Calvary Baptist Church — Church Directory

Quick Facts

Pastor — the shepherd God holds accountable Meredith Stone (Interim Preaching Pastor)

Founded Verify

Denomination Southern Baptist (SBC) — disfellowshipped

Service Times Sunday Worship — verify times on website

Men's Ministry No

Kids Ministry Yes

Website cbcwaco.net/

Pastor Credentials PhD; Executive Director, Baptist Women in Ministry

10-Point Theological Scorecard

Christology

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

Confessional Baptist Christology not formally repudiated.

Strong

Scripture

Inerrancy affirmed? Final authority?

Egalitarian hermeneutic; BWIM motion text submitted by Stone affirms women in 'all ministry and pastoral roles.'

WARNING!

Men's Discipleship

Intentional formation for men?

Not visible.

WARNING!

Soteriology

Faith alone? How is salvation presented?

No formal change documented.

Strong

Gender / Biblical Design

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

Rev. Dr. Meredith Stone — Interim Preaching Pastor (also Executive Director of Baptist Women in Ministry, the chief national advocacy org for female-pastor affirmation); in direct conflict with BF&M 2000 Article VI.

Rev. Dr. Meredith Stone — Interim Preaching Pastor (also Executive Director of Baptist Women in Ministry). John Hunt serves as co-interim pastor. Calvary called Julie Pennington-Russell as Senior Pastor in June 1998 — first female senior pastor of a Texas Baptist congregation. Senior Pastor search in progress (applications opened April 30, 2026).

WARNING!

Leadership Structure

Male elders/pastors? Accountability?

Female interim preaching role exercises preaching authority over the gathered congregation.

WARNING!

Preaching Style

Expository or topical/therapeutic?

Female interim preaching pastor in pulpit weekly.

WARNING!

Mission Clarity

Great Commission central?

BWIM advocacy axis.

Caution

Cultural Alignment

DEI/CRT language? Social justice crowding out gospel?

BWIM-aligned advocacy posture; LGBTQ stance not as foregrounded as Wilshire/Lake Shore.

Caution

Accountability Structure

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

Affiliated with Cooperative Baptist Fellowship; first Texas Baptist congregation to call a female senior pastor (Julie Pennington-Russell 1998).

WARNING!

Assessment

Calvary Baptist Church in Waco called Julie Pennington-Russell as Senior Pastor in 1998, becoming the first Texas Baptist (and historically Southern Baptist) congregation to be led by a female senior pastor. Currently Rev. Dr. Meredith Stone serves as Interim Preaching Pastor while simultaneously serving as Executive Director of Baptist Women in Ministry, the leading national advocacy organization for female-pastor affirmation. Stone introduced the 2023 BGCT motion to affirm women in all pastoral roles. Affiliated with CBF; foundational Texas female-pastor drift case.

#sbc#drift#female-pastor#female-preaching-pastor#credentials-committee-referral#tx#waco#needs-review

MOOP Engagement Tracker

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

✓ Researched church website

Sources & Evidence

Enrichment Notes

Verified 2026-05-01: Meredith Stone confirmed Interim Preaching Pastor on cbcwaco.net staff page. Pennington-Russell precedent confirmed via Baptist Press 1998 and Wikipedia. Address from church's own location description (corner of 18th & Bosque Ave, Sanger Heights Waco). Note: street number approximated to 1800 Bosque Blvd pending HUMAN-TODO verification of exact street number.

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 cbcwaco.net/about/staff
[2] Live source baptistpress.com/resource-library/news/waco-church-believ…
[3] Live source en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julie_Pennington-Russell
[4] Live source baptiststandard.com/news/texas/motions-on-women-in-minist…

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.