Calvary Bible Church sits on Union School Road in the Donegal Heights section of Mount Joy, Pennsylvania, where it has occupied its current four-acre site since 1964. The congregation is led by a teaching pastorate shaped by Dallas Theological Seminary and Westminster Theological Seminary, and its motto - Pursuing God and Advancing His Kingdom - captures a church that takes seriously the inerrancy of Scripture, the work of disciple-making, and ministry across every stage of life. From nursery care on a Sunday morning to a seniors' breakfast at a local restaurant on a Thursday, Calvary Bible Church runs one of the more densely packed ministry calendars in northern Lancaster County.
A Sunday at Calvary Bible Church
The Sunday pattern is two-fold. Adult and Children's Bible Fellowship classes meet first, at 9:00 AM and run until about 10:00 AM. Calvary Kids welcomes children from age two through sixth grade during this hour, and infants and toddlers have a separate nursery. Junior Church, for ages two through fourth grade, is offered during the 10:15 AM service, again alongside nurseries for the littlest children. The morning worship service starts at 10:15 AM and typically concludes around 11:45 AM. Visitors are told simply to dress casually or dress up, whichever is comfortable, and to come as they are.
Expository Preaching and Blended Worship
Each Sunday the pulpit teaches expositionally, working through books and passages of Scripture so that the text sets the agenda for the sermon. The teaching pastor, Dr. Randal E. Pelton, holds a Th.M. from Dallas Theological Seminary and a D.Min. from Gordon-Conwell, and is currently completing a Ph.D. at Lancaster Bible College Capital Seminary & Graduate School. He also teaches Advanced Homiletics at LBC Capital and in the D.Min. program at Gordon-Conwell.
The music at Calvary Bible Church is intentionally blended. The congregation sings rich classic hymns alongside sound contemporary songs, sung simply and clearly so that every voice can join in. The goal is not a particular style but worship that makes much of Jesus, with Christ Himself understood to be the one who brings the people into the Father's presence. Music is led by the Pastor of Student & Worship Ministries, Landon Owen, who came to CBC from Alabama.
Children, Students, and Young Adults
Children's ministry is overseen by Lydia Brouillette, who grew up in northern Wisconsin, studied Youth Ministry at Lancaster Bible College, and moved to CBC in 2023. On Sunday mornings the Calvary Kids program and Junior Church carry children from nursery through fourth grade, and a complete nursery is available for both the 9:00 AM and 10:15 AM hours. All volunteers who serve with children are background-checked and trained.
On Wednesday evenings during the school year, the church building fills with three age-graded programs that share the 6:45 PM to 8:15 PM hour. TeamKID gathers children ages four through fourth grade. 56 Followers, designed as the bridge between children's ministry and youth group, takes fifth and sixth graders and asks them to begin thinking for themselves about what their faith means. ALIVE is the youth group for seventh through twelfth graders and meets in the same time slot. All three programs start the new year together at a Fall Kickoff in early September.
For young adults, the church offers a Sunday morning Bible study at 9:00 AM and gatherings on the first and third Tuesday of the month for food, fellowship and study. The Young Adult Ministry is coordinated by Pastor Jonathan Kauffman and is open to anyone navigating college, career, and what it looks like to follow Jesus in that season.
Wilderness Journeymen
One of the more distinctive ministries at Calvary Bible Church is Wilderness Journeymen, a discipleship and wilderness training program for young men ages twelve through twenty. The group meets on Sunday evenings during the year for Bible study, and several times a year loads up for a winter backpacking trip, a spring backpacking trip, and a summer canoe trip. The annual cycle closes with a parents' night in August. The program pairs hard outdoor experience with the work of applying Scripture.
Wednesday Evenings: Prayer Meeting and Midweek Ministries
At 7:00 PM on Wednesdays, the Sanctuary fills for the weekly Prayer Meeting. Pastor Pelton leads corporate prayer followed by a brief Bible study. The midweek hour has long been one of the regular rhythms of the church, and members are encouraged to fold it into the week alongside the children's and youth programs that fill the building earlier in the evening.
Women's Ministry
The Women's Ministry at Calvary Bible Church centers on two Bible studies each year and a steady rhythm of fellowship. The Spring Bible Study, currently working through Seeking Him by Nancy Wolgemuth and Tim Grissom, meets on Tuesdays in both a 9:30 AM and a 7:00 PM session over thirteen weeks, with childcare available for the morning group. The Fall Bible Study, an inductive study titled The Stories of Women by Colleen Searcy, follows the same Tuesday morning and evening pattern from mid-September through early November. Coffee & Conversation gathers women on the third Saturday of select months for coffee, tea, light refreshments, and intergenerational discussion. A yearly retreat and occasional service projects round out the calendar.
The King's Men
Men's ministry at CBC, known as The King's Men, is led by Pastor Pelton and runs several layers of programming. A Book Study, currently working through the book of James with the Blackaby study guide, meets on Wednesday evenings. King's Men Connect evenings rotate around the area - the campus 647 House, Hershey Farm, and other spots - for food and a guest speaker on a practical topic. A Spring Retreat and King's Men Breakfasts, hosted in the Fellowship Hall, draw men together across the year.
