A Family of Faith on Air Harbor Road
Calvary Christian Center sits on roughly forty acres at 369 Air Harbor Road in Greensboro, North Carolina, just outside the city's northeast corridor. The motto painted across everything the church does is "R.E.A.L. Ministry for R.E.A.L. Life for R.E.A.L. People," and the four letters R.E.A.L. also spell out the four values that shape the ministry: Relevant, Empowering, Accountable, and Loving. On any given Sunday or Wednesday the parking lot is full, the music is loud, and families move between worship services, children's check-in, youth gatherings, and small groups. People come for the music and the message, and they stay because of the friendships.
From Seven Friends to Forty Acres
The story of Calvary Christian Center begins on November 11, 1985, when Vince Hairston, then a freshman at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, gave his life to Christ on campus. Three years later he preached his first sermon at Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church, his home church in Cascade, Virginia. He went on to study under the late Bishop Otis Lockett, Sr. of Evangel Fellowship Church of God in Christ and Bishop George Brooks of Mount Zion Baptist Church, both in Greensboro. After joining Mount Zion in 1990 and being ordained in 1992 by the Guilford Missionary Baptist Association, Hairston spent seven years serving on the Mount Zion staff, first as Christian Education Director and then as Pastor of Adult Ministries.
In September of 2000, Hairston says, God told him it was time to shepherd a flock of his own. He began gathering a small core group of seven people around the vision that would become Calvary Christian Center. The first worship service was held at The Canterbury School on January 7, 2001. Nineteen months later, in September 2002, the congregation moved to 200 Florence Street in Historic Fisher Park, and on March 28, 2003, the church purchased 811 Jefferson Road, a property with three buildings on six acres of land.
Calvary's appetite for multiplication showed up early. On April 2, 2006, the church planted Calvary Christian Center East in the cafeteria of Cone Elementary School in northeast Greensboro; that body became an independent congregation called Reach Ministry in January 2008. In January 2009, Calvary Southwest was planted, and by January 2011 it, too, had grown into an autonomous body now known as Spirit and Truth Worship Center of the Triad.
The biggest leap came on November 15, 2011, when Calvary moved into 369 Air Harbor Road, the current home. Six times the size of the previous campus, the new property gave the church about forty acres to work with. During the COVID-19 pandemic the congregation paid off the mortgage entirely, and by 2021 the building was debt free. In May of 2022, Dr. Hairston earned a Doctor of Philosophy in Leadership Studies from A&T, joining his two earlier degrees from the same university to make him a "Triple Aggie." Outside the pulpit, he enjoys the vintage furniture business.
The Four Marks of R.E.A.L.
Anyone who walks through the doors will hear the four values explained early on. Relevant ministry means addressing the issues that challenge Greensboro families, including drug addiction, poverty, broken families, education, and crime. Empowering ministry puts the believer at the center, with discipleship aimed at equipping individuals and entire families to live out their calling. Accountable leadership is a serious commitment at Calvary: the pastoral team holds itself to godly living and high moral standards, and members who join the covenant are expected to do the same. The fourth value, Loving, shapes how the church handles conflict and failure, restoring brothers and sisters who have been overtaken in faults and seeking to forgive in every situation. The church's foundational text, Proverbs 29:18, sits beside those four words: "Where there is no vision, the people perish."
Two Sundays and Two Wednesdays Each Week
Calvary makes room for busy schedules by offering the same worship experience twice on Sundays and twice on Wednesdays. Sunday services are held at 7:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m., and both follow the same rhythm: powerful worship music led by the Visual and Performing Arts team, a real-life message from Pastor Vince, and time to connect before and after. Wednesday is set up as a Bible study day, with one hour at noon and another at 7:00 p.m., giving people on either side of the workday a way to dig into the Word mid-week. Nursery care is available, and Calvary Kidz programming runs alongside every worship hour so that families can attend together.
Anyone who cannot make it in person can join online. Weekly sermons and a fuller sermon archive are available on the church's YouTube channel.
