About – Calvary Chapel Bartlett

WHAT WE BELIEVE

We believe in the verbal inspiration of the whole Bible.
2 Tim 3:1; 1 Pet 1:21

We believe that there is one God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Ex 33:1; Jn 1:1, 14; Acts 5:3-4

We believe in the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ,
       Rev 22:13
in His virgin birth,
       Matt 1:23
in His sinless life,
       Heb 4:15
in His miracles,
       Matt 11:2-5
in His vicarious and atoning death through His shed blood,
       1 Pet 2:24
in His bodily resurrection,
       1 Cor 15:3-5
in His ascension to the right hand of the Father,
       Acts 1:9-11
and in His personal and visible return in power and glory.
       Matt 24:29-31

We believe that all people are born sinners and alienated from God and therefore in order to receive eternal life, one must be born again by confessing that Jesus is Lord and believing in one’s heart that God has raised Him from the dead, that all are justified on the single ground of faith in the shed blood of Christ, and that only by God’s grace through faith alone are we saved.
Rom 3:23; Jn 3:3; Rom 10:9; Eph 2:8-9

We believe that all believers should be water baptized in obedience to the command of our Lord Jesus Christ as a sign of their spiritual death, burial and resurrection unto the new life in Christ.
Matt 28:18-20

We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit by whose indwelling the Christian is enabled to live a godly life.
Rom 8:9, 23-24

We believe in the resurrection of both the saved and the unsaved; they that are saved unto the resurrection of life and they that are unsaved unto the resurrection of damnation.
Rev 20:4-5, 12-15

This is a list of essential doctrines that Calvary Chapel believes. For Pastor John’s specific vision for our fellowship, please click here.

CHURCH HISTORY

1995

After serving for eleven years at Calvary Chapel Westgrove (then Westminster) in southern California, Pastor John Pillivant was called to the area of Memphis, Tennessee to start a Calvary Chapel. Moving out with his wife, two young sons, and several of the young adults from his youth group, they started the church in their living room in Atoka, Tennessee.

1997

The church soon outgrew the Pillivant home and was moved to a YWCA in Memphis. For several years, the church remained here and continued to grow, eventually necessitating a larger building.

1999

This led the fellowship to move to a storefront on Stage Road in old Bartlett, a suburb of Memphis. The church settled here, as the Lord continued to move and the fellowship continued to grow.

2005

After much prayer, the church purchased its own property in Bartlett: thirteen beautiful wooded acres and a building that could fit the entire congregation!

Present Day

Today, the church remains in this building at 8587 Memphis Arlington Road and continues to work to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ, both locally and around the world.

You can learn more about Calvary Chapel here.

LEADERSHIP

John Pillivant
Senior Pastor

Pastor John was raised Roman Catholic, but became born again when he was 15 years old. Almost immediately he began leading worship for youth group and over time and God’s leading, he became the worship leader and Youth Pastor of Calvary Chapel Westminster, CA. After serving there for 11 years and being led to move his growing family to the Memphis area, in 1995 he began Calvary Chapel Bartlett in their home. Through slow yet steady growth the church moved to a YWCA, then rented space in a storefront, and eventually purchased land and built a building, where we currently worship and serve Jesus to this day.

“I am overly blessed to be married to Amanda, for over 30 years, and to have two wonderful sons – young men who love Jesus. I know that we live in perilous times, yet I also know the One who holds the future and has all things in His hands!”

Garet Rehling
Youth Pastor

Garet has been serving at Calvary Chapel Bartlett since April 2018. By faith Garet, his wife Marie, and their beautiful daughter Ginny moved from California to the Memphis area, sensing God’s call on their lives. Since then, they have seen the fruit of following Jesus by serving Him and His people, especially the junior and senior Highers.

1 Timothy 1:12 And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry