Who are we?

Who Are We?

Calvary is a non-denominational, autonomous church that is committed to faithfully teaching God’s Word verse-by verse. We are also committed to loving God and one another as we fulfill the great commission.

HISTORY

Calvary was planted as Reality Church Tampa in 2010 by Pilgrim Benham. The church started in a small storefront on Florida Ave and then moved to the YMCA on Palm Ave. In 2013, the name was changed to Calvary Chapel South Tampa and Joe Harris moved over from Calvary Chapel St. Petersburg to become the Worship Leader. In July of 2014 Pastor Joe became the Lead Pastor and Pilgrim planted Shoreline Calvary Chapel in Bradenton.

FUTURE

We are seeking Jesus as Lord of this church and trusting the Holy Spirit to build the church in His way and in His timing. We are not going to submit to the false narrative of our culture but are going to stay faithful to God’s Word and seek His glory. We value being a lean church and we currently set up and tear down each weekend. We have a church office near UT, and we also meet throughout the city during the week. If God opens the door for a facility that will fulfill His mission in a greater way, we are certainly open to that. However, our church is so much more than a facility.

ASSOCIATION

Calvary Chapel is an association of over 1,700 evangelical churches that began in 1965 out of Pastor Chuck Smith’s Calvary Chapel located in Costa Mesa, CA. Although we are associated, all Calvary Chapels are autonomous. Often, individual churches are quite different in practice and style.
For more information about Calvary Chapel visit calvarychapel.com and calvarycca.org.
The first time someone invited Pastor Joe to a Calvary Chapel, his life was radically changed. He grew up in a Southern Baptist church but ran from God at the age of 18. When he was 25, the Holy Spirit came upon him and he was born again. He had never experienced God’s grace in such a simple and loving way as he did at Calvary Chapel. Sitting under the Spirit anointed, verse-by-verse teaching of Pastor Danny Hodges, he began to grow and experienced a call of God to preach the Word. He worked on staff at Calvary Chapel St. Petersburg for 7 years before taking on the role of Senior Pastor here in South Tampa.

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