L.I.F.E. Groups: Sundays at 9:15
Small groups at Calvary are called L.I.F.E. Groups, and they meet between the two Sunday services at 9:15 a.m. Each group gathers six to twenty people around a shared interest, season of life, or topic, with the goal of making it easier to build real friendships inside the church. The list of current groups gives a clear picture of the congregation:
- College & Young Adults discusses how the Word intersects with the lives of college-aged students.
- Current Events works through topics in the news from a biblical perspective.
- Elementary Life is for children from age four through fifth grade.
- Golden Years gathers seniors around faith, love, hope, and the everyday joys of older life.
- High School Life Group and Middle School Life Group walk students through what it means to follow Christ in school.
- Marriage Matters is open to married couples and engaged individuals.
- Men of Calvary and Women of Calvary meet separately to encourage and challenge one another.
- New Members helps newcomers find their footing.
- Prayer Matters teaches the fundamentals of prayer and intercession.
- Through the Bible walks systematically through every book of Scripture.
Calvary Kidz, Calvary Youth, and CAYA
Children have a ministry built just for them at Calvary Kidz, where the rooms are set up to be fun and interactive while still teaching the Bible. The Kidz wing has its own director and welcomes children from nursery age through elementary school every Sunday, with programming running alongside both morning worship services.
Calvary Youth reaches students in grades six through twelve with a mix of worship, Bible study, and fellowship. Youth join the main sanctuary for Sunday Morning Church at 10:30 a.m. on the second, third, and fourth Sundays of the month, gather for a Sunday Youth L.I.F.E. Group at 9:15 a.m., and meet for Bible study every Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. Throughout the year the ministry adds events that range from outings to community service projects, all aimed at helping students connect with God, with each other, and with the broader community.
For older students, the CAYA ministry (College and Young Adults) equips college-aged men and women to declare, communicate, and demonstrate the purpose, power, precepts, and principles of the Kingdom of God.
Serving on a Team
Calvary runs on the energy of volunteers, and the church makes joining a team a normal part of becoming a member. After formally joining the congregation at any service, anyone can step into a serving role on teams that include greeting guests, teaching children, leading worship, capturing the moment through photography, and helping with the audio and visual side of services. Service is built into the path from visitor to committed member, with the church framing each team as a way to play a part in changing lives and living out a God-given purpose.
Weddings, Conferences, and Facility Rentals
The size of the Air Harbor Road campus means Calvary can host more than Sunday services. A Facility Rental Request form is open to outside groups that need space for events, and an Equipment Rental Request handles requests for items owned by the church. A Child Dedication Request is also available for families who want to publicly dedicate their child to the Lord. Baptisms are offered on the first Sunday of each month and can be signed up for in advance.
C.A.R.E. and Transportation
For members and regular attenders who are walking through a hard season, the church runs a C.A.R.E. Assistance ministry. Anyone can submit a C.A.R.E. Assistance Form to let the pastoral team know about a need, and the church also offers a Transportation to Service form for those who need a ride to worship. Outside of those care channels, Calvary stays connected to the wider community through partnerships such as the Greater Greensboro Crop Hunger Walk.
Ways to Give
Supporting the ministry at Calvary can be done in several ways. Online giving is available through the church's giving portal, where debit, credit card, and bank account gifts can be set up as one-time or recurring contributions. Zelle payments can be sent to finance@calvary-cc.org, with a note specifying the purpose of the gift. Cash and check can be dropped in the offering basket during any service, and a deacon stands behind the usher if anyone needs change. Mailed gifts should be made payable to Calvary Christian Center. Each year the church also distributes an annual pledge card so members can commit to a specific level of giving for the coming year.
Getting in Touch
Calvary Christian Center is located at 369 Air Harbor Road, Greensboro, NC 27455. The church office can be reached at 336.852.3100. For a first-time family, the simplest path is to arrive a few minutes early, find the Children's check-in area for Calvary Kidz, and plan to stay for the L.I.F.E. Group hour between services if there is room in the schedule. Visitors who want to formally join the church can do so after any service.