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About us

Calvary Westlake exists to make disciples who live and love like Jesus

It's all about Jesus
God's People delight in God's word
Life Change happens in relationship
Found People find people
Saved people serve people
grateful people are giving people
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Our history

Calvary Community Church began in 1976 as a small group of Christ followers began meeting weekly at a local restaurant called the Hungry Tiger under the leadership of our founding Pastor Larry DeWitt.

Click here to see our full history.

  • The most important thing for you to know about us is that we exist to ‘make disciples who live and love like Jesus’. When we say that phrase, we mean at least two things:
     
    First, we want to introduce people in the greater Conejo Valley and all around the world to the amazing grace and mercy of Jesus Christ. The centerpiece of the message of our church is the simple truth that, “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) Our desire is that everyone who visits our church – including you and your family – would come to joyfully experience the love and forgiveness found in Jesus Christ. 
     
    Second, we want to teach those who have come to faith how to live and love like Jesus. Living and loving like Jesus is the way we talk about spiritual growth, or as we read in the Bible, the process of being “conformed into the image of the Son” (Romans 8:29) The ministries of our church are designed to help every follower of Jesus practically learn how to love God more, love God’s family more and love their neighbors more. 
     
    You’ll quickly notice that at Calvary, we are all about Jesus. This is not just a phrase you will see on the wall or hear us say, it is a central and guiding belief of our church. We will not allow anything – whether politics, cultural debates, church tradition or personal preferences – to distract us from our mission to make disciples who live and love like Jesus. If that is a mission and vision for a local church you would like to be part of, we invite you to lean in and learn more and what God is doing right here at Calvary. 
     
    May God bless you as you seek to live and love like Jesus! 

  • The Bible is the inspired Word of God.

  • There is one true and eternal God.

  • He exists in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

  • Jesus Christ is God’s eternal Son.

  • The Holy Spirit convicts us to repent of our sin and trust Jesus Christ as Savior.

  • Men and women were created in God’s image, separated from God by sin, and forgiven through rebirth in Christ.

  • The Church is the living body of Christ on earth.

  • Jesus Christ will return to earth as King.

For the full text of our Statement of Faith, click here.

Calvary’s leadership is committed to making disciples who live and love like Jesus!  Our staff team is trusted with the responsibility to cast vision, lead leaders, communicate what we are doing and organize our ministries for the mission of our church.

Meet our senior leadership team 

See our staff contact list

Learn about our Senior Pastor Succession Plan

 

The name of our church is Calvary Community Church.  While the word ‘Calvary’ is precious to those of us who follow Jesus, we understand that many do not know what that word means and so a basic explanation may be helpful.  
 
All four Gospels mention what we see in Matthew 27:33, where we are told that Jesus was crucified outside of the city of Jerusalem in “…a place called Golgotha (which means place of the skull)”.  Over the years this Greek word ‘Golgatha’ was translated into Latin and the word in Latin for skull is ‘calvāria’. That is where we derive the English word “Calvary’.
 
So for us, Calvary is a beautiful, biblical word filled with meaning and reverence.  We remember that Calvary as the place where Jesus was crucified for our sins and for our salvation.  The more you get to know Calvary, the more you will find that we talk about the cross of Jesus all the time as our only hope for salvation and as our message of Good News to the world!

What Calvary is All About

The most important thing for you to know about us is that we exist to ‘make disciples who live and love like Jesus’. When we say that phrase, we mean at least two things:
 
First, we want to introduce people in the greater Conejo Valley and all around the world to the amazing grace and mercy of Jesus Christ. The centerpiece of the message of our church is the simple truth that, “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) Our desire is that everyone who visits our church – including you and your family – would come to joyfully experience the love and forgiveness found in Jesus Christ. 
 
Second, we want to teach those who have come to faith how to live and love like Jesus. Living and loving like Jesus is the way we talk about spiritual growth, or as we read in the Bible, the process of being “conformed into the image of the Son” (Romans 8:29) The ministries of our church are designed to help every follower of Jesus practically learn how to love God more, love God’s family more and love their neighbors more. 
 
You’ll quickly notice that at Calvary, we are all about Jesus. This is not just a phrase you will see on the wall or hear us say, it is a central and guiding belief of our church. We will not allow anything – whether politics, cultural debates, church tradition or personal preferences – to distract us from our mission to make disciples who live and love like Jesus. If that is a mission and vision for a local church you would like to be part of, we invite you to lean in and learn more and what God is doing right here at Calvary. 
 
May God bless you as you seek to live and love like Jesus! 

What We Believe

  • The Bible is the inspired Word of God.

  • There is one true and eternal God.

  • He exists in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

  • Jesus Christ is God’s eternal Son.

  • The Holy Spirit convicts us to repent of our sin and trust Jesus Christ as Savior.

  • Men and women were created in God’s image, separated from God by sin, and forgiven through rebirth in Christ.

  • The Church is the living body of Christ on earth.

  • Jesus Christ will return to earth as King.

For the full text of our Statement of Faith, click here.

Our Core Values

  • Its All About Jesus

  • God’s People Delight in God’s Word

  • Life Change Happens in Relationship

  • Found People Find People

  • Saved People Serve People

  • Grateful People Are Giving People

Our Leadership

Calvary’s leadership is committed to making disciples who live and love like Jesus!  Our staff team is trusted with the responsibility to cast vision, lead leaders, communicate what we are doing and organize our ministries for the mission of our church.

Meet our senior leadership team 

See our staff contact list

Learn about our Senior Pastor Succession Plan

 

Our History

Calvary Community Church began in 1976 as a small group of Christ followers under the leadership of our founding Pastor Larry DeWitt.   That small but dedicated group of men and women began meeting weekly at a local restaurant called the Hungry Tiger and immediately the Lord began to bless their efforts.

Click here to see our full history.

Our Name

The name of our church is Calvary Community Church.  While the word ‘Calvary’ is precious to those of us who follow Jesus, we understand that many do not know what that word means and so a basic explanation may be helpful.  
 
All four Gospels mention what we see in Matthew 27:33, where we are told that Jesus was crucified outside of the city of Jerusalem in “…a place called Golgotha (which means place of the skull)”.  Over the years this Greek word ‘Golgatha’ was translated into Latin and the word in Latin for skull is ‘calvāria’. That is where we derive the English word “Calvary’.
 
So for us, Calvary is a beautiful, biblical word filled with meaning and reverence.  We remember that Calvary as the place where Jesus was crucified for our sins and for our salvation.  The more you get to know Calvary, the more you will find that we talk about the cross of Jesus all the time as our only hope for salvation and as our message of Good News to the world!