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On April 19, 1897, 40 members of the First Baptist Church of Altoona were granted letters of dismissal to organize another Baptist church. It was decided that the name of the new church should be Calvary Baptist Church.
On June 10, 1897, Dr. John Feltwell was ordained and called as first pastor of the church. The original building was located at 5th Avenue and 21st Street in Altoona.


1897-1916 5th Avenue & 21st Street

Dr. Feltwell would pick the young people up in horse and buggy to take them to church
 
Dr. John Feltwell
1897-1898, 1900, 1911-1920
 		 Rev. R.F. Stoltz
1905-1908
Rev. Harry Dooley
1902-1905
 		 Rev. J.F. Metzgar
1909-1911
Assistant Pastor Elmer R. Horner - 1913-1955

The original building was outgrown, and a new church building was constructed at the same location beginning May 7, 1916 and occupied October 29, 1916.

On January 22, 1919 the church became an independent Baptist church when it withdrew from the Centre Baptist Association. A Bible school annex consisting of eight rooms and a basement was begun in May 1939 and completed in November of 1939.

Rev. George Price
1919-1922		 Dr. W. S. Hottel
1924-1926
Rev. William Thomas
1926-1927
Dr. Frank Torrey
1931-1937		 Dr. Ralph H. Stoll
1938-1965
Associate Pastor Donald R. Lengel -- 1956-1965

The Friday Night Training Class used Scofield Leaflets for the lessons. Out of this class went many young people as pastors and missionaries.

The church broadcast the Sunday evening service over the radio during Rev. Stoll's ministry.

Don Smith's parents took care of communion at their house each week. There was no sink at the church to wash the glasses so they took them to their house. They prepared the communion and carried it over ever Saturday night.

Sunday morning Bible School attendance reached numbers of over 700 people.

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"Vera Saylor and myself held Jewel classes each Wednesday afternoon for children in the neighborhood and others coming from the Adams school, teaching them flannelgraph, Bible stories and having them memorize scripture verses. They were rewarded whenever they learned 10 verses. We usually had 30-35 children."                                                                Margaret Foster

"After my dear father baptized me at the age of eight, I still hear the sound of his kiss which was loud enough for the audience to hear...When I come back into fellowship with the Lord, I'll always cherish the shower of cards and notes from Calvary's friends who faithfully prayed for me."                                                                                                                        Joanne Stoll, Col 3:23

"Testimonies of godly men on Prayer Meeting night ... Faye Keith and the Men's Chorus singing the great hymns of faith...the Deacons' godliness...my father's excellent Bible expository messages which gave me a good Biblical foundation for life."                                Dr. John H. Stoll
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On May 31, 1961 the church adopted the building committee recommendation to accept the parcel of ground given to the church at 810 Ruskin Drive for the construction of a new church building. A ground-breaking service was held on June 27, 1965.
On July 31, 1967, at a specially called business meeting, it was voted to adopt new plans of a colonial design and proceed with the building of the new edifice. Actual work then began at the new site on September 1, 1967. The building was completed and dedicated December 14, 1973.


1973 - present  810 Ruskin Drive

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"Being a part of Calvary's youth group in the mid-70s was a huge influence in my life... The young people's enthusiasm toward living for God (we used to call it "on fire for Jesus") was contagious.                                                                                                                Janie (Mock) Stewart

"My special memory of Calvary is that of my children, and the way that God led in their lives through the youth group there. I firmly believe that because of the training, fellowship and example they received, they are both in the Lord's service today.              Pastor Frank Oessenich

"It was here we accepted Christ as our Savior on December 7, 1975 in the study of Pastor D'Andre. In March of 1976, two of our sons accepted the Lord after a Sunday evening service. Our third son was saved several years later."                                                    Dave and Carol Evans
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Rev. J. Richard D'Andre
1965-1977
 		 Dr. Lewis Stewart
1978-1984
Rev. J. Kim Gee
1985-1995
 		 Rev. Joseph T. Kelly
1996-1999
Assistant Pastors: Russell Baker, John Lee, Larry Weaver Jr.
 
Youth Pastors: Philip Cherry, Dane Emerick, Don Meckley, Dathan Corbett, Dave Johnson

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Calvary Today . . .

"Sometimes God provides us with opportunities to foresee bits and and pieces of the future. These glimpses of tomorrow should enable us to serve Christ better by making smarter choices today."                                                                                                   George Barna

Like it or not, we had better get ready for the 21st century. Our culture is quite different from the generation that began Calvary Baptist over 100 years ago. A survey revealed that 62% of unchurched people believe the church is not relevant for our day. Couple that with the fact that although we have an incredible amount of information available today, the volume is just 3% of what experts tell us will be available at our finger tips in 2010. We face the task of reaching people floundering in an endless sea of information and choices.

We will need clear direction from the Spirit of God if we are to continue to target the "lost souls" of our world with the life changing power of Jesus Christ. Here at Calvary, our purpose can never change:
        To win people to Christ
        To equip the Christian body
        To remain focused on reaching a lost world for Christ, and
        To strengthen our Christian lives through the Word of God

We will have to be relevant in a changing culture, for every generation of Christians must believe that God still makes it possible to reach the unbeliever, through the Written Word, the Spoken Word, and the Lived Out Word in the daily walk of His people.

Larry Weaver Jr. assumed the position of Youth Pastor at Calvary Baptist Church in 1998. He was ordained by Calvary Baptist Church in 2000 and currently serves at Youth Pastor and Assistant Pastor.

Our current Pastor, Rev. Ronald Anderson preached his first sermon on December 3, 2000.
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For additional information on our church, please contact our church office at 942-6541 or cbc@nb.net

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