Four Priorities of the Calvary Family of Churches

Along with serving as a pastor-elder at Calvary Englewood, one of the great joys in my life is being able to help serve the Calvary Family of Churches. The CFC is a family network of churches committed to planting and revitalizing congregations for the glory of God. We are interdependent, self-sustaining, self-governing, self-replicating churches that share: a common family name (Calvary Church), a common family doctrine, common core commitments, common family traits, and common family affiliations. Check out thecalvary.org to learn more.

Let me briefly share the following four priorities that we have as the CFC.

Four Priorities of the Calvary Family of Churches

#1: Pursuing our joy in Jesus as we seek to make Him non-ignorable in Denver and to the ends of the earth.

First and foremost, we desire to be churches where Jesus is our greatest treasure and where together we passionately pursue our joy in Him. As we pursue our joy in Him, our hope and prayer is to see everyone in our city find their joy in Him! Of course we know that we are surrounded by people we love who, though seeking for true joy, are knowingly or unknowingly IGNORING the only one who can actually give it to them: Jesus Christ.

This is why our desire as the CFC is to make Jesus non-ignorable in Denver and to the ends of the earth. For this to happen, we believe we need to be churches that are known by our passionate love for Jesus, for His Word, and for people.

We’re not trying to be the coolest or biggest churches in town. We want to be faithful churches who seek to bring glory to God in all things.

#2: Doing whatever it takes to make disciples who make disciples and plant (and replant) churches that plant churches.

Jesus has called us to BE His disciples, but it doesn’t stop there. He has called us to MAKE disciples who make disciples….joyful, passionate disciples of Jesus! He is clear about this in Matthew 28, among other places.

Along with making disciples who make disciples, we desire to be churches that plant and replant churches. Disciples are made in the context of the local church, not apart from it.

Our city, Denver, is now the 4th most unchurched city in the U.S. behind San Francisco, Portland, and Seattle. The Denver-Metro area is in desperate need of Gospel-centered churches! Not a few churches, but MANY churches! Because of this, as a family, we are committed to aggressively planting (and replanting) churches that plant churches. We believe there must be an urgency to get the Gospel out that the lost might be saved and the saved might grow and mature in Christ.

#3: Practicing humble, radical cooperation for the sake of Gospel advancement.

I truly believe we as churches are always at our best when we link arms and pursue ministry together! Just as there is no such thing as a lone ranger Christian, there is no such thing as a lone ranger church. Or at least there shouldn’t be.

Ministry is hard. We can’t do this alone, which is why our family of churches is committed to practicing humble, radical cooperation for the sake of Gospel advancement. We intentionally pursue the sharing of resources (people, money, programs, etc) whenever and however we can.

This kind of cooperation is not a burden, but a joy!

This is NOT about building the “kingdom” of one individual church. This is about building the “Kingdom” of God for His glory!

#4: Committing to one another for the long haul, by the grace of God and the power of the Spirit.

Because ministry is hard, not only must we practice humble, radical cooperation for the sake of Gospel advancement, but we must be committed to one another for the long haul, by the grace of God and the power of the Spirit.

This is what families do, or at least the best families. The healthiest families. And this is why we use family language. We are a family of churches committed to one another for the long haul by the grace of God and the power of the Spirit. This means through good times and bad times, mountain tops and valleys, we’re a family. We are a family committed to love and encourage and sharpen one another, journeying together for the long haul.

By God’s grace, my prayer is that the Lord will continue to help our family of churches humbly seek to link arms and live out these priorities together. I pray that other churches outside of the CFC would also link arms with us in these four things as well. Together may we spend our ONE life seeking to make Jesus non-ignorable in Denver and to the ends of the earth!