Who We Are

Vision

To Make Jesus Non-Ignorable
in Highlands Ranch and to the ends of the earth.

We know that when something has made a difference in our lives, when something has changed us, when something has given us hope, we talk about it. We tell others about it, we share, that thing or person is non-ignorable in our lives and becomes non-ignorable to those around us. Our desire is for Jesus to be that person in our lives who is non-ignorable to us and in turn to those around us.

Mission

To Make Joyful, Passionate Disciples of Jesus.

In Matthew 28:19-20, Jesus commanded His disciples to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them and teaching them to obey all that He had commanded them. We believe that a disciple of Jesus is a whole-hearted follower, someone who has a pure heart and a sincere faith (1 Tim. 1:5).

Jesus talked about His disciples experiencing life to the full, a life joined to God through a personal relationship with Him (John 10:10). This personal, whole-hearted relationship expresses itself in joy: true followers of Jesus are joyful and passionate in their following.

Core Commitments

We believe joyful, passionate following of Jesus expresses itself in four core commitments:

  1. Worship God Passionately: When we worship something, we are excited about it and give it our full attention and energy. Worship happens on Sundays and during the week.

  2. Connect with One-Another Authentically: The Bible describes the church as a body, a group of people with different giftings and ability who together grow in Christ. This happens as we connect in meaningful relationship with one another.

  3. Grow to Know God Deeply: A follower of Jesus is growing in His relationship with God by beholding God, spending time in Scripture and prayer and living a life in obedient response to God.

  4. Go, Show and Tell the Gospel Boldly: When we worship something, we are excited about it and tell others about it. The gospel is good news that is shared verbally with others and the effects of the gospel are displayed in our lives through loving service of others.

Doctrinal Distinctives

The following five distinctive theological convictions serve as foundations for who we are, along with our adherence to the SBC Baptist Faith & Message (2000).

  1. We are passionate about Gospel centrality - We believe the gospel is the good news of what God has graciously accomplished for sinners through the sinless life, sacrificial death, and bodily resurrection of his Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ, namely our forgiveness from sin and complete justification before God; this gospel is also the foundation for our confidence in the ultimate triumph of God’s kingdom, and the consummation of his purpose for all creation in the new heavens and new earth.


    This gospel is centered in Christ, is the foundation for the life of the Church, and is our only hope for eternal life; this gospel is not proclaimed if Christ’s penal substitutionary death and bodily resurrection are not central to our message. This Gospel is not only the means by which people are saved, but also the truth and power by which people are sanctified; it is the truth of the Gospel that enables us to genuinely and joyfully do what is pleasing to God and to grow in progressive conformity to the image of Christ. The salvation offered in this gospel message is received by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone; no ordinance, ritual, work, or any other activity on the part of man is required in order to be saved.

    (Mark 1:1; Luke 24:46-47; John 3:16-18; Romans 1:16-17; Romans 1:18-25; 1 Corinthians 1:18-25, 2:2, 15:1-4; 2 Corinthians 4:1-6, 9:13; Galatians 1:6-9; Ephesians 1:7-10; Colossians 1:19-20; 2 Timothy 1:8-14; 2 Peter 3:11-13; Jude 3-4; Revelation 21-22)

  2. We enthusiastically embrace the sovereignty of God’s grace in saving sinners - We affirm that God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world, not on the basis of foreseen faith but unconditionally, according to his sovereign good pleasure and will. We believe that through the work of the Holy Spirit, God will draw the elect to faith in his Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, graciously and effectually overcoming their stubborn resistance to the gospel so that they will most assuredly and willingly believe.

    We also believe that these, the elect of God whom he gave to the Son, will persevere in belief and godly behavior and be kept secure in their salvation by grace through faith. We believe that God’s sovereignty in this salvation neither diminishes the responsibility of people to believe in Christ nor marginalizes the necessity and power of prayer and evangelism, but rather reinforces and establishes them as the ordained means by which God accomplishes his ordained ends.

    (John 1:12-13, 6:37-44, 10:25-30; Acts 13:48, 16:30-31; Romans 3-4, 8:1-17,31-39, 9:1-23, 10:8-10; Ephesians 1:4-5, 2:8-10; Philippians 2:12-13; Titus 3:3-7; 1 John 1:7,9)

  3. We recognize and rest upon the necessity of the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit for all life and ministry - The Holy Spirit is fully God, equal with the Father and Son, whose primary ministry is to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ; he also convicts unbelievers of their need for Christ and imparts spiritual life through regeneration (the new birth). The Spirit permanently indwells, graciously sanctifies, lovingly leads, and empowers all who are brought to faith in Christ so that they might live in obedience to the inerrant Scriptures.

    The model for our reliance upon the Spirit and our experience of his indwelling and empowering presence is the Lord Jesus Christ himself who was filled with the Spirit and entirely dependent upon his power for the performance of miracles, the preaching of the kingdom of God, and all other dimensions of his earthly ministry.

    The Holy Spirit who indwelt and empowered Christ in like manner indwells and empowers us through spiritual gifts he has bestowed for the work of ministry and the building up of the body of Christ. We recognize that these gifts are divine provisions central to spiritual growth and effective ministry and are to be eagerly desired, faithfully developed, and lovingly exercised according to biblical guidelines.

