Calvary Baptist Church
Walnut, IA       


Preaching the old-time gospel in Iowa's Antique city.

WALNUT, IOWA

History

2010 - This Year in History 

September 1 - Opening Night for JOY Club, ProTeens

Sixty-seven people came to our opening night for our childrens and teens mid-week ministries.  There were 31 JOY Clubbers and 12 ProTeens, plus many helpers.

August 28 - Ladies Card-Making Day

Elaine Snedden arranged a day for the ladies of the church use their creative abilities to serve the Lord.  More than 30 attractive cards were made and will be sent in packs of 10 to 3 of our missionaries.  We trust these cards will assist them in their ministries.  

July 11 - Quarterly Business Meeting

ELECTION:  Rob Sampson as JOY Club Commander  and Ed & Stephanie Garber and Tim & Ruth Glines as ProTeens sponsors for the 2010-11 school year.

MISSIONARY SUPPORT:  We voted to begin supporting Mark & Leslie Boyd at $50 a month and $150 a quarter.  This makes 8 missionaries that we financially support.  

July 4 - Missionary Presentation

During the PM service for 10 minutes, Amelia Wieser, a young lady from Grace Baptist Church in Harlan, presented her upcoming trip to Brazil.  She is a student at Faith Baptist Bible College in Ankeny who is interested in Missionary work.  

June 27 - Guest Speakers

In the AM service, FBBC graduate Kenny Froment preached and in the PM service, Dr. Edwin Chelli spoke.  

June 20 - Missionary Speaker

Mark & Leslie Boyd spent the day with us, as Pastor Hand's family was on vacation.  They are on deputation, heading to Germany as church planters.  

June 13 - Joint Service & Fellowship

The original plan was to have a joint service & picnic at Prairie Rose State Park with Grace Baptist Church of Harlan.  It rained and rained, so we went to Plan B - a joint service at Grace Baptist Church in Harlan.  A combined group of 125 worshiped God and fellowshipped together.  Pastor Hand preached from 1 Peter 2:11-13.  We look forward to doing this again in the future.  

May 23 - Missionary Speaker

Bill Edmondson, who we support financially as a church, preached the morning sermon.  Bill and his wife, Deb, serve God as church planters in Boston, MA.  

May 12 - JOY Club Grand Prix

LAMBS  1) Audrey  2) Hugh 3) Raegan

SEARCH 1) Cole 2) Tanner 3) Morgan

SHINING 1) Jolene 2) Rikki 3) Sam

SIGNAL 1) Jay 2) Grant 3) Joel B.

OVERALL BEST DESIGN - Ashley Lees

OVERALL FASTEST CAR - Cole Branan

EAGLE AWARD - Jay Heiny also received the highest JOY Club award, the Eagle Award.  Great work, Jay!  

April 18 - Quarterly Business Meeting

There were 28 in attendance and highlights include tabling the Missions support until the July meeting, approving Pastor & Mindy Hand to be voting messengers at the 2010 GARBC Conference and approving a new back door and screen door for the parsonage.  $700 was approved for the project, with Mike Martin's bid being approved.   

April 18 - Special Missions Minute

Andy Scott, who spoke twice on Sunday Evenings in 2009, updated us for 5-10 minutes on his plans to return to Boston again this summer to assist the Edmondsons in their ministry.  A love offering was taken for Andy. 

April 17 - HOSTED the Ladies Regional Meeting

The Dorcas Ladies group hosted a wonderful fellowship for our 11 area IARBC churches.  There were more than 40 in attendance, the theme was "Baskets of Blessings" and the featured speaker was FBBC Dean of Women, Sharon Gutwein. 

April 11 - Guest Speaker

Former South American Missionary Chuck Nichols spoke in the morning.  He currently resides in Ankeny and has served God for 30+ years in Brazil.  He traveled here with his wife, Joan. 

April 4 - Easter Breakfast

We enjoyed a pancake, sausage and fruit cup breakfast at 8:30 on Easter morning. 

