Calvary Baptist Church sits on South Locust Street in Las Cruces, just south of downtown and the historic Mesilla Valley. The church is known in the region for combining a busy Sunday morning with deep midweek rhythms: weekly prayer gatherings, a twice-monthly food pantry that serves over 300 households, a preschool housed in its children's wing, and an extensive partnership with Southern Baptist mission causes. A newcomer walking in for the first time will find a congregation shaped by three values the church prints on its own materials - Gospel, Community, and Mission - and a calendar built around them.
The Sunday morning service begins at 9:30 AM. Small groups meet on either side of that service at 8:20 AM and 11:00 AM, so families arriving early or staying late can join a Bible study without missing the gathering. Children from kindergarten through fifth grade start in the sanctuary with their parents for the musical portion of the service, then step out to the Youth Chapel for age-specific teaching and games. Preschoolers are cared for from infancy through pre-K during both the service hour and the second-hour Sunday school. Check-in for both Calvary Kids and Preschool takes place at the desk in the South Wing of the building.
A typical Sunday service includes congregational worship led by the worship and communications team, prayer, Scripture reading, and expository preaching. The service is also livestreamed through a Vimeo broadcast, so those who cannot attend in person can watch from home, and recordings are posted afterward as past messages for anyone who wants to catch up.
What Calvary Believes
Calvary's statement of faith runs to several thousand words and follows the historic Baptist Faith and Message closely. The church teaches that the Bible is God's revelation, totally true and trustworthy, written by men divinely inspired. God exists eternally as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, three persons sharing one divine nature. The church affirms the classic statements on the person and work of Christ: His virgin birth, sinless life, substitutionary death, bodily resurrection, ascension, and promised return.
On salvation, the church teaches that it is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone, and that it includes regeneration, justification, sanctification, and final glorification. The church practices believer's baptism by immersion and observes the Lord's Supper as a symbolic memorial. The church is congregational in polity and elder-led: an elder is a man who meets the qualifications in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:6-9, is called by the congregation, and helps lead the congregation by teaching the Word, praying for the people, and overseeing the affairs of the church. Deacons serve as leading servants who meet practical and member care needs. The office of pastor is reserved for men, as the church reads Scripture to require.
The church prints three core values at the top of its materials. The first, Gospel, is the good news of what God has accomplished in the person and work of his Son - in His perfect life, sacrificial death, and victorious resurrection - to secure forgiveness of sins and fullness of life for all who individually repent of their sin and follow Jesus as Lord and Savior. The second, Community, emphasizes that Christians are made in God's image and redeemed by His grace and flourish in a worshipful community of love, care, and growth. The third, Mission, frames the church's outreach as joining a God who came to earth on a mission to redeem and restore humanity.
Calvary Kids and Kids-N-Christ Preschool
Children's ministry at Calvary runs from infancy through fifth grade and is split between two programs under the direction of Children's Director Veronica Corder. Calvary Kids serves kindergarten through fifth grade. Preschool ministry, branded as Kids-N-Christ, is a part-time preschool program housed in the Children's Wing of the church building, with separate registration, payment, and a parent handbook.
Calvary Kids gathers children K-5 for games, snacks, worship, and Bible teaching specifically for them. On Sundays, they begin in the service with their families, then head with leaders to the Youth Chapel after the music ends. After the first service, the kids can stay for grade-level breakout Bible study led by Sunday school teachers. The Wednesday evening program offers additional games and a special lesson. The check-in desk in the South Wing handles both drop-off and pick-up.
The preschool believes it is never too early to start developing a spiritual foundation, and offers classes for infants through pre-K during Sunday morning services, the second-hour Sunday school, and Wednesday evening activities. Kids-N-Christ has its own phone line at (575) 520-6810 and email at kids_n_christ@cbclascruces.org, with separate registration and payment procedures. The ministry is part-time and operates from inside the church facility, giving parents a single campus for the whole family.
Student Ministries
The student ministry serves sixth through twelfth graders under Director Jared W., who joined the staff after being baptized at Calvary in 2021 and serving as the previous Intern of Student Ministries. The students are called 922 after a key verse, and they describe their ministry as worshipping the Lord through dedication to Biblical teaching, saturating their time in prayer, songs of praise, discipleship, and fellowship.
Sundays at 11:00 AM, students meet in the Youth Chapel during the second-hour Bible study hour. Wednesdays from 5:30 to 7:00 PM they meet throughout the year in the same room. On the third Friday of each month, 922 gathers from 6:00 to 8:00 PM for a fellowship night centered on God honoring fellowship and fun. Special events include summer camp, winter retreat, and mission trips.
