CHURCH ANNIVERSARY

MATTHEW 16:18

“And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it”.

As a beacon light for Christ in the Rome community, each year in August, the Mt. Calvary Baptist Church family celebrates its anniversary for many glorious and consecrated years of service to God. During the celebration we pause to reflect upon our past, and consider how far we have come. The church has come a long way from its humble beginning in the fall of 1927. From that small house-gathering on Dominick Street to our current location.

We acknowledge the tireless efforts of that small band of believers to whom God gave the vision to establish a place of worship. To them we owe a sincere debt of gratitude. “God will surely help us”, must have been the motto of those earlier chartered members.

Thanks be to God for your faithfulness the legacy continues. Today we enjoy the blessings of a most elegant and spacious sanctuary with class rooms and offices constructed in ‘2000’. During the same year the old sanctuary was converted into the fellowship hall. In ‘2004’ the second floor offices and storage were converted into the pastor’s living quarters. This is clear evidence God has brought us from a mighty long ways. He is indeed worthy of our praise.

And as we continue to build upon our legacy I issue this challenge – Remain United in Christ and “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth”.

Since the world in which we live is politically, culturally and spiritually sick and divided. The church has merely stood back and cast stones. What is behind the division? It is caused by different worldviews. Worldviews are the assumptions we make concerning truth. Actions follow assumptions. Wrong assumption – wrong conclusion – behavior is down stream.

A worldview must answer the question – Who or what is God? We can know God through His son the Lord Jesus Christ. However, to the secular humanist, God is not God – man is god. To the materialist and to the naturalist, God is not God – nature and the cosmos is god.

We must remain united because not only is the world sick but also the 21st Century church is ailing. Only 9% of Christians have a purely biblical perspective. During our parents generation – 65% espoused values that were biblically based; our generation – 35% and; our children’s generation – only 4% have biblically based values.

The reason for the rapid decline in biblical based values – we replaced Biblical based preaching – preaching that demanded sacrifice and service, with Pop Psychology – we have become Narcissistic, self-centered.

Our view has been obscured as a result of what we have absorbed through the media, through education, and through the political process. This has taken us away from a purely biblical worldview. Therefore, we need to throw out these worldviews that have tainted our perspective on what thus says the Lord.

The TRIPOD of Purely Biblical World View is as follows:

1. God is the creator of heaven and earth

2. Fall of man

3. God has a plan

The redemptive plan of God. It is the Crimson Thread that runs through 1,166 pages of the Bible. It gets us back to where we started before we separated ourselves from God.

If the church is going to restore a nation, rescue a generation, and revitalize civilization we must have a purely biblical worldview as stated by the Hebrew writer in Hebrews 11:6:

“But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is…”

However, the shout of the text is

“…he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him”.

The significance of every Christian believer: is to be seasoned in the Faith and well enough read in the scripture. So, we can take the message of our Christ into the market place to heal and deliver a dying world. This is not a battle of guns and missiles – but it is a battle of truth and principle.

In Christ I Remain,

Rev. Tommy Ray Jackson, Sr.

Pastor


Rev. Tommy Ray Jackson, Sr., has been our pastor since March 1990. Under his leadership and with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, Mt. Calvary has made substantial progress in every facet of church life. Several new ministries have been added. In 1990, he successfully spearheaded and consummated a successful building fund drive, in spite of the additional demands on his time as Moderator of the Northeastern District Baptist Association. In November of 1999 the church was able to begin construction of a new sanctuary, educational wings, administrative offices, pastor’s study and living quarters.

On Sunday, December 3, 2000 Mt. Calvary held its inaugural celebration with family and friends in a most blessed Dedication and March-In Service. Following the construction of the new sanctuary, the old sanctuary was converted into the new fellowship hall.

Rev. Tommy Ray Jackson, Sr. is a 1964 graduate of M.F. Nichols High School in Biloxi, Mississippi. He received an Associate Degree in Math from Mary Holmes Junior College in 1966 and a graduate of Southern University with a BA in Math in 1969.  Rev. Jackson attended Union College Graduate School in pursuit of a Master’s in Math and he attended University College of Syracuse University for his ‘MBA’ 1972.

In the fall of 1962 he received the Lord Jesus Christ as his personal Savior at the Tabernacle Baptist Church of Biloxi, MS. He received his license to preach the gospel Dec. 18, 1988 and was ordained as a minister Oct. 27, 1989 and he has been tirelessly preaching the gospel and working for the Lord ever since. In 1990, Rev. Jackson received from Rochester-Colgate Divinity School a Certificate for Black Church Studies.

Among his many accomplishments, he has served as General Secretary and Assistant General Secretary of the Northeastern District Baptist Association (10/1990 – 10/1991); Moderator – Northeastern District Baptist Association (10/1997 – 10/2006); he has served as a Trustee: 63-65 LLC, Empire Baptist Missionary Convention of New York, Inc. (5/2003 – 10/2011); . Vice President, Area 8 of the Empire Baptist Missionary Convention of New York, Inc. (5/2003 – 10/2011). He is currently serving as Chaplain of the Historical Black Ministerial Alliance (2004 – present); and he was re-elected Moderator of the Northeastern District Baptist Association 10/2012-10/2015.

Our pastor is the organizer and chair of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. March and Service of Rome, NY that is held annually on the Sunday preceding Rev. Dr. King’s birthday. He is also the organizer and founder of the ‘Voices for Christ City–Wide Crusade Ministry’. It was established in 2009 for the expressed purpose of reaching lost souls for Christ, especially our youth.

He is married to his high school sweetheart and bride of over 45 years, Sister Sandra N. Jackson and they are the proud parents of five sons: Tommy, Carnell, Paul Anthony Walker, John Jamal, and Jommore. To God Be The Glory!

Licensed: 12/18/1988

Ordained: 10/27/1989

1959 – 1964: M. F. Nichols H.S. – Diploma

1964 – 1966: Mary Holmes College – Associate Degree – Math

1966 – 1969: Southern University – B.A. Math

1970 – Union College/Grad School Math

1971 – 1972: University College MBA

1987 – 1990: Rochester-Colgate Divinity School Certificate – ‘Black Church Studies Program’

 

Pastor – Mt. Calvary Baptist Church since 3/90

Past Moderator – Northeastern District Baptist Association (10/1997 – 10/2006) (10/2012-10/2015)

Trustee: 63-65 LLC Empire Baptist Missionary Convention of New York, Inc. since 05/03 – 10/11

Chaplain: Historical Black Ministerial Alliance – 2004 until present

Area Vice President – Empire Baptist Missionary Convention of New York, Inc. since 05/03 – 10/11