NACOGDOCHES, Texas — Calvary Baptist Church made a commitment years ago to tithe on their receipts by giving 10% through the Cooperative Program (CP)  to support national and international missions and ministries.

“We have kept that (up) through these years,” said Paul Sevar, Calvary’s senior pastor for more than 25 years. 

The church — in a relatively rural area in deep East Texas — has believed in the purpose of the Cooperative Program so much that they “have not missed” what they have given to the kingdom through Southern Baptist work. 

“We very much feel that the Cooperative Program has been a gift to us from God to be able to reach out across our world,” Sevar said. “Whenever you’re able to keep missionaries on the field, it is so important that they don’t have to come home and raise their funds to go back to the mission field.”

Sevar’s wife grew up in a denomination whose missionaries routinely had to leave the field for three or four months at a time to raise support, so that difference in the Cooperative Program is vivid to him. 

“The Cooperative Program is that which keeps our missionaries there to do the work,” he said. 

Rarely will someone at Calvary question why so much money needs to leave the church, but Sevar aims to be transparent about why they give. Twice a year, he preaches on missions giving, and church members are invited to talk about it individually if they have questions.

Though in the same town as Stephen F. Austin State University, Calvary has realized through the years that they are “not the college church.” Congregations closer to campus have been more successful at reaching students, and though Calvary has outreaches and some college students attend, the church knows its identity, Sevar said.

Evangelism is a key strategy for reaching the lost in Nacogdoches. Every Monday, church members go into the community to knock on doors. 

“We’re seeing a number of people who are coming to church that used to be in church years ago, and now they’re coming back to church,” Sevar said. “I have to say, it’s because of outreach. It’s because members of the church are out knocking on people’s doors.”

The pastor believes church members knocking on doors, asking to pray for residents and talking about Jesus is a method the Holy Spirit uses to refresh minds about Christ. “All of a sudden, the Holy Spirit begins to move and convict them,” Sevar said.

Sevar admits times have changed, noting most people would invite him into their homes when he knocked on their doors in the past. These days, such invites are not as frequently extended — and some say they don’t even want anyone to pray for them. 

Even so, “if you confront them, the majority of them will listen to you. They won’t all reject you.” Kindness and graciousness go a long way, he said, and often residents will respect people for being bold enough to share their faith. 

With up to 350 attending Calvary on Sundays, they have baptized about 15 people this year. Sevar said the church was baptizing about every other week during one stretch. 

In addition to strong missions giving and evangelism, Calvary goes on mission trips to San Francisco and Belize, where they helped build a church. They are involved in their local Baptist association, a food pantry and other ministries to advance the kingdom. 

“Calvary has been consistent through the years. We have stayed faithful to not only giving money toward missions, but doing missions,” Sevar said. A long tenure has given him the chance to see the church’s steady impact on its community. 

Methods have had to change, he said, as Sunday night and Wednesday night attendance has dropped in recent years. To compensate, Calvary started weekday Bible studies at times and in groupings that fit busy schedules. The church has anywhere from 80 to 130 people in those studies throughout the week.

Sevar emphasizes the need to continue presenting God’s Word to people and inviting them to follow Jesus. Though church today doesn’t look like it did when he fell in love with it as a boy, it is as critical to God’s mission as ever.

“This church has been such a great, consistent church serving the Lord,” Sevar said, “and we truly believe in the cooperative effort.” 

(EDITOR’S NOTE — This article originally appeared in the Southern Baptist TEXAN.)