Hardwood floors. Birds twittering. Wind rustling through the trees. A zip line. The roar of a motorcycle bringing in a pastor. Surely, this isn’t a church. Or is it? Calvary Warriors Mark has set up church at Camp Kanesatake. Camp K is transformed on Sunday mornings as the newest location for worship at Calvary, a multi-site church (one church with multiple locations).
“Build a church without walls. It’s a curious phrase, but one that God impressed on our hearts years ago,” says Dan Nold, Calvary’s Lead Pastor. “It’s Calvary’s vision to build a church without walls (no walls between us and God, no walls between us and each other, no walls between the church and the community). So when a group of people from Warriors Mark came to us and said, ‘Would you help us start a church that loves Jesus and serves the community?’ It was hard to say no... and so Calvary Warriors Mark was born.”
Calvary Warriors Mark launched on May 23 with 53 people (15 children). Nursery-preschool is set up in the Craft Cabin and the Cafeteria hosts elementary-age children with programming that includes a nature hike; a kid-favorite activity!
“I’m really looking forward to hanging out with people who love Jesus and want to serve their neighbors,” says Bruce Eveleth, Gathering Pastor of the new site.
And when he says “hanging out,” he really means hanging out. Camp K recently installed a zip line just outside the chapel doors. Calvary Warriors Mark attendees are getting quite experienced at hanging from a harness and swinging through the pine trees on a Sunday afternoon. Truly, this is a church like none other.
“There are many great congregations in the Warriors Mark - Tyrone area. We simply want to join them in serving [the community],” Nold says. “Church was never meant to be an address. It’s not a building holding people in, it’s a people called to love Christ as we go and serve people.”
Calvary Warriors Mark gathers at 10am each Sunday at Camp Kanesatake, located on Huntingdon Furnace Road, between Rt-45 and Rt-350.