Mar. 21-24 - Bible Conference

Former Pastor Max Bowlin was here from Sunday through Wednesday, preaching 6 times and encouraging us in the Lord.  He was pastor here from 1976 to 1989 and it was a special time of remembering God's past blessings and looking ahead to future ones.  Many of our members shared memories during the services. 

His sermons were "Knowing God's Will," "The Future of the Church," "The Fear Factor," "The Pinnacle of Praise," "Regaining Lost Hope," and "Learning How to Pray in Times of Distress."

Many visitors and regulars were present, and our high attendance was Wednesday Night - 49. 

Feb. 12-14 - ProTeens Winter Meltdown @ Camp

13 teens and 4 sponsors enjoyed a great time at IRBC from Friday - Sunday.  There was plenty of snow, fun, friends and great preaching.  Everyone enjoyed hearing Joe Fox speak. 

Jan. 24 - Guest Speaker

Missionary Andy Smith, who spoke here in July 2008 returned to update us on their pre-field progress.  He came with his wife, Elizabeth and their 9-month-old son Judah. 

They got word this week that their support level went from 98 to 100%!  They begin church "building" in April after 4 years of pre-field ministry. 

He preached from Matthew 6:25-34 about worry in the morning and we cancelled the PM service due to a surprise power outage in town. 

Jan. 12 - Hosted the Pastor's & Wives Fellowship

From Pastors and Missionaries

 

Clockwise from top L:  Pastor Aaron Hand, Mindy Hand, Pastor Mike Martin, Melissa, Dawn (Cumberland), Pastor Tim Capon (Carroll), Tara and Pastor John Woodford (Sioux City), Pastor Chris Tjapkes and Susan (Perry), Pastor Joe Earle, Joshua and Amy (Grace - Harlan), Gina and Pastor Jim Ackerson (Guthrie Center), Audrey Hand and Abby Hand.

Jan. 10 - Annual Business Meeting

Highlights included the 2010 election, approving Pastor's salary and keeping the Wednesday night schedule.
 

Pastors in our History

1.  Mel Stadt    
1951-1958   Email
2.  Byron Whitehouse    1958-1961
3.  Don Bunge   1961-1964
4.  Ted Konvalin    1964-1965
5.  Ralph Chandler    1966-1970
6.  Jerry Howarth    
1972-1976   Email
7.  Max Bowlin    1976-1989   Email 
8.  John Murray    1990-1993  
Email
9.  Paul Hutchins    1994-2006   Email
10.  Aaron Hand    
2007-Present   Email

