Calvary Baptist Church sits on Crestview Drive in Yucca Valley, on the desert shoulder of San Bernardino County where the towns of Joshua Tree, Twentynine Palms, and Morongo Valley meet. The independent Baptist congregation has been serving these High Desert communities for over sixty years, and its long presence in the region has shaped a steady identity: a church that preaches the Bible, sings the old hymns, supports missionaries around the world, and welcomes everyone from Joshua Tree campers to Marines on temporary duty at the Combat Center.
Six Anchors: How the Church Describes Its Own Beliefs
Calvary Baptist organizes its convictions around six points. First, the preeminence of Christ, drawn from Colossians 1:18, "that in all things He might have the preeminence." The church's stated desire is to magnify the person and work of Jesus Christ in every aspect of life and ministry, and the psalmist's cry in Psalm 115:1 frames the aim: "Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory."
Second, the power of the gospel, anchored in Romans 1:16. The church holds that the gospel is the central and most essential message of the Bible, and that sinful human beings are made right with a holy God only by grace through faith in the finished work of Christ. Third, the preaching of God's Word, based on 2 Timothy 3:16, with a firm belief in the sufficiency of Scripture and in preaching as God's ordained method to save sinners and sanctify believers. The church is open about its opposition to "entertaining others with short, shallow motivational talks; comical and emotional dramas; or loud, repetitive, sentimental music."
Fourth, the purity of life and worship, from Titus 2:12, which calls Christians to live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present world, and to worship with reverence rather than compromise. Fifth, the priority of prayer, from Colossians 4:2, with confidence that without the blessing of God all labor is in vain. Sixth, the passionate pursuit of God, from Psalm 84:2, with the conviction that the church's chief purpose is not primarily social fellowship but worship of the One worthy of all praise. The church also maintains a detailed confession of faith referenced throughout the site.
"Simple Church": What a First-Time Visitor Will Find
The congregation's unofficial motto is "Simple Church." Services focus on four things: the study and preaching of God's Word, reverent worship, corporate prayers, and fellowship. The pattern draws from Acts 2:42, where the early believers "continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers."
Worship services include the singing of traditional congregational hymns with piano accompaniment. Pastor Casey Kuhlman preaches from the King James Version of the Bible, the translation the congregation has used for its teaching and preaching for decades. While the church teaches and preaches from the KJV, it does not subscribe to King James Onlyism, and it acknowledges that other faithful translations can help believers understand and apply God's truth. Visitors are encouraged to wear their "Sunday best," however they understand that phrase; members tend to dress modestly, with women in dresses and men in dress shirts.
Guests are not expected to contribute to the offering, but collections are taken during the Sunday services. The congregation's posture toward giving is summed up in 2 Corinthians 9:7: "Let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver."
The Sunday Rhythm
The week gathers around three Sunday gatherings on Crestview Drive. Sunday School begins at 9:45 AM, with adult classes that work through doctrinal topics, books of the Bible, and selected study resources in open discussion, and a children's class that follows a defined curriculum drawn from Answers in Genesis.
The morning service follows at 11:00 AM, and the evening service at 6:00 PM. Both services run through the same core shape: hymn singing, prayer, the public reading and preaching of Scripture, and a closing prayer. Between services the church makes its facilities available for fellowship and for its nursery program, which provides loving on-site care for infants and toddlers up to three years old during services.
Wednesday Nights: Bible Study and Prayer
On Wednesdays at 7:00 PM the church gathers for a combined Bible study and prayer meeting. The corporate prayer commitment is central; Colossians 4:2, "Continue in prayer," is the verse that frames the gathering. The church teaches that without the blessing of God upon lives and ministries, all labor for the Lord is in vain, and the Wednesday night is where that conviction is put into weekly practice, alongside verse-by-verse study of Scripture.
