Calvary Independent Baptist Church has gathered on Amosland Road in Morton, Pennsylvania for more than four decades, but its roots in Delaware County go back even further. Founded in the summer of 1977 by Pastor John B. Cartwright, the church spent its first five years meeting in a Masonic Hall in nearby Prospect Park while midweek services rotated through borrowed buildings around the county. In 1982 the congregation purchased the old Kedron Elementary School on Amosland Road - a structure first built in 1875 - and has called it home ever since. Today Calvary is a multicultural, multigenerational independent Baptist church led by Pastor Jon Hartkopf, who succeeded Cartwright in June 2025 after serving as associate pastor since 2020.
From the Naval Academy to Amosland Road
Pastor John B. Cartwright founded Calvary in 1977, but his story begins on the football field. A 1964 graduate of Sharon Hill High School, Cartwright earned ten varsity letters in football, baseball, and basketball and drew scholarship offers from more than thirty colleges as well as the Kansas City Athletics. He chose the U.S. Naval Academy, where in his sophomore year he succeeded Roger Staubach as starting quarterback, breaking thirteen of Staubach's records and setting seven of his own. He was commissioned an officer in the U.S. Navy in 1968, married his childhood sweetheart Thelma Themens the same year, and served a tour that included a long deployment to Vietnam.
After military service Cartwright returned to Virginia and became an assistant football coach at the young Liberty University under Lee "Rock" Royer. He took over as head coach in 1973 after Royer's sudden death in a plane crash. He completed his degree at Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary in 1976 and, feeling called to plant a church, moved his family back to his native Delaware County. The first service of Calvary Independent Baptist Church was held in September 1977. For 48 years Cartwright preached, taught, and shepherded the congregation. Hundreds of people came to faith, several new churches were planted, pastors were trained, marriages were restored, and lives were transformed. On June 29, 2025, he handed the leadership of Calvary to Pastor Jonathan Hartkopf.
Pastor Jon Hartkopf
Pastor Jon Hartkopf grew up in a Christian home where his parents taught him the gospel from infancy. He trusted Christ as Savior at the age of five, praying, "I knew I was a sinner and that I could not go to Heaven because of that. I believed that Jesus had died on the cross for me and that He was the Son of God, and I asked God to forgive me of my sin."
He completed his undergraduate studies at Pensacola Christian College in Florida and later earned a Master of Divinity through Liberty University. While serving on staff at Pensacola Christian College, Hartkopf sensed God's call to move his family to Pennsylvania, and they arrived in the summer of 2020. He served as associate pastor under Cartwright for five years before being installed as senior pastor in June 2025. Hartkopf and his wife Annelisa are the parents of six children. He describes his ministry focus as discipleship and helping people come to know Christ personally: "Knowing God is not a religion - it's a relationship that will change your life forever."
Sunday Mornings and Wednesday Nights
Sunday at Calvary starts with Sunday School for all ages at 9:45 AM, followed by the Morning Worship Service at 11:00 AM. An Evening Service has been listed at 6:00 PM, though it is currently on hold. Wednesday nights bring the Prayer, Praise, and Preaching service at 7:00 PM. A nursery is provided for ages 0-3 during every service, and there are preschool and elementary classes for older children.
Services are livestreamed on the church's Facebook page and YouTube channel, so members who are traveling or homebound can join the gathering in real time. Visitors are welcomed to attend in person when they are able.
Those wishing to formally join the church are invited to come forward during the invitation time of a worship service or to speak with the pastor. Membership is open to those who have received the gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ and have followed the Lord's command to be baptized by immersion.
"I Wanna Grow!" and the Children's Ministry
Children are a central part of Calvary's life. On Wednesday evenings from 7:00 to 8:15 PM, the "I Wanna Grow!" Kids Club meets for children ages 5 through 13. The club runs September through May each year and focuses on memorizing, understanding, and applying Bible verses. Children earn awards for their progress, sing Bible songs, hear lessons, and play games. The theme verse is 2 Peter 3:18: "But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."
The club is divided into two age groups: ages 5-10, led by Tan and Dana Mai, and ages 11-13, led by Pastor Jon and Annelisa Hartkopf. Registration is required because space is limited, and a $20 donation per child is suggested to cover costs, though no fee is required. Parents are welcome to stay in the sanctuary during club for the Wednesday night Bible study and prayer meeting.
On Sundays, children ages 0-3 are cared for in the nursery, and children ages 4-10 attend their own Children's Church during the morning service. There is also a Sunday School class called the Shepherd's Class designed for those who are intellectually disabled, ensuring a place for the entire family in the life of the church.
