arts in Theology with languages in 1989. He later served as senior pastor of Christ Community Church in Huntersville for 25 years. During those years, the congregation grew from fewer than 55 on Sundays to well over 1,000 members, sent missionaries around the world, acquired new property, relocated, and constructed at least five buildings and a worship center.
Homesley returned to the church where he had been saved and now serves as pastor, leader, friend, and counselor. He has served on the Board of Trustees of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and as its chairman, and he teaches annually in the Tarheel Leadership Network, a cooperative ministry with the Baptist Convention of North Carolina and ShareLife Ministries that mentors pastors across North Carolina. His preaching aim is to communicate God's Word accurately, practically, understandably, and life-changingly.
Calvary's staff includes Associate Pastor Ryan Doty, who leads youth and recreation; Children's Director Dee Slagle; Music Director Joy Wilkinson for the traditional service; and Traditional Service Worship Leader Bobby Wilkinson. Twelve deacons serve the congregation: Josh Lankford, Jake Ratteerree, Grayson Bedenbaugh, T.R. Young, Zach Ellard, Jim Berry, Dick Gorham, Darin Hughes, Mark Weissenbach, Wayne Newton, Ken Connell, and Eddie Connell.
Giving and Online Access
One-time and recurring gifts can be made through secure online giving. Automatic debit can also be arranged directly with a bank, and Calvary states that 100% of an automatic-debit gift goes to the church. The church also makes the latest sermon available through Calvary's online services, giving viewers another way to engage with the message shared across both Sunday worship services.
Calvary's identity is found in the balance of gathered worship and active service: two musical approaches on Sunday, a supper and Bible study on Wednesday, age-specific ways to learn and serve, and a mission that reaches from the church family to the community and beyond. Its central aim remains the same: to love God, love others, and spread the word.