Our Story
For 100 years, Calvary Temple has been a place of hope in west Tulsa.
Each generation has built on the foundation of the previous generation
and passed the torch to the next.
We celebrate the saints and spiritual heroes of yesteryear
while seeking to faithfully share the Good News of Jesus Christ
to our generation in the 21st century.
Calvary Temple began in 1924 as a prayer group, meeting in a store building at the Park View rail station at 38th W Ave. and moved to a front building at the Home Gardens rail station at 43rd W. Ave. from which the name "Home Gardens Assembly of God" was derived.
In order to expand the ministry, a 400-seat sanctuary (affectionately dubbed "The Rock Church") was built at 4225 West 5th under the ministry of Pastor Charles Lewis
The church experienced one of its greatest outpourings of the Holy Spirit during a 16-week revival in the late 1940's with evangelist Lee Krupnick. Many pastors and faithful church leaders were born out of this particular revival meeting.
In 1951, J.R. Cissna became pastor of Home Gardens, a relationship that was to last for 26 years. Under his leadership, Bus Evangelism was developed and attendance began to increase. With the growth of the congregation, the facilities became inadequate, so the church undertook a great step of faith and began a building program.
A few blocks away on W. Edison St., the Activity Center was completed in October 1975, where services were held while construction on the main church building continued.
Lindell Ballenger was elected as pastor in December 1976. The church building was finally completed and the first service conducted on February 26,1978. Upon occupying the new facilities, members voted to change the named from Home Gardens to Calvary Temple Assembly of God.
The church enjoyed unprecedented growth and many programs were begun or expanded in order to reach the community with the message of hope in Christ. These included: youth ministry, bus ministry, children's ministry, television and radio ministry, music productions, benevolence ministry, missions programs, as well as a Christian school and day care.
In 1985, Ron Glosson was called to pastor. During his pastorate, the roof of the church collapsed as the result of a heavy snowfall. Church services were conducted in the Activity Center until the reconstruction of the sanctuary could be completed.
Tom Ogdon began his pastorate in 1987, during which time the restoration work was completed and the congregation could return to having services in the sanctuary.
From 1988 until 1994, Larry McNeil served as pastor.
In June 1994, Tim Watkins, a former associate pastor, was called to pastor his home church. With a vision to continue to be a witness to the community, the church, under his leadership, continued to work in various outreaches, including: prison ministry and support group, food pantry, music outreaches to the incarcerated, special musical productions, youth ministry, youth missions trips, youth drama team, children's church, bus ministry, day care, women's group, singles group, along with boys and girls ministries. Pastor Watkins resigned in September of 2022 after over 28 years of serving our congregation as pastor.
In October of 2022, a pair of disasters struck with a late fall storm which caused significant damage to the roof and sanctuary as well as acts of vandalism leading to the loss of air conditioning in both buildings. Under the leadership of interim pastor Robert Polvado and the church board, services were once again held in the Activity Center while repairs could be made. A lack of air conditioning made services difficult, but the Lord and our members were faithful during this time. In June 2023, Dan Martin was called as pastor and two weeks later, services resumed in the main building after nine months. We are currently continuing to make repairs and upgrades to the facilities and trust that this church will continue to impact our community to the glory of God for many years to come.