Stephen Spender said, "History is the ship carrying living memories to the future." Whether it be the history of a nation, a family or an individual, history is a compilation of experiences, some good and some sad, but all a result of the interaction of people.

The history of the Church is the record of Christ interacting in the lives of His people to form a spiritual body through which He can work to redeem the world. The history of Calvary is such a record. Through men and women whose greatness is measured through their faithfulness, God has touched the lives of thousands of people in the Wilmington area. From the sermons preached, the lessons taught, the services rendered, the gifts given and the prayers prayed by Calvary people, God has called pastors to fill America's pulpits and missionaries to carry the Gospel around the world. The history of this church is the history of God at work in the lives of people. The people of our past have laid a great spiritual foundation that is to be built upon today.

After a few struggling years at the beginning of the church's history, Calvary learned to be a family and face challenges as a family. From early in our history Pastor J. L. Sullivan wrote to this family:

"I can only ask every member of our dear church to offer a prayer of Thanksgiving to God for His wonderful blessing to us, and for the spirit of harmony that has prevailed among us...may we not resolve that the best years of service are ahead of us."

That statement came from the heart of a Pastor in 1934, and it rings in the heart of this Pastor today.

Calvary has much good history to carry forward, and the experiences we enjoy today will be living memories carried forward to remind future generations of the importance of being faithful to God and being a family of believers.

-Dr. Donnie Lovette, Senior Pastor