Calvary Church stands at 4700 53rd Street in Moline, Illinois, in the heart of the Quad Cities. The church's tagline, "Loving People to Life," shapes everything from the weekend schedule to the way newcomers are welcomed. Around that single phrase, the church has organized a children's ministry running from the nursery through sixth grade, a student ministry for seventh through twelfth graders, a marriage and wedding ministry, and a teaching tradition that walks through the Bible book by book.
The church describes itself as "an independent, evangelical, Bible-believing, Bible-teaching church." Its mission is captured in the Great Commission: "Go and Make Disciples." Its vision is the action of that mission - to "Love People to Life." And its values are the implementation of that vision, summed up in three words: "Healing, Training and Worship." The pastors explain those values as the desire to see "healed people (physically, emotionally and spiritually) trained for a lifetime of service to the Lord - which is worship."
Sunday Mornings in the Worship Center
The Moline campus meets twice on Sunday mornings, with services at 8:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. Both take place in the Worship Center, a 1,000-seat room that the church also uses for large ceremonies. Doors open before each service so families have time to get their children checked in. The 10:30 a.m. service is also livestreamed on YouTube and Facebook, and recordings remain on the church's YouTube channel for later viewing.
Worship at Calvary is musical and energetic. The church maintains a Spotify channel under the Calvary Production name where its worship songs are posted, and the description of its Easter services promises "energetic music and a message that is applicable for everyone." Preaching centers on the Word and applies it directly to daily life. Between services, the church operates a first-time guest kiosk near the cross at the entrance so families can register their children and print security tags before stepping into the Worship Center.
Visitors who want to plan ahead can fill out a connect card online ahead of their visit, and a "Serve" form is available for anyone interested in joining a volunteer rotation once they have decided to make Calvary their church home.
Wednesday Nights for Calvary Students
Middle and high schoolers gather on Wednesday nights through Calvary Students, the church's ministry for seventh through twelfth graders. Doors to the youth room, labeled CK3, open at 5:45 p.m. so students can arrive early, hang out, and play games before the program begins. At 6:25 p.m., the group walks together into the Worship Center to worship alongside the rest of the church.
After the music concludes, students head back to the youth room for a short message and a small group time. The evening dismisses at about 7:45 p.m. The student ministry is led by Student Pastor Nicholas Coffman. The stated goal is for every young person who comes through to become "a disciple of Christ who then use the influence God has given them to go and make more disciples."
Calvary Kids: From the Nursery Through Sixth Grade
The children's ministry at Calvary is organized by age, with three programs that meet during both Sunday morning services. The nursery serves children up to three years old; volunteers pray for every child during the service and make sure each child is changed before being returned to parents. Preschoolers, ages three through five, have a mix of active play, small group time with a teacher, and a short worship experience in a room designed for their age group. The grade school program, kindergarten through sixth grade, works through the Bible together with the goal of teaching children that "Jesus is in every story in the Bible."
Safety is built into the check-in process from the moment a family arrives. Doors open fifteen minutes before each service, and first-time guests can either fill out a form online or use the first-time guest kiosk just past the cross at the entrance. Parents print off name tags for their children and receive a matching security tag that must be presented at pick-up. During the program itself, a security team locks the classroom entrances, and every volunteer who works with children has a current background check on file.
The children's ministry is led by Children's Pastor Daniel Witt, with Gao Idlewine coordinating the nursery and Crystal Dilts coordinating the preschool program. Calvary Kids maintains its own social media presence on Facebook and Instagram, where the ministry shares resources and updates for parents throughout the week.
What Calvary Church Believes
The church's Statement of Faith walks through the historic doctrines of evangelical Christianity in detail. Calvary teaches that the Bible is "the inspired Word of God" and "the only infallible guide and rule of our faith and practice." The church affirms one triune God - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - equal in every divine attribute, executing distinct but harmonious offices in the work of redemption.
On salvation, the church teaches that "everyone has sinned and falls short of God's glorious standard" and that salvation comes by grace alone through faith in Jesus Christ, received through repentance and personal faith. The new birth is described in Paul's terms: through being born again, believers "become new creatures in Jesus Christ."
Two ordinances are practiced. Water baptism is by immersion, performed "in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost, and in Jesus' name," and is taught as a public confession of faith rather than a saving ordinance. The Lord's Supper is observed as a commemoration of Christ's broken body and shed blood, and is open to "all Christian believers, regardless of church affiliation" who are responsible members of a local church.
The Statement of Faith also describes the baptism of the Holy Spirit as a definite experience distinct from conversion, accompanied by the ability to speak in tongues as a private expression between the believer and the Lord. The church teaches divine healing through believing prayer, the imminent pre-millennial return of Christ, the literal reality of heaven and hell, and the Great Commission as binding on the church today.
On family, marriage, and human life, Calvary holds that marriage is the union of one man and one woman, that all human life is sacred from conception through natural death, and that the church is called to defend, protect, and value every stage of life. The five-fold ministry described in Ephesians 4 - apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers - is affirmed, along with the work of the Holy Spirit in distributing gifts for the edification of the church.