The Pulpit: Pastor Casey Kuhlman
Casey Kuhlman accepted the call as pastor of Calvary Baptist Church on April 6, 2016. Born and raised in the Seattle area, he was converted at a church camp at the age of sixteen. He served as an assistant to Pastor Rob Watkins at Calvary Baptist Church during his years in Bible college and continued on the church staff for another year after graduation. He was ordained to the gospel ministry in 2012 and spent three years as a church planter in Seattle before becoming an interim assistant pastor at Westside Baptist Church in Bremerton, Washington. In 2016 he received a master's degree in theology and pastoral studies from the London Reformed Baptist Seminary, a ministry of the Metropolitan Tabernacle in London.
He married his wife, Becky, in 2008, and together they have seven children: Levi, Kelsey, Courtney, Caleb, Seth, Melanie, and Micah. The pastor's reading reflects the church's broader identity, with Charles Spurgeon, the Puritans, J.C. Ryle, Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Albert Martin, Paul Washer, and Peter Masters appearing repeatedly across the church's book recommendations. A page on the site lists the books that have shaped his own ministry.
Children, Sunday School, and the Nursery
Children are an integral part of the Sunday rhythm. Children's Sunday School runs at the same 9:45 AM hour as the adult class, with teachers walking through stories and lessons from God's Word using curriculum from Answers in Genesis, the creation-affirming apologetics ministry the church recommends elsewhere on its site. The nursery serves infants and toddlers up to three years old during services, providing parents a place to leave the youngest children while they participate in the service.
The Sermon Archive and the ChurchOne App
Calvary Baptist makes its preaching available well beyond Yucca Valley. The church uses SermonAudio as its broadcast platform, with a deep archive of individual sermons and named series. Two apps bring the archive to mobile devices. The ChurchOne by SermonAudio app ties the phone or tablet to Calvary Baptist as the home church (Member ID cbcyv; Church Code 37443), and the app opens directly to the church's sermons each time it loads, with notifications for church announcements. A second app, SermonAudio 2.0, opens the broader SermonAudio catalog to listeners who want to follow multiple speakers and churches alongside Calvary Baptist.
For those who cannot attend in person, the Sunday services are broadcast live through the SermonAudio player on the church's livestream page, and past sermons are organized by series for browsing. Several pages on the site embed SermonAudio players for current and historical messages.
A Library for Discipleship
The church maintains one of the more extensive curated reading lists on a small-church site. The books page is organized by genre - Bible Study, Biographies, Christian Living, Devotionals, Theology, Family, Children's, and Church/Ministry - and is supplemented by tags such as "Essentials," "Classics," "Adult Sunday School," "For Men," "For Women," and "For Pastors." The current Adult Sunday School study is highlighted at the top of the page.
Spurgeon, Bunyan, Owen, Edwards, Whitefield, Pink, Ryle, MacArthur, Lloyd-Jones, Martin, Masters, Washer, and the Puritans appear throughout, with titles such as The Pilgrim's Progress, Morning and Evening, Mortification of Sin, The Immutability of God, Holiness, The Reformed Pastor, and Albert Martin's three-volume Pastoral Theology. Biographical material includes the lives of George Müller, Adoniram and Ann Judson, David Brainerd, Charles Spurgeon, John G. Paton, and George Whitefield. Children's resources include Jonathan Park audio adventures, Lamplighter Theatre, Patch the Pirate, Torchlighters, and R.C. Sproul's allegories. A separate hymn section recommends Rejoice Hymns from Majesty Music as the church's hymnal. The list closes with a quote from Charles Spurgeon: "Visit many good books, but live in the Bible."
Discipleship Resources by Topic
Beyond books, the church organizes its teaching into topical "Discipleship Resources" pages that gather sermons, videos, reading, and links around a single subject. Topics include the gospel, repentance, regeneration, true and false conversion, sexual purity, prayer, depression and anxiety, how to listen to a sermon, marriage and family, effective Bible reading, the church, King James Onlyism, Bible reliability, end-times, creation and evolution, assurance of salvation, religion versus biblical Christianity, Calvinism and the doctrines of grace, revival, Christian liberty, charismatic teaching, worship music, the sinner's prayer, rededication, the altar call, youth ministry, and a long list of "Engaging the World Biblically" subjects ranging from natural disasters and technology to abortion, racism, feminism, and LGBTQ+.