Men's Ministry, Women's Ministry, and One-on-One Discipleship
The Men's Ministry gathers quarterly on Saturday mornings at 9 AM for a hearty breakfast, fellowship, and Bible teaching. Teenage guys are welcome. The ministry also encourages one-on-one discipleship for new believers and offers occasional special studies.
The Women's Ministry meets quarterly for Ladies Fellowships, alternating between Monday evenings from 7:00 to 8:30 PM and Saturday mornings at the church. These gatherings include food, conversation, time in the Word, testimonies, and prayer. A weekly prayer list is sent out by email to ladies who opt in. In addition, women are encouraged to participate in the "Deep Discipleship" Bible study course meeting Sundays from 12:30 to 2:00 PM, where they bring a lunch and work through video teaching. The Women's Ministry focuses on three goals: nurturing spiritual growth, building meaningful relationships, and providing opportunities for service and outreach.
One-on-one discipleship is offered to new believers and to anyone seeking help in their spiritual walk. The Van Ministry provides rides to any church service for those who need transportation; members and visitors alike can call or text Pastor Jon at (610) 328-4330 to arrange a pickup.
The "Miracle in Morton" Building Project
The Kedron Elementary School building Calvary has occupied since 1982 was constructed in 1875, and nearly a century and a half of use has left its mark. Plumbing and electrical systems are aging, repairs are costly, and much of the space is hard to heat in winter and cool in summer. The basement is currently unusable. The congregation's growing children's ministries need more room, and the structure is not handicap accessible.
After studying the options, the church determined that the cost of renovating the old school would exceed the cost of building new. They are now working to raise funds for a new building on the same Amosland Road property. All architecture and site plans are complete, and approvals from the township and county are in hand. The project is called "Miracle in Morton" because, as the church describes it, they are a small body fully committed to spreading the gospel in Delaware County and need the Lord to provide. Donations to the building fund can be made online or by sending a check to the church designated "Building Fund."
What Calvary Independent Baptist Church Believes
The Bible is the final authority for everything Calvary teaches. The church holds that Scripture is the verbally inspired and infallible Word of God, given without error in the original manuscripts, and that God has preserved His Word through the traditional Hebrew and Greek texts. The Authorized Version (KJV) is regarded as an accurate English translation of that preserved Word.
Calvary affirms one triune God - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - distinct in person but one in essence. They believe in the virgin birth, sinless life, miracles, vicarious atoning death, bodily resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ, and in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit as the agent of conviction, regeneration, indwelling, sanctification, and illumination. The church is openly opposed to the charismatic movement and the practice of speaking in tongues.
The two ordinances of the local church are baptism by immersion and the Lord's Supper. Salvation is a free gift received by grace through faith in Christ's finished work on the cross, and believers are eternally secure. Heaven is open to "whosoever will"; the church rejects the idea that God pre-elects some persons to Heaven and others to Hell.
Calvary teaches a literal six-day creation, that life begins at conception, and that human life is a sacred gift from God. They believe in the imminent pre-Tribulation Rapture of the church, followed by a seven-year Tribulation, the return of Christ in glory, and a millennial reign on earth.
On marriage and human sexuality, the church holds that marriage is the exclusive union of one man and one woman for life, that sexual activity is reserved for that union, and that any form of sexual immorality - including adultery, fornication, homosexuality, bisexuality, incest, bestiality, and pornography - is sinful. They believe that DNA determines a person's biological sex and that any attempt to alter one's gender is forbidden by God. Divorce and remarriage are generally forbidden while a former spouse is still living; divorced and remarried persons may serve in the church but are not eligible for the offices of pastor or deacon.
Missionaries Around the World
Calvary supports a wide network of missionaries and ministries through its Faith Promise Missions Fund. Partners include Jonathan and Jeanine Autrey in the Dominican Republic; Dan and Rachael Brown in Madagascar; Joe and Katie Delp church planting in Philadelphia; Rick and Becky Enterline as representatives for Grace Dental and Medical Missions; Shaun Evans in Sierra Leone; Robert and Mary Fuller ministering to the Deaf; Tom and Heidi Gonderman in Australia; John Hamilton in U.S. church planting; Jonathan and Anica Mislan in the Philippines; Joseph and Louise Moore in Liberia with Global Commission Ministries; Emma Napier in Australia; Priority One India; Eli and Mari-Lyn Schrock in Cambodia; Bill and Lori Smith and Andrew and Anna Smith in Papua New Guinea, with the Smiths also serving in mission aviation. The church also supports Grace Independent Baptist Church in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, pastored by Joe and Connie Poremba, as well as organizations such as Baptist International Mission, Inc., the Christian Law Association, and the Roloff Homes addiction-recovery ministry. Members and friends are encouraged to pray for these missionaries, give to their support, and write to them.