CALVARY BAPTIST CHURCH, TOWSON MD
WELCOME TO CALVARY BAPTIST CHURCH
WORSHIP SERVICE SUNDAY MORNING AT 11:00AM
There is ample parking available during our Sunday service both in the front of the church on Pennsylvania and Baltimore Avenues or in the parking lot behind (and left of) the church. There is also an accessible ramp at the rear entrance.
Church Office Hours
Monday - Friday
9am-2pm
410-825-3360
Contact Us
MISSION STATEMENT
Calvary Baptist Church exists to glorify God by proclaiming His praises, making disciples of Jesus Christ, and raising a people called out of darkness into His marvelous light. We are united in Christ. And we fulfill the Great Commission through biblical teaching, fellowship, prayer, worship, and service, and we are devoted to pursuing faithfulness in every season by helping people encounter Jesus, grow in Him, and participate actively in His kingdom purposes. In fulfillment of the Great Commission, we make disciples by baptizing believers and teaching them to obey all that Christ has commanded, while serving as His royal priesthood and living as His holy people in the world. We pursue this mission by ensuring that:
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Every member is actively engaged in discipleship
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Every believer is connected to biblical community
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Every ministry expression advances the Great Commission through house-to-house fellowship, outreach, evangelism, and mission-driven innovations
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There is a measurable increase in new visitors, conversions, and baptisms
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An active system for identifying and meeting needs is maintained
Scriptural Foundation: Matthew 28:18–20 | 1 Peter 2:9–10
OUR VISION
At Calvary Baptist Church we are a community of God’s people, united in love for God, who gather to worship and glorify God, in the welcoming tradition of our Baptist faith: sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ, as guided by the Holy Spirit, through discipleship, Christian education, and community outreach.
Calvary Baptist Church envisions a Christ-centered, Spirit-empowered, and biblical multicultural community where people of all ages and backgrounds are transformed by the gospel and equipped to live faithfully as disciples of Jesus Christ. We seek to be a church where identity precedes strategy, where mission outweighs nostalgia, and where the people—not the building—are recognized as the church.
Our vision is to continually align our identity with Scripture, our practices with the model of the early church, and our mission with the Great Commission. We desire to create space for new generations to encounter Christ afresh, helping people form new memories of God’s faithfulness while remaining anchored in biblical truth.
WHAT WE BELIEVE
We believe in God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit (Trinity). We believe that Jesus is the Son of God, was virgin born and took on human flesh. We believe that He died on the cross to pay our sin debt in full (past, present and future). We believe that He rose on the third day and has conquered death and all those who believe in Him and confess Him as Lord have been given the free gift of salvation. We believe that to be saved and justified through the saving grace of Jesus Christ one needs to be born again. We believe that the Bible is the inerrant Word of God, written by men but divinely guided by God. We believe that the Bible is God’s revelation of Himself to sinful man. We believe in the Believer’s Baptism (full immersion) and the Lord’s Supper as instituted by Jesus Christ Himself. We believe that Jesus will come again to gather His church home. We believe in having a personal relationship with our Savior Jesus Christ rather than just a rule and regulation-based religion.
CORE VALUES
1. Biblical Identity
We embrace our calling as God’s chosen people, royal priesthood, and holy nation, proclaiming His praises and living according to His purposes.
2. Identity Before Strategy
We prioritize who we are in Christ first. Who we are in Christ determines what we do. Every ministry, decision, and initiative must flow from our biblical identity.
3. Mission Over Memory
We prioritize God’s mission above nostalgia, preferences, traditions, or institutional preservation.
4. Biblical Teaching
We devote ourselves to the teaching of God’s Word as the foundation for spiritual growth, maturity, and obedience.
5. Authentic Community
We pursue fellowship, unity, mutual care, and joyful life together through both corporate gatherings and house-to-house relationships.
6. Prayer
We commit ourselves to prayer as the lifeline of the church and the foundation of all ministry.
7. Disciple-Making
We actively make disciples, baptize believers, and teach obedience to Christ in fulfillment of the Great Commission.
8. Compassion and Service
We serve one another and our community with generosity, humility, and sacrificial love.
9. Worship and Praise
We cultivate a lifestyle of worship, gratitude, joy, reverence, and praise to God.
10. Freedom from Limiting Traditions
We distinguish between biblical convictions and personal preferences, ensuring that traditions never hinder mission or obedience.
OUR CHURCH HISTORY
Calvary Baptist Church has a long history in the heart of Towson. Our current location has been in use since 1914, and the building has been standing on the corner of West Pennsylvania and Baltimore Ave since 1929. However, the church body goes back all the way to 1889.
