About Calvary

Calvary Chapel was once part of the "Jesus Movement" of the late 1960s. The first Calvary Chapel was Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa in Costa Mesa, California.

Calvary Chapel is a non-denominational church movement that has over a thousand affilliated churches world-wide. Calvary Chapel also runs several Bible colleges in the U.S.A., U.K., Australia, Brazil, Peru, Chile, Spain, Russia, Phillipines, Germany, Israel, Japan, Mexico, and Hungary.

Calvary Chapel is known for "teaching sermons" which may last 45 minutes to an hour. In these sermons, a pastor reads and expounds upon a lengthy section of Scripture, going wherever the text and the Holy Spirit lead. Because of its length and a desire to minimize distractions from the teaching, most Calvary Chapels hold Sunday School for children during the sermon.

Calvary Chapel worship services are known for being relaxed and informal, although some are more traditional. Most Calvary Chapel services are "come as you are" affairs at which ties and "Sunday dresses" are not required.

Praise and Worship is an important part of service at many Calvary Chapels. Generally it is comprised of upbeat contemporary praise music; dramatically different from the hymns sung at more traditional Christian churches.

Click here to read the history of Calvary Waco.