Many people over the years have asked if we might have made a mistake in using the word “Calvary” in our church’s name, since so many churches using that name are not welcoming and affirming to all people. “It may scare people away!” they say.

Still, to shy away from Calvary is to deny the historical place and focal point of what we affirm to be the most important event in human history: that God would love humans so much that God would take on the flesh of humanity in order to be “one of us” – to experience every joy and concern that we could imagine, to be a God who suffers with us, as God does even today, rather than sitting on a lofty perch, impassable to our needs, whether physical, emotional, or even spiritual.

So why do we use the name “Calvary?” Because once you’ve climbed Mount Calvary to get a glimpse of Jesus on the cross, you’ll find that the ground is level for everyone. Jesus gave His life on the Cross of Calvary. Therefore, Calvary is everyone’s place to claim as the focal point of their salvation, healing, and endowment with the power of the Holy Spirit.

– Pastor Mark