In December, 1889, the Reverend A. C. Dixon, pastor of the Baptist Tabernacle, held a Baptist worship service in a small room located over a blacksmith's shop in Towson. By February, 1890, a Sunday School program was being conducted in that upper room. On August 15, 1890, twelve members of that Sunday School signed the charter, founding Calvary Baptist Church.
The membership of the new Church grew rapidly. A Church building was constructed, and in 1892 the congregation moved into a simple frame sanctuary constructed on the present property at 120 West Pennsylvania Avenue in Towson. In 1929, that small structure was replaced by a modern sanctuary, and an educational wing was added in 1960.
It is important to remember that a Church is not a building of wood or stone, but a group of people called to serve God in the whole world. Through the years, Calvary Baptist Church has been blessed with many dedicated people who have given months, years, or lifetimes to further the Kingdom of God through our ministries.
CHARTER MEMBERS
The Reverend William H. Hubbard
Mr. & Mrs. Frank K. Tyler
Miss Laura Merryman
Mr. & Mrs. John C. Watson
Miss Mary Watson
Miss Fanny Watson (Mrs. John Schaeffer)
Mrs. A. J. Rowe
Mr. Charles E. Thomas
Miss Agnes Stieber (Mrs. Watson)
Mr. John P. Leland
FORMER PASTORS
William Hough 2020-2025
Dr. William Sean Lee and Sarah Lee 2013-2019
Frederick K. Weimert 1977-2013
Leland Higginbotham 1955-1981
John Henry Day 1953-1955
George Arthur Clarke 1944-1953
Thomas G. Ellis 1942-1944
Archibald F. Ward, Jr. 1937-1942
Richard W. Wickes 1923-1936
John David Clarke 1912-1922
George Ross Wells 1909-1910
Benjamin B. Abbitt 1904-1908
William E. Robertson 1892-1903
William H. Hubbard 1890-1891
Church Timeline
1889 Dec 10 - First meeting of Towson Baptists in a room over Parlett's Blacksmith Shop
1890 Feb 26 - Bible School started with Mr. John P. Leland as Superintendent
1890 Mar 23 - Services moved to Temperance Tabernacle, corner of Virginia and Shealey Avenues
1890 Aug 5 - Twelve charter member organized Calvary Temperance Tabernacle
1891 - House on corner of Pennsylvania and Baltimore Avenue and adjoining lot purchased
1892 Feb 14 - Dedication of our first sanctuary, the frame church, built by C. E. Thomas
1914 Feb - Elizabeth Rider Stevenson donated money to buy land for church at corner of W. Pennsylvania and Baltimore Avenue
1928 - Parsonage moved over and work began on new church
1929 Jun 23 - Dedication of present sanctuary
1945 - Osborne-Yelllott property at 108 W Pennsylvania purchased for parsonage
1959 Feb - Parsonage at 108 W Pennsylvania destroyed by fire
1960 Jun 5 - New parsonage at 821 Trafalgar Road purchased
1960 Jun 5 - Dedication of Harrison Rider Memorial Sunday School Building
1964 Nov 6 - Burning of Sunday School Building Mortgage. Church entirely debt free
1981 - Parsonage at 821 Trafalgar Road sold
1990 - Calvary celebrated its centennial over an 18 month period
1990 Dec 24 - Memorial window dedicated at the annual Christmas Eve service
1997 - New organ purchased and dedicated
2015 - Calvary celebrated it's 125th Anniversary
2025 - Calvary celebrated it's 135th Anniversary
Community Outreach Timeline
1897 Feb 16 - Govanstown Baptist, now Gregory Memorial, sponsored by Calvary and formed by Govanstown members
1965 - Sponsored Millie and Cesar Arce from Cuba
1980 - Sponsored 6 members of Dang family from Vietnam
1984 - Towson Calvary Daycare center opened in church facilities and ran until 2000
1985 - Assistance Center of Towson Churches opened in Bridgebuilders' Cabin to help the disadvantaged
1995 - Members of Calvary began work projects with Chesapeake Habitat for Humanities.
1995 - Calvary sponsored the Agic family from Bosnia
1995 - Migrant Worker Health Kit project began
1997 - Our Daily Bread monthly cake baking mission started
2005 - CBC provided monthly meals to the Eastern Homeless Resource Center; Sarah's Hope, mission continued until 2013
2012 - CBC offered support to Akaolisa family from Burkina Faso in the process for U.S. asylum
2012 - Ground breaking for extension of the ACTC building
2015 - First Bible Give-a-Way at the Towsontown Festival
2018 - Participated in the Christmas Shoebox program operated by Samaritan's Purse
2022 - Calvary opened its in-house pantry for members
2022 - Collaborating with local police to collect shoes for the homeless shelters
2025 - Towsontown Fall Festival
2025 - First annual Thanksgiving meal for the community
2026 - Valentine's Day Event
2026 - First Annual Family Movie Night
2026 - Towsontown Spring Festival