    (Matthew 3:11, 12:28; Luke 4:1, 14, 5:17, 10:21; John 1:12-13, 3:1-15, 34, 14:12, 15:26-27, 16:7-15; Acts 2:14-21, 4:29-30, 10:38; Romans 8:9, 12:3-8; 1 Corinthians 12:7-13, 12:28-31, 14:1-33; 2 Corinthians 1:21-22; Galatians 3:1-5; Ephesians 1:13-14, 5:18)

  4. We are deeply committed to the fundamental spiritual and moral equality of male and female and to men as responsible servant-leaders in the home and church - Both men and women are together created in the divine image and are therefore equal before God as persons, possessing the same moral dignity and value, and have equal access to God through faith in Christ. Men and women are together the recipients of spiritual gifts designed to empower them for ministry in the local church and beyond. Therefore, women are to be encouraged, equipped, and empowered to utilize their gifting in ministry, in service to the body of Christ, and through teaching in ways that are consistent with the Word of God.


    Both husbands and wives are responsible to God for spiritual nurture and vitality in the home, but God has given to the man primary responsibility to lead his wife and family in accordance with the servant-leadership and sacrificial love characterised by Jesus Christ. This principle of male headship should not be confused with, nor give any hint of, domineering control. Rather, it is to be the loving, tender and nurturing care of a godly man who is himself under the kind and gentle authority of Jesus Christ.

    The Elders/Pastors of each local church have been granted authority under the headship of Jesus Christ to provide oversight and to teach/preach the Word of God in corporate assembly for the building up of the body. The office of Elder/Pastor is restricted to men.

    (Genesis 1:26-27, 2:18; Acts 18:24-26; 1 Corinthians 11:2-16; Galatians 3:28; Ephesians 5:22-33; Colossians 3:18-19; 1 Timothy 2:11-15, 3:1-7; Titus 2:3-5; 1 Peter 3:1-7)

  5. We embrace a missionary understanding of the local church and its role as the primary means by which God chooses to establish His kingdom on earth - The church has a clear biblical mandate to look beyond its own community to the neighborhood, the nation, and the world as a whole; thus mission is not an optional program in the church but an essential element in the identity of the church.

    We are called to make Christ known through the gospel and, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to bring his lordship to bear on every dimension of life. The primary way we fulfill this mission is through the planting of churches that plant churches, and the restarting of declining congregations, along with the training of their leaders. Our aim is that Jesus Christ would be more fully formed in each person through the ministry of those churches God enables us to plant and restart in the Denver area and around the world.

    We also believe we are responsible neither to retreat from our culture nor to conform to it, but with humility, through the Spirit and the truth of the gospel, to engage it boldly as we seek its transformation and submission to the lordship of Christ.

    (Isaiah 52:7; Matthew 10:5-25, 28:18-20; Luke 4:18-19, 24:46-47; Acts 28:31; Romans 10:14-15; 2 Corinthians 10:4-5; Galatians 2:10; Ephesians 3:10, 4:11-16; 2 Timothy 4:1-5; Hebrews 10:23-25; 1 Peter 2:4-5, 9-10)

Core Traits & Values

We strive to cultivate a community of believers, pursuing the vision and mission God has given us in a manner consistent with these nine traits:

  1. Biblical Theology
    We are committed to proclaiming, embracing, and living out the full counsel of God’s redemptive message as revealed to us in the Scriptures. While we are intentional about reaching the immediate culture in a relevant way, we are committed to the biblical doctrines of the Christian faith. We do not believe that effective cultural engagement must lead to doctrinal compromise. Rather we believe that faithful Gospel contextualization is what is needed to bring temporal and eternal transformation to individuals, families, churches, and communities.

  2. Shepherd Leadership
    We believe that the biblical pattern and model for pastoral leadership in the church is not that of CEO but of shepherd. Therefore, we are committed to leading people and our community toward health and vitality through humble, caring, biblical shepherd leadership. Because it takes an extended period of time to bring revitalization and transformation to individuals, families, churches, and communities, Calvary pastors and our congregation are committed to each other for the long haul.

  3. God-centered Worship
    Our desire is to become a church where every believer experiences the sovereign grace of the Father, wholeheartedly treasures Jesus, and freely expresses their adoration of God individually and corporately through the power and leading of the Holy Spirit.

  4. Expositional Preaching
    We believe that expositional preaching is important because God’s Word alone is what convicts, converts, builds up, and sanctifies God’s people (Heb. 4:12; 1 Pet. 1:23; 1 Thess. 2:13; Jn. 17:17). Preaching that makes the main point of the text the main point of the sermon makes God’s agenda, and not the preacher’s, rule the church.

  5. Healthy Families
    God has designed the family as the foundation of society and as the primary mechanism to embody and advance His gospel in the world. Therefore, we are committed to encouraging and equipping families to more fully love and honor God, more faithfully love and serve one another, and more intentionally pursue God’s mission in their neighborhood, city, and world.

  6. Authentic Relationships
    The Gospel compels us to love one another because God, who first loved us in Jesus Christ, has given us the ability to love our neighbors as ourselves. Therefore, we are committed to becoming a community marked by Christ-like love and service to one another.

  7. Disciple-making
    Calvary Church is committed to making disciples and not just converts. Scripture teaches that a live Christian is a growing Christian (2 Pet. 1:8-10), and that we grow not only by instruction but by imitation (1 Cor. 4:16; 11:1). Therefore our churches will exhort our members to grow in holiness and encourage one another to that end.

  8. Missional Living
    Calvary Church is made up of people of all ages who Jesus has saved and sent to be missionaries in the world. Missional Living is the primary means of evangelism within our church. It is not a program we do, but a life we live and the responsibility of every believer. God sends us all out to be His witnesses. We see our webs of relationships as our primary mission field but also desire to respond to God’s call across the globe to participate in the work he is doing.

  9. Diverse Community
    At both the leadership level and within the congregation, Calvary seeks to reflect the makeup of the surrounding community ethnically, economically, and intergenerationally.