CALVARY MENNONITE CHURCH
A Brief History
Four miles west of Harrisonburg, VA, in the Mt. Clinton community, is the home of Calvary Mennonite Fellowship in a former public school building. The beginnings of this fellowship of Christian believers were led by George R. Brunk II in 1990. Having come from 54 years of membership in the Virginia Mennonite Conference as pastor, college professor, seminary dean, writer, and evangelist, George’s vision for Calvary was to lead a congregation where scriptural beliefs and practices harmonize. He had become disillusioned with what he called apostasy on two fronts: a de-emphasis on Biblical theology and an erosion of lifestyle application of Scripture. Of particular concerns to George were the issues of ordination of women as pastors and rejection of the Christian woman’s veiling. He left the VA conference in 1988 over these and many other issues. He joined the Timberville Mennonite Church for two years before he started a new congregation, Calvary Mennonite Fellowship, with the blessing of the Timberville congregation.
The first Sunday service of CMF was on January 21, 1990 in the chapel of Eastern Mennonite Seminary in Harrisonburg. George served as pastor and 55 persons attended that initial service. Members were received and lay leaders were installed and by April the average attendance was in the 50’s. Guest speakers filled the pulpit on occasion and in December, 1990, Danny Beery was ordained as minister. By 1993 attendance was in the eighties and membership was 55. Danny served in this role until 1996.
Differing opinions regarding contemporary Christian music, leadership structure, preaching style, open vs close communion, and the tenure of pastoral leadership stirred unrest in the congregation and from 1994 till 1996 a decline in attendance resulted. In 1998, with only twenty members and an attendance in the thirties, the congregation invited Paul (and Gail) Emerson from Ohio to serve as pastor. After the Emersons moved to VA, Bro. George, aged 87, willingly turned all leadership responsibilities over to Paul. Representing the newly formed Biblical Mennonite Alliance, Paul led Calvary to become a charter member of the Alliance in 1999. While Calvary was becoming more stable, some unrest in the Southeastern Mennonite Conference developed, and attendance at CMF increased.
A congregational Mission Statement was drawn up by the Calvary men, which is still in place: “We are a caring community of faith in full dependence on the Holy Spirit – committed to glorifying God, magnifying Christ, sharing the Good News with all people, and edifying our fellow pilgrims – through the exposition of and obedience to God’s sufficient written Word.” In May, 2000, two deacons were licensed and then ordained one year later, Jerry Bentz and Larry Wilkins.
In the summer of 2000 CMF membership was 67, attendance was about 100, and the congregation was still meeting in the seminary chapel. When the Mount Clinton public school property was to be sold, CMF submitted the winning bid of $287,200. In January, 2001, the congregation began using the building even while the renovation of four classrooms into one large auditorium was taking place. A set of benches was purchased in Mississippi and other improvements were made to equip the new room for use.
At the same time as the auditorium was being remodeled, the vision for starting a Christian school was generating interest in the growing congregation. Calvary Christian Academy opened in the re-purposed school building in August, 2001, with Paul as principal, five full-time teachers, a secretary, and 37 students. Under Paul’s leadership Calvary also initiated the following:
- An administrative secretary was employed to assist Paul,
- The 6-week term of BMA Bible Institute was hosted in 2002,
- An annual mission conference was begun,
- Associate pastors Steve Byler and Linford Berry were ordained in 2005,
- Prayer groups (later called Discipleship Groups) were initiated,
- Wednesday evening Bible studies were introduced,
- Shenandoah Christian Music Camp was launched to provide intensive musical instruction and training,
- A weekly outreach to children in the Harris Gardens housing development began, and
- A Hispanic ministry began, providing separate Sunday services and fellowship activities in Spanish.
By 2004 Sunday morning attendance was about 170 and in 2010 it was 220. At the end of 2012 Bro. Paul retired as Senior Pastor and moved to Elnora, IN, to serve as principal of BMA’s Elnora Bible Institute. The Lord through the congregation called additional men to serve at Calvary: Jason Beachy as deacon in 2012, James Groff as associate pastor in 2013, Wendell Nisly, Benjamin Brubaker, and Keith Yoder as associate pastors in 2016, and Brian Yoder as a deacon in 2018. Upon Paul’s retirement Steve Byler served as senior pastor and was succeeded by James Groff in 2017.
Under Brunk the church had adopted a model of leadership by a church council composed of the pastors, the deacons, and four laymen, three as chairmen of the three church boards of education, missions, and trustees, and one at-large member. The church council served as representatives of the congregation and as a decision-making board for church policies. In 2014 an “elder-led model of leadership” was approved and adopted by the congregation. When at least eight pastors, now called “elders,” would be ordained, they would comprise the church council and would carry full responsibility of oversight and leadership of all church boards and ministries. This plan was never fully implemented, but caused some unease as concerning patterns of leadership emerged over the next years.