Attendance Numbers

Attendance

Special Dates in our History

Spring 1951
- 38 members band together for a new church.
9/30/1951 - Mel Stadt called to be Pastor.
12/12/1951 - Church incorporated.
6/10/1952 - Art Anderson licensed to preach.
7/8/1952 - Began church basement.
10/12/1952 - 1st service in new basement.
4/26/1953 - Dedication of Church basement, Rev. Robert Peterson was the speaker. 
2/23/1958 - Church was dedicated to the Lord, Pastor Herb Anderson was the speaker.
3/25/1958 - Byron Whitehouse called to be Pastor. 
April 1959 - 1st P.A. system.
9/22/1961 - Don Bunge called to be Pastor.
Jan. 1963 - Voted for blacktop/drive parking.
Oct. 1963 - Joined the International Council of Christian Churches. 
1963 - Maurice Knudsen licensed to preach. 
10/24/1964 - Ted Konvalin called to be Pastor.
10/8/1965 - B.Y.F. Outside sign.
8/8/1966 - Ralph Chandler called to be Pastor.
10/2/1966 - Mortgage note burning (orginal building)
1966 - Suspended ceiling in basement installed.
1968 - New organ purchased.
1968 - Dial-A-Meditation installed.
5/12/1969 - Present parsonage purchased (303 Country St.)
1971 - 21 members transferred to Immanuel Baptist Church in Atlantic.  Church planted (Pastor Ralph Chandler & members).
7/7/1971 - Voted Jerry Howorth interim Pastor.
7/9/1972 - Jerry Howorth called to be Pastor.
6/6/1976 - Max Bowlin called to be Pastor.
Apr. 1977 - Pitch roof installed.
5/21/1986 - Voted to approve new Sunday School addition (Martin & Sons to build).
4/11/1990 - John Murray called to be Pastor.
12/19/1993 - Paul Hutchins called to be Pastor.
8/10/1994 - Saved our cottonwood tree from forced removal.
9/10/1995 - Children's Church approved.
11/19/1995 - AirLock approved.
4/17/1997 - New "Majesty" hymnal purchased.
1/11/1998 - Approved "Project Forgiveness."
1/10/1999 - Approved sanctuary & entry remodeling.
2000 - New sidewalks and driveway at the Church.  New Garage roof & opener at the Parsonage. 
Summer 2000 - First Youth Missions Trip (Littleton, CO; VBS).
Summer 2006 - New double garage at Parsonage.
July 2006 - Ted Ertel approved as Interim Pastor. 
4/1/2007 - Aaron Hand called to be Pastor. 
4/15/2007 - A new air conditioner was approved for the church. 
5/27/2007 - A new church website (www.calvarybaptistwalnut.com) was first published. 
6/16/2007 - "Sounds of Faith" from Carroll, IA put on a concert for us outdoors. 
7/8/2007 - Pastor Aaron Hand was licensed to preach.
Aug. 12-15, 2007 - Evangelistic Meetings with Evangelist Ken Sparks. 
9/30/2007 - Baptism Service:  Madison Hamilton, Caterina Langlois and Elizabeth Langlois.
10/14/2007 - New Sound System was approved with a $4,000 fund created. 
11/29/2007 - New Sound System installed. 
12/30/2007 - Baptism Service:  Blaine Lees, Ashley Lees, Ed Garber, Stephanie Garber, Ryan Garber, Grant Garber and Alex Garber.  
 
1/13/2008 - Voted to support Missionary Rhonda Green at $150 per quarter. 
2/17/2008 - Baptism Service:  Joel Sampson.
2/24 - 2/27/2008 - Bible Conference with Mike & Elizabeth Augsburger. 
9/7/2008 - Children's Church begins.  Also, Tim Branan installed a new bike rack on the north side of the church. 
9/14/2008 - A new range was approved for the Parsonage, with a cap of $550. 
9/28/2008 - Baptism Service:  Tim & Ruth Glines
10/5/2008 - A new Sunday School class begins (KYB "Know Your Bible") and the CCC room is renamed to the KYB room. 
10/12/2008 - A new curtain for the platform was approved, with a cap of $250 for the project.
10/19/2008 - Baptism Service:  Ashley & Cassidy Riley
6/14/2009 - New pulpit mic was installed and a new A/C unit for the auditorium was approved.  The air conditioner was unanimously approved to be installed by Affordable Heating & Air, operated by Tim Glines, for the price of $2,550.93.  The A/C unit was installed within a week.
7/12/2009 - A new Wednesday Night schedule was approved.  Adult Bible Study & Prayer Time will be from 6:30-7:30, JOY Club remains 6:20-7:30 and ProTeens will be from 7-8:00. 
8/23/2009 - Baptism Service:  Bonn Boyd, at the Prairie Rose Lake.
Sept. 13-16, 2009 - Creation Conference with Dr. Wayne Deckert (6 sessions).
Mar. 21-24, 2010 - Bible Conference with Pastor Max Bowlin (6 sessions). 
Apr. 18, 2010 - A new back door and screen door were approved for the back of the parsonage. 
July 11, 2010 - Voted to support Missionaries Mark & Leslie Boyd, missionaries to Germany.  

Remembering Brenda Hamilton

Brenda Hamilton went to be with her Lord on September 23, 2005 after struggling with cancer. 

We invite you to read
Brenda's Journal


 Ron Hamilton Family