Our Story

How It All Started...

On June 10, 1973, five people met in a living room of a modest home in Lincoln, NE, which included the founding pastor,  Carl Godwin, and his wife Gayle. They had a dream of planting a church that would reach people for Jesus Christ. From these simple beginnings Calvary Community Church was born.

In those early days they claimed the verse from Jeremiah 32:27:

"Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh; is anything too difficult for Me?"

Over the next six years the group grew to more than 100 people and met in rented spaces such as the YMCA while the congregation prayed for land and a building to call its own. God has proven time and time again to the growing Calvary family that nothing is too difficult for Him.  

In 1979 prayers were answered as the first church building was constructed at 1st and Superior Streets. Five years later a new worship center was built. In 1990 classrooms and a gymnasium were added, and in 2009 the most recent facility expansion was completed.

That same founding pastor, Carl Godwin, remained our senior pastor from 1973 until August 1, 2021 when Steve Davenport was introduced as Calvary's new lead pastor.

The same dream that those five faithful people had still drives the church today as it continues to reach people for Jesus Christ.

Who We Are...

At Calvary Community Church we are a people connected by simple values.

We Want to Proclaim Gods Truth Completely.
In our sunday sermons, classes and groups we proclaim the word of God. We open God's Book each Sunday and study the Bible Verse by verse.  We gain understanding and belive His Word, the holy Bible.
This is about knowing. We  cannot share what we do  not know..

We want to Grow in Christ Consistently
Once we have recognized Jesus Christ as forgiver of our sins, we make God's Word, and spending time with Him  a part of everyday life. This is about being. This is how we experience life transformation! We trust him to continue his work in our lives (sanctification), making us a clearer reflection of Christ.

We Want to Love Others Compassionately 
It's important to connect with people in relationships and serve in humility, always working to treat others as we want to be treated. This is about doing. Obedience to the Word of God demands action!  As the body of Christ, we are the hands and feet of Jesus.We place a high value on seeing others through compassionate eyes, and follow that up by generously giving of ourselves as God gives us opportunity.

Everything we do at Calvary Community Church reflects these values. They drive every decision we make as well as the conversations we have.


Why We Exist...

God didn’t just put us here on this hill to have fun together (although we definitely do!) He gave us a reason to be here. In all that we do, every class, small group, service opportunity – each and every thing we do – we are here for this purpose:  love God completely and love people compassionately.

Love God Completely – We’re all in process. Because of that, we continue to learn how to love God and grow in our ability to live that out. We want to love God with all our heart, soul, and mind.

Love People Compassionately – God loves people. He is full of mercy and compassion. We want to be like that too.  As a matter of fact, we exist to do that very thing – love people compassionately.

“And He (Jesus) said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’  This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” Matthew 22:37-39