In 2017 Linford Berry, after nearly two years of sabbatical leave and discussions with the elders, resigned his role, stating theological and administrative issues. Among some members were the growing concerns about the more formal patterns in worship, little mention of applications of Scriptural teaching, and little discipline in the church. Some also detected a subtle yet decided doctrinal shift in a distancing from Anabaptist understandings to promoting Reformed Theology (Calvinism). Although the “elder model” was not responsible for all the unrest, it provided the catalyst for these elder-led changes that were not supported by many in the congregation.
From 2017 through 2020 a number of members with concerns about church life left Calvary and things began coming to a head in January, 2021. The elders took steps to hear the concerns and to provide clarity of their vision for the church. BMA overseers were again invited to assist in bringing reconciliation and unity. However, it was becoming more evident that multiple factions in Calvary were desiring different directions for church life.
By July of 2021 the elders presented a six-page “Core Values and Mission Statement” to share their positions and to guide the congregation. While they proposed a stand against the use of alcohol, tobacco, jewelry, and the wedding band (based only on mutual submission, not on scriptural teaching), they did not propose definitive church positions on some doctrinal and life issues such as clarity on the use of make-up and immodest attire and the consistent wearing of a head covering by women, leaving such to families and personal discretion. Furthermore, of profound significance and alarm, it became evident that the elders were in fact moving away from BMA. The confusion and turmoil within the congregation was high and sparked considerable discussion among the elders, the overseers, and the church council behind the scenes.
In a members meeting on August 7, the five elders announced that they were stepping down from church leadership immediately. Their decision had been shared with the overseers and the council who gave their approval. Stunned and without recognized leadership, the congregation met the next day under the guidance of the overseers and selected a temporary team to provide leadership. This team, Josh Helmuth, John Ivan Byler, and Sam Troyer, worked with the overseer and those remaining at Calvary to provide leadership, re-structuring, programs, and services.
Attendance on Sunday immediately dropped from an average of 200 to a few over 100. For those remaining at Calvary, things gradually began to settle down and a sense of reality set in. The leadership team and many others stepped up to fill many of the church roles left vacant. Eventually a sense of cohesion emerged among those who stayed as they mutually supported a church and life-style with practical and observable applications of Scripture in daily life.
With the March, 2020, restrictions of Covid, the congregation had met outdoors and then in the CCA gym for services. Around that time the church building was deemed unusable due to mold and structural issues, and a new building was proposed. However, by August, 2021, one classroom was restored to safe and healthy use for the growing Academy and the congregation determined to restore the rest of the building similarly, by removing the drop ceiling, carpet, and padded pews. Through offerings and on workdays young and old joined efforts and worked together. Renovations included a new HVAC system, windows, vinyl flooring, and padded chairs. Live-streaming, begun during the Covid lock-down, became a regular service, welcomed by shut-ins. Two years after Covid’s “lock-down” the congregation returned to their refurbished sanctuary with gratitude and praise to God. However, when the roof began to leak, another year of exterior renovation was begun to replace the compromised brick veneer with studs, insulation, and siding for the support of a truss hip roof with metal. By the end of 2023 the finishing touches were being applied and landscaping was installed. All in all, the combined efforts and generous gifts brought the renovation to completion without debt.
Through the months of renovation, the temporary leadership team worked with the congregation in approving a revised church constitution and writing a covenant of commitment to be signed annually by each member. In June, 2022, 58 individuals signed the covenant, committing themselves to continuing membership at Calvary. Through baptisms and reception of new members the total grew to 83 members by the end of the year. In October, 2022, Jason Groff, Calvary’s overseer, led the congregation in selecting Sam Troyer as pastor and Frank Good as deacon to serve along with deacon Larry Wilkins. Subsequently three men, Josh Helmuth, John Ivan Byler, and Stanley Good, were selected to complete the Leadership Team. In the new structure this team functions to provide leadership for church life, services, and program. The three lay positions have three-year terms to be filled on a rotating basis.
Thus, with permanent leadership in place and the physical renovations completed, the congregation was poised to continue moving forward. The desire of the congregation is to be a God-honoring and Christ-following fellowship, stable and attractive to those seeking a safe and biblically-sound spiritual home. Jesus Christ is keeping His promise, “I will build my Church,” and He is doing that at Calvary Mennonite Fellowship. The challenge for the church is to discern where Christ is working and to join Him in that! May God enable us to walk in His love and light!
Compiled in January, 2024, from A History of Calvary Mennonite Fellowship 1990-2010 by Paul and Gail Emerson
and from Calvary Mennonite Fellowship, A Brief History 1990-2022 by David L. Burkholder.