Calvary Baptist Church is affiliated with and supports the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. Likewise, we demonstrate our Baptist identity with our support of Baptist Women in Ministry. Baptists define themselves in a variety of ways—there is no uniformity among Baptists in their history that dates to the Protestant Reformation. One way of describing Baptists is through their central tenet of freedom: soul freedom, church freedom, Bible freedom, and religious freedom (see CBF website).

Many Baptists list several principles that have historically anchored their identity. This Baptist DNA includes:

• Voluntary experiential faith - freedom to follow Christ through voluntary profession of experiential faith, the sacred act of believer’s baptism (Calvary baptizes by immersion), and the regular observance the Lord’s Supper.
• Freedom of conscience under the Lordship of Christ - freedom to follow God directly according to individual conscience without the hierarchy of human mediators; freedom of the local church body to follow its collective conscience. Dissent is rooted in faithfulness to the Lordship of Christ.
• Freedom for Local church independence/interdependence - freedom to be a local body of baptized believers accountable to God and to each other yet to use freedom responsibly to cooperate with others.
• Congregational freedom – freedom of the local body of Christ to govern one’s own affairs; thus, giving each person the opportunity to have a voice in church affairs/ministry.
• Equality of All believers; Priesthood of All Believers– Baptists affirm the equality of all believers. They seek to embody what is biblically called the priesthood of all believers. Women and men are equally called to all forms of ministry.
• Freedom rooted in Biblical authority - The authority of the Bible for matters of faith and practice has always guided Baptists. Baptists read, study and follow Scripture individually and communally.
• Religious freedom/liberty for all people - Baptists affirm freedom for all people to practice faith (or not) according to conscience. Coerced worship and coerced religious practice are inconsistent with voluntary faith. The separation of church and state is good for both.
• Missions/Evangelism – Baptists have engaged in active witness, both in personal witness and social justice. “Every Baptist a missionary” is a historic phrase to describe how every believer and church should bear witness to the gospel of Jesus Christ and spread the message of salvation, discipleship, and flourishing across the globe. 

Being a Baptist Christian is a way of experiencing authentic, voluntary, personal faith and a way of belonging and doing church with other professing believers. A Baptist Christian should affirm a personal and communal (church) journey rooted in freedom under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.