By Kevin Zemanek, Chairman, Leadership Board 

Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

At Calvary, we believe it is critical that all Christians grow to maturity in their walk with Jesus Christ.  Being lifelong learners is very much a biblical concept.  Proverbs speaks often of the value of knowledge (Proverbs 24:5, A wise man has great power, and a man of knowledge increases strength) and being a student (Proverbs 18:15, The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge; the ears of the wise seek it out.)  In Hosea 4:6, the Israelites were charged by God due to their lack of faith and desire to learn about and understand the Lord – My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also reject you as My priests; and our Lord and Savior is none other than the Rabbi– or Teacher – of us all.  The Leadership Board is responding to this call to lifelong learning.

By Kevin Zemanek, Chairman, Leadership Board

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Our God is a God of new beginnings, evidenced so strongly through the resurrection of our Savior and through the new life each of us has received as a born-again believer.  It is also a time of new beginnings at Calvary – although admittedly it seems like our new beginnings have been going on continuously for the past 2 years.  Recently, we held our annual congregational meeting at which several brothers completed their terms of service on our Leadership Board, several new brothers were elected to the Board, a new Board chairman was affirmed, a new fiscal year was set, and a new annual budget was voted on and accepted.

By Brad King, Chairman, Leadership Board

I am encouraged by the response to our recent capital campaign and I am excited about the purpose for the campaign – to position ourselves for future ministry by paying off our debt and investing in people.  I have been reading Ephesians and in that book Paul encourages the church to be all that God has intended her to be.  What Paul writes fits so well with our vision for Calvary. That vision is one of all to maturity, all to ministry, and many to leadership. Below is Ephesians 4: 11 - 16 (NIV)

¹¹“It was He who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, ¹²to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up ¹³until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.  ¹⁴Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming.  ¹⁵Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into Him who is the Head, that is, Christ.  ¹⁶From Him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work."

By Jeff Roepke , Vice Chairman, Leadership Board

The holiday season is a time to reflect on God’s goodness.  The facility update, a capital campaign, and day-to-day ministry activities has made for a wild ride!  It has been a blessing to see how the Lord has sustained us through this exciting time.  Even more, I am blessed to see the wonderful resilience of the Calvary church family!  We have endured the challenges posed by the facility update, the start of our new evening worship service, and so many other changes with love, grace, and patience.