American Baptist Churches USA

Calvary is a part of the Mid-American Baptist Churches, Iowa and Minnesota region. American Baptists are congregational, meaning each church governs its own ministry without input from a bishop or denominational council. We also do not have larger creeds that might compromise an individual’s obligation to interpret scripture under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and their own community of faith. The denomination values racial, cultural, and theological diversity in our church bodies.

The American Baptist Churches are different from the larger Southern Baptist denomination because there was a split in the 1840s when our churches chose not to support slaveholders as missionaries. We became the Northern Baptist Churches and then later the American Baptist Churches USA. The denomination has continued to center civil rights and a commitment to working to bring God’s justice and wholeness into the world.

You can learn more about the larger denomination here.