Pastors and Elders
Tim Bowman is the Founding Pastor of Calvary Church. Before planting the church, he completed sixteen musical recordings in Nashville, Tennessee, and ministered in more than five hundred churches across the United States and around the world. His calling, as the church describes it, is "to minister, teach and preach God's Word and to keep the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ as the centerpiece of ministry." He and his wife Cathy live in the Quad Cities; their two grown sons, Reece and Riley, are married to Areli and Amber, and Tim and Cathy have two granddaughters, Eliza and Ezmae.
Jeff Duncan serves as Lead Pastor. Glenn Gustafson is the Assimilations and Outreach Pastor, working to welcome newcomers and connect them into the life of the church. Nic Tapia is the Teaching and Young Marrieds Pastor. The staff team also includes Nicholas Coffman as Student Pastor, Daniel Witt as Children's Pastor, Michael Idlewine leading Media and Production, Gao Idlewine coordinating the nursery, Crystal Dilts coordinating the preschool program, and Sheila Zehr handling finance.
Six lay elders round out the elder team alongside the pastors. Cliff Jordan, Dan Hoover, Frank Leihsing, Fred Parks, and Steve Wild join the four pastors in providing spiritual oversight for the congregation.
Marriage Mentoring Before the Aisle
Marriage is treated as a central ministry at Calvary. Engaged couples are required to complete eight weeks of pre-marital mentoring with a Calvary mentoring couple before a wedding can be held at the church. The mentoring carries a one-time $50 fee to cover materials, and additional meetings with the officiating pastor may be required depending on the couple. A separate Marriage Enrichment track is available for married couples at any stage, also for a $50 materials fee.
Weddings at the Moline Campus
Calvary's Worship Center and adjoining spaces are used for weddings, with three packages available. The Basic Package, $125, is a simple ceremony in room CK1, which seats 200, with no rehearsal and only minimal audio setup. The Small Venue Package, $500, adds a one-hour rehearsal the evening before, two hours of building access before and after the ceremony, janitorial and audio/visual services, and a wedding coordinator. The Large Venue Package, $700, is held in the 1,000-seat Worship Center with the use of both the North and South main entrances, two changing rooms, and additional time before and after the ceremony.
The church's wedding policy is that weddings are only performed for active members of Calvary, and all ceremonies are officiated by a Calvary staff pastor unless an exception is approved by the pastoral team. Calvary defines marriage as "a Biblical and Legal union between one man and one woman," citing Ephesians 5, Genesis 2, and Hebrews 13 as foundation texts. Music and lyrics must be pre-approved by the Senior Pastor; a CD of pre-approved wedding music is available for couples to choose from. Flash photography is permitted during the ceremony, but the throwing of rice or birdseed is not allowed anywhere on the church premises, and only dripless candles may be used.
A non-refundable $100 deposit is due no later than one month before the wedding, with the remaining balance paid in full at least two weeks prior to the ceremony. If a wedding is cancelled less than two weeks before the scheduled date, only half of the fees are refunded.
Missions, Outreach, and Prayer
The church takes the Great Commission seriously, sending short-term mission teams to the Dominican Republic through its partnership with Casas por Cristo. Fundraising dinners support scholarships for team members, and the outreach ministry is coordinated through the church's Church Center platform. A Men's Ministry meets regularly, and the church's outreach menu also lists periodic service opportunities for the wider congregation.
A community prayer wall is open to anyone with a need. Prayer requests can be submitted online through the prayer request form, and the church posts each request according to the submitter's instructions - with their name, anonymously, or kept private altogether. A "Testimony Tuesday" series features members sharing how God has worked in their lives; published testimonies include a Calvary-grown member who returned to faith as an adult after years away, a student ministry leader who found community after his family began mentoring at the church's young adult ministry, and a grandmother who watched her grandson's blood disorder dramatically improve.
Giving, the App, and Staying Connected
Tithes and offerings can be given in person at services or online through the church's giving platform. The online portal allows access to current and past giving statements, setup of recurring gifts by debit, credit, or ACH bank transfer, and updates to contact information. Text-to-give is available by texting "GIVE" and an amount to (855) 768-6697. The church quotes 2 Corinthians 9:7-8 in connection with its giving: "Each of you must decide in your heart how much to give. And don't give reluctantly or in response to pressure. For God loves a person who gives cheerfully. And God will generously provide all you need."
The Church Center app, available on iOS and Android, keeps Calvary accessible between Sundays. From the app, members and visitors can watch past messages, register for events, sign up to serve, and receive notifications from the church. The church's YouTube channel, Facebook page, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), and Spotify profile are all linked from the social page, and the Calvary Kids ministry maintains its own Facebook and Instagram feeds.
The church office is open Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and on Wednesday from 12:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. The mailing address is 4700 53rd Street, Moline, IL 61265, the phone number is 309-762-4166, and the general inbox is calvaryqc@calvaryqc.org.