Women's Ministry
The Women's Ministry at Calvary is led by Chairwoman Laura Jarry, Vice Chairwoman Julie Winkler, Secretary Kaili Howard, and Treasurer Bella Shoffstall. The ministry's stated goal is for women to grow in their relationship with the Lord through Bible study, prayer, worship, fellowship, mentoring, and serving others.
Monthly meetings take place on the first Monday of each month from 6:30 to 8:00 PM in the Conference Room, and any woman can attend. The Ladies Bible Study meets every Tuesday with two time slots, 9:30 AM and 6:00 PM, walking through different books of the Bible in a supportive environment. The ministry also runs a year-round program called Intentional Friends, based on Titus 2:3-5, which pairs women of different generations for encouragement, guidance, listening, and prayer; the intentional push for new pairings happens each January. Each year the team hosts conferences and special events open to women from Calvary and the surrounding area.
Prayer as a Weekly Rhythm
Prayer is the heartbeat of everything we do. Two regular weekly gatherings anchor that rhythm. On Wednesdays at 6:00 PM an open prayer group meets in Room 6 to pray over the church, the community, and individual needs. On Thursdays the Men's Prayer Breakfast brings men together over breakfast in the Worship Center from 6:45 to 8:45 AM for fellowship, food, and prayer; the breakfast costs $4.
Anyone can submit a prayer request through an online form, and the prayer team commits to lifting those requests up confidentially. Prayer guides and topical resources are also available through the ministry.
Groups, Discipleship, and Midweek Classes
The Groups and Discipleship ministry organizes the church's adult formation life. Sunday groups meet before and after the 9:30 AM service to study the same book of the Bible together, and are coordinated through the church's online Church Center directory. Twice a year the church sets aside ten Wednesday nights for GCM Classes; a shared meal is served at 5:30 PM and classes begin at 6:00 PM. Topics rotate, but the goal is the same: to go deeper in faith and community midweek.
A handful of specialty groups fill out the calendar. Busy Hands meets every Monday at 10:00 AM for crafters who share a devotion, homemade treats, and fellowship. The Senior Adult Ministry hosts a monthly gathering with hymns, special music, and teaching open to anyone who wants to bring a friend or family member. The Ladies Bible Study on Tuesdays and the Wednesday and Thursday prayer groups serve the rest of the week. Groups are listed through the church's Church Center portal, where visitors can let leaders know they're coming or simply show up.
The Food Pantry
Twice a month, on the second and fourth Wednesdays from 8:00 to 10:00 AM, the church's food pantry distributes food and essential supplies to over 300 households in the Las Cruces area. Registration is required before receiving food; families and individuals can register by emailing foodpantrycbc@outlook.com or calling the church office. Volunteers can serve on Tuesday mornings to unpack and prep, or on Wednesday mornings for distribution.
Missions: Pray, Give, Go
Missions are organized around three words: Pray, Give, Go. The church partners with three Southern Baptist bodies: the Baptist Convention of New Mexico for state work, the North American Mission Board for North American missions, and the International Mission Board for international missions. Calvary gives annually to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for IMB missionaries and the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering for NAMB church planters and missionaries, and channels gifts through the State Missions Offering for gospel work across New Mexico.
In addition to financial support, the church sends short-term mission trips and partners with NMSU Christian Challenge to send college students on extended summer mission trips. Members are also encouraged to see their homes, workplaces, schools, and neighborhoods as places where mission starts where you are. As the church's own statement puts it, Jesus sends His people to the nations, but that calling begins wherever He has already placed us.
Staff, Elders, and Deacons
Calvary is led by an elder team and served by a staff. Sam Swann serves as Associate Pastor of Discipleship and Education, having rejoined the leadership team in September 2023 after earlier youth ministry experience at Calvary and sixteen years as State Missionary for Student Ministry with the Baptist Convention of New Mexico. Veronica Corder has served as Calvary Kids Director since 2011. Michael Loyola has served as Director of Worship and Communications since 2021. Jared W. serves as Director of Student Ministries. Together with the elders and deacons, this team oversees the church's ministry.
The elders are identified by first name and last initial and serve as men called by the congregation who teach the Word, pray for the people, and oversee the affairs of the church. The deacons, also listed by first name and last initial, serve as leading servants in practical and member care ministry.
Giving and Visitor Information
Visitors who want to learn more can fill out an I'm New form through the church's online system, and existing attenders can request baptism, become a member, join a serve team, or share a prayer request through the same portal. Giving is available online through the church's giving portal, with additional specific giving opportunities accessible through dropdown options.
The church is located at 1800 S Locust St, Las Cruces, NM 88001. The main office can be reached at (575) 522-7900 or cbcoffice@cbclascruces.org. Sunday services are at 9:30 AM, with small groups at 8:20 and 11:00 AM, and the livestream runs through the church's Vimeo channel.