Calvary Baptist Church Clearwater — Church Directory

Quick Facts

Pastor — the shepherd God holds accountable Dr. Willy Rice

Founded 1866

Denomination Southern Baptist Convention (SBC)

Service Times Check website for current times

Men's Ministry Yes

Kids Ministry Yes

Website www.calvary.us

Pastor Credentials Senior Pastor since 2004

10-Point Theological Scorecard

Christology

Is Jesus the only way? (John 14:6)

SBC BFM2000 Trinitarian.

Strong

Scripture

Inerrancy affirmed? Final authority?

BFM2000 Scripture without error.

Strong

Men's Discipleship

Intentional formation for men?

Men's ministry exists; not distinctively emphasized.

Caution

Soteriology

Faith alone? How is salvation presented?

SBC sola fide.

Strong

Gender / Biblical Design

Biblical manhood and womanhood by God's design — patriarchal, complementarian, egalitarian, or affirming gender ideology?

SBC BFM2000 complementarian; male-only senior pastor.

SBC complementarian.

Caution

Leadership Structure

Male elders/pastors? Accountability?

Dr. William 'Willy' Rice Senior Pastor since 2004; past FL Baptist Convention President (2006-2008); SBC committee leadership.

Caution

Preaching Style

Expository or topical/therapeutic?

Expositional SBC preaching.

Caution

Mission Clarity

Great Commission central?

SBC cooperative program; strong FL Baptist missions footprint.

Strong

Cultural Alignment

DEI/CRT language? Social justice crowding out gospel?

Mainstream conservative SBC; Rice withdrew 2022 SBC presidential bid over personal 'untenable position' disclosure — accountability context relevant.

Caution

Accountability Structure

Denominational home, elder plurality, or external network — is the pastor answerable to anyone?

Historic Baptist church (150+ years) in Pinellas County FL confirmed. Core values 'Truth-Compassion-Community'. Senior pastor Willy Rice not directly confirmed on fetched homepage; SBC affiliation and BFM2000 adherence relied on prior research. Held yellow pending deeper verification.

Strong

Assessment

Calvary Baptist Church (now branded 'Calvary Church') in Clearwater, FL is one of the most historic churches in the area — founded as Midway Baptist Church in 1866. Led by Dr. Willy Rice since 2004. Operates Calvary Christian High School and Calvary Christian College. SBC affiliated. Significant community institution.

#sbc#historic#christian-school#clearwater#florida

MOOP Engagement Tracker

How this church was personally verified by the MOOP directory team:

✓ Researched church website

Sources & Evidence

These are the URLs consulted to arrive at this church's scoring. Score-note claims are synthesized from homepage content, denominational directories, and public statements of faith at the time of review. Church websites change frequently; we're progressively adding Internet Archive snapshots to prevent link rot.

[1] Live source calvary.us
[2] Live source erlc.com/profile/willy-rice/

Transparency note: MOOP ratings are researcher judgments about publicly available theological and ecclesial evidence. They are not infallible. If a church's public posture has changed since our review, or if we've mis-read evidence, tell us — we publish corrections.