Several of the topical pages reproduce sermons or excerpts from older writers. The "How to Listen to a Sermon" page, for example, prints George Whitefield's eighteenth-century counsel on hearing sermons to profit, together with excerpts from Christopher Love's "The Mortified Christian" (1618 - 1651) and C.H. Spurgeon's "Heart Piercing." The "Calvinism / Doctrines of Grace / Election" page links to a sermon series called "God's Amazing Electing Grace" and to articles by Dr. Peter Masters of the Metropolitan Tabernacle, including his critique titled "The Merger of Calvinism with Worldliness." The "Worship Music" page links to a playlist of messages by Dr. Scott Aniol and to articles by Peter Masters and Neil McGovern critiquing contemporary worship trends.
Global Missions: The Sheridans and Beyond
Global missions is one of the four pillars of the church's ministry, alongside personal discipleship, family shepherding, and collective worship. Through its giving, Calvary Baptist enthusiastically supports global missionaries as they fulfill the Great Commission of Matthew 28:19 - 20.
The site highlights one family by name: the Sheridans. Their ministry sits at the foot of the Andes in the capital of northern Chilean Patagonia, where they stepped out by faith to plant the first independent Baptist church in Chilean Patagonia. They are one of many missionary families that the church financially supports, and the Links page includes dedicated entries for several publishing and broadcast ministries that the church endorses, including Chapel Library, Blue Letter Bible, GotQuestions.org, the Bible Memory App, Abiding Radio, Faith Music, and Old Fashioned Christian Music Radio.
A Door Open to the High Desert and Beyond
Calvary Baptist's location shapes its hospitality. The church is a short drive from Joshua Tree National Park and from the Marine Air Ground Task Force Training Command and Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center at Twentynine Palms, and the church keeps two dedicated pages on its site for these audiences.
For visitors to Joshua Tree, the church welcomes travelers spending a weekend exploring the High Desert, those on an extended stay, or anyone simply passing through. For military personnel and families, the church positions itself as a "home away from home" for those on temporary assignment or longer tours of duty, inviting them to worship, fellowship, and grow alongside the congregation during their time in the desert.
Marriage Preparation and Family Resources
The church directs engaged and married couples toward the marriage training of Sam and Debbie Wood, whose umbrella ministry is Family Fortress Ministries. Their free Preparing for Partnership program offers pre-marital training that individuals can take at home at their own pace, with lessons on readiness, covenant, companionship, communication, conflict resolution, sexual intimacy, roles and responsibilities, finances, and children. Family Fortress Ministries as a whole teaches family conferences, preaching, and teaching materials aimed at helping believers examine their relationships with God and family members.
For Pastors and Pastors' Wives
A separate section of the site gathers resources for pastors and their wives, reflecting the church's interest in equipping ministry leaders. The page lists sermons, audiobooks (including Ichabod Spencer's A Pastor's Sketches and Spurgeon's Lectures to My Students), videos (including Paul Washer's thirty-eight-part "Meditations on 1 Timothy"), and curated book lists drawn from Banner of Truth, Reformation Heritage, Chapel Library, and other Reformed and Puritan-friendly publishers. Documentary recommendations include Logic on Fire on Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, and links to articles by Dr. Peter Masters on expository preaching.
Directions and Finding the Church
The church building sits at 57175 Crestview Drive, Yucca Valley. From Joshua Tree National Park, MAGTFTC and MCAGCC at Twentynine Palms, head west on CA-62 (Twentynine Palms Highway), turn right onto Old Woman Springs Road (CA-247), turn left onto Sunnyslope Drive after the Circle K gas station, then turn right onto Joshua Lane. The church will be on the left. From the lower desert (Palm Springs, Morongo Valley), the same route is taken in reverse: east on CA-62, left onto CA-247, left onto Sunnyslope after the Circle K, right onto Joshua Lane.
The church office can be reached at (760) 365-9731 or by email at contact.cbcyv@gmail.com. Sermons and livestream broadcasts are available through the SermonAudio player on the church's livestream page, and the ChurchOne by SermonAudio app brings the same content to a phone or tablet.