Forever Young
Forever Young is the church's ministry for adults sixty and over. Members gather monthly for breakfast at Gus's Keystone Family Restaurant on West Main Street in Mount Joy, and a quarterly social - recent years have featured a baked potato bar, games, s'mores, and cornhole - gives the group additional time together. The Forever Young calendar is coordinated by Bob and Glenda Muehling.
GriefShare
For those grieving the death of a loved one, CBC hosts GriefShare, a biblical support group that walks participants through a guided curriculum of videos, group discussion, and practical exercises. Those interested can contact the church office for the current schedule.
Adult Bible Fellowships and Small Groups
The Adult Bible Fellowships that meet before the worship service are the entry point for adult Sunday discipleship, and most are organized by age and stage of life. Beyond Sunday morning, the church encourages small-group connection through Care and Share Groups that meet twice a month, a Faith-Family Night on the second Sunday, Neighbor Night on the fourth Sunday to reach out to neighbors, and a church-wide fellowship on occasional fifth Sundays. A church-wide 5th Sunday Fireside Fellowship, with s'mores and cornhole, is one of the more popular gatherings on those months.
The Building, the 647 House, and Parking
Calvary Bible Church dedicated its first building on the Union School Road site in 1964, added a larger sanctuary with seating for 500 in 1977, completed a sanctuary refresh in 2016, and broke ground in 2018 on a 15,159-square-foot expansion. The three-story addition added classroom space for children, youth, and adults, an elevator to all three levels, a fire suppression system, expanded parking, new offices, and extensive renovations to the existing facility. Dedication Sunday was September 8, 2019.
The church also operates the 647 House, a recently remodeled building on the same Union School Road campus that hosts smaller gatherings such as King's Men Connect and the first Coffee & Conversation of the fall season.
Visitor parking is available from the Union School Road entrance, in front of and to the left of the main building. Handicapped parking can be found at both the Union School Road and Jane Avenue entrances.
Outreach Across the Street and Across the Sea
Mission work has been a central part of Calvary Bible Church since its earliest days. Summer mission trips have taken CBC teams to Costa Rica, El Salvador, Florida, Germany, Minnesota, and Panama in recent years. At home, the church points to Neighbor Night on the fourth Sunday evening of each month as a structured opportunity to reach out to those who live nearby.
What We Believe
The Statement of Faith at Calvary Bible Church sets out a conservative, evangelical position. The church holds that the Bible is the inspired, inerrant, infallible Word of God, sufficient as the rule of faith and practice, and that the Holy Spirit is its infallible interpreter. It affirms the Triune Godhead - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - the deity and virgin birth of Christ, His substitutionary atonement on the cross, His bodily resurrection, His present reign in heaven, and His imminent personal return in the air for His blood-bought children, before the Great Tribulation.
Salvation is by faith in Christ's finished work, and those who believe are eternally secure. Communion and baptism are the two ordinances of the church, with baptism understood as a witness to a salvation already possessed and the Lord's Supper a memorial to be observed by believers after self-examination. The church teaches that sign gifts, including tongues, passed away with the completion of the New Testament canon.
The church holds to a complementarian view of marriage and gender, teaches the sanctity of all human life from conception to natural death, and identifies itself with the core values of being Biblically-shaped, Worshipful, Disciple-making, and Faith-Family.
Leadership and Staff
Dr. Randal E. Pelton has served as Senior Pastor since 2003, when he and his wife Michele moved to Mount Joy from The People's Church in New Brunswick, Canada. Jonathan Kauffman serves as Pastor of Discipleship and has been on staff since 2006, the year he graduated from Lancaster Bible College. Landon Owen joined the staff as Pastor of Student & Worship Ministries after earning graduate degrees from the University of Mobile. Rich Hurlbert is the Director of Faith-Family Care and has spent decades in Christian education and ministry. Jordan Sitler, the Director of Discipleship, joined the staff after graduating from Lancaster Bible College in 2024 and continues studies at Westminster Theological Seminary. Gavin Shaub, the Ministry Coordinator, is a Mount Joy native and a student at Boyce College in Louisville. Lydia Brouillette directs Children's Ministry. Jill Beachy and Carrie Shaub serve as administrative assistants in the office.
Online: Sermons, Podcast, Livestream, Giving
Sermons are recorded and posted on YouTube, with current and past series available through the church's sermon page. The Beyond Sunday podcast extends the preaching ministry beyond Sunday morning, with new episodes released on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Services are livestreamed on YouTube each Sunday, and the link is available from the church's home page. Giving is available online through the church's Realm account.
Office Hours and Getting in Touch
The church office is open Monday through Thursday from 7:30 AM to 3:00 PM and on Friday from 7:30 AM to 11:30 AM. The office phone is 717-653-5857, with a fax line at 717-653-5201. General questions go to office@cbcmj.com; visitors can also fill out a Connection Card on a Sunday morning to receive a small gift and have the staff follow up. Newcomers are invited to a New Attendee Lunch with Leadership several times a year, and a First Steps Class meets the first Sunday of each month at 9:00 AM in the Library.