Calvary Church

In the midst of a historic hurricane season, the Lord has been opening more doors than ever for us to love our community and share the gospel.

Calvary Kids Seminole had a blast making some special gifts for our veterans. They loved handing them out during our Veteran recognition moment during service.

What a beautiful night honoring and celebrating the legacy of Bill Anderson. It's hard to put into words the impact he had here at Calvary on the lives of so many. In the words of Pastor Anderson "This isn't the end of the story, we're all going to be together in heaven someday, and by then, we'll have things figured out a lot better than we do now." ??

Florida Baptist Disaster Relief teams from SEND Relief have arrived at our Clearwater Campus. They will soon be providing thousands of hot meals each day to those in need in the Tampa Bay area.

Shoutout to our East Lake Campus and all the volunteers that helped with our community cookout. We're so proud of our church family rising up in the wake of the storm and choosing to 'be the church' to our community.

We can't think of a better way to spend a Sunday afternoon than by serving our community, and helping those who lost so much during Hurricane Helene. Thankful for our church body 'being' the church and helping those in need.

Jesus will never leave you or forsake you.

Today the Calvary family announces that earlier this morning our beloved former Pastor, Dr. William (Bill) E. Anderson has passed away at his home in Texas. Pastor Anderson had been in declining health for several months and recently after a surgical procedure had told his family he was ready to go home. By home he meant heaven, and just a few days after expressing his desire, our heavenly Father was merciful to welcome him home indeed. Bill Anderson lived a remarkable life and his influence upon Calvary is incalculable. His journey was an unlikely one that carried him from humble beginnings and the oil fields of Texas to football stardom at his alma mater Baylor University. But it was his calling into gospel ministry that primarily defined his life. With his wife Addie at his side, he graduated from Baylor and later from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and entered pastoral ministry. In 1975 he left the First Baptist Church of Euless, Texas where he had led that church into an explosive era of growth to take the leadership of Calvary Baptist Church in Clearwater. He led our church for nearly 27 years before retiring in 2002. His influence extended beyond our church throughout the Tampa Bay area and indeed throughout Southern Baptist life. The weekly live broadcasts of Calvary’s services carried Pastor Anderson into thousands of homes throughout the Tampa Bay area. His ministry was marked by his convictional leadership, his evangelistic fervor, his pastoral grace, his sharp intellect, and his faithful biblical exposition. Only heaven knows the true amount of people led to Christ through personal interactions with Pastor Anderson. Only heaven knows exactly how many young people were called into Christian ministry under his watchful eye. Even today, many of Calvary’s current pastoral leaders, including our Senior Pastor Dr. William Rice, were influenced, called, and developed under his ministry. His legacy is unmatched in Calvary’s long history. He was preceded in death by his beloved wife Addie who served faithfully by his side; he is survived by their 4 children Mark, Karen, Gaye, and Hazel, and their families. Calvary grieves this loss and will forever be grateful for the gift of this man’s life and impact. He spent his life telling people about Jesus and how through Christ we could be saved and have the assurance of eternal life. His faith is now sight. His faithful journey has come to its end this side of heaven. He is welcomed home into the arms of the Lord he served. On behalf of Pastor Willy and the entire Calvary family, we echo with the sentiment of heaven “well done thou good and faithful servant.”

Today we pause to remember those we lost on this horrific day so many years ago. We grieve with the families who lost loved ones, and pray the Lord's peace washes over them today.

Pastor Willy and Cheryl were able to visit one of our missionaries serving in the Mediterranean area! We love how so many sent out from Calvary are spreading the gospel to the nations all around the world.