The Calvary Baptist Church was founded in 1846 – fourteen years after the death of Sam Sharpe - as a result of disagreements among members in the Burchell Baptist Church where National Hero Sam Sharpe was a deacon.  The disagreements had to do with radical differences in religious expressions during worship services, namely handclapping, shouts of” Hallelujah”, “ Amen” and gyrating etc (African retentions).  Those who left felt that their freedom  of expression in worship was being stymied. They managed to secure a building just a few chains on the same Market Street  from the original church. They worshipped there for 133 years until 1979 when they moved to the present site on Corinaldi Avenue.

It must be noted that today Calvary allows for freedom of expression in worship. Where it  is too loud and prolonged ,one or two other worshippers will try to calm the worshipper after a reasonable time  of expression.

The first Pastor of Little Baptist was the Rev. John Henderson of the famous Henderson Family who impacted, in a positive way, Baptist work in St. Ann and St. James. It is of interest to note that it was a member of this family that founded Henderson’s Book Store, one of the oldest established business institutions in Montego Bay. The Rev. Mr. Henderson who had a long and fruitful ministry at Little Baptist that spanned over thirty years, died in 1885.

During the period 1885 and 1919, the church was served by Rev. Charles Chapman and Rev. W. Roberts.  The Rev. A. G. Kirkham also served for a time as acting pastor. In 1919 the Rev. Glaister Knight was inducted into the pastorate and laboured at Little Baptist for twenty years before retiring in 1939. The Advent of the Rev. Sydney H. Helwig to the pastorate in 1940 marked the beginning of a period of dynamic growth and expansion of “Little Baptist”. He distinguished himself as a dynamic preacher, caring pastor and a people person which among other things resulted in the growth of the congregation. Due to the rapid growth of the church, the decision was taken to change the name from “Little Baptist” to CALVARY

Today, visitors from all parts of the world find a certain attraction in the very familiar name so dear to Christians – CALVARY.  When Rev. Mr. Helwig retired in 1967 the membership was approximately five hundred.

After much prayer and seeking of God’s will for two (2) years, the church decided to call the Rev. Clarence Sam Reid as Pastor who at the time was chaplain at Calabar High School. The Rev. Mr. Reid had gained a wealth of experience having served as Pastor in the city of Manchester, England and Bethany in St. Ann. On August 1, 1969, this distinguished graduate of the University of London and Oxford assumed the Pastorate of the Calvary Baptist Church with his wife Carmen and daughter Susan. In November of the same year the arrival of their son David completed the family at the manse.

The Rev. Mr. Reid set out to modernize and streamline the administration of the church. A central office was built and equipped.  Mrs. Doris Campbell, a graduate of the Jamaica Bible College and a special assistant to the Pastor in the field of membership care was employed as a full time Administrator. The membership was organized into nineteen classes corresponding to the geographic layout of the town and the different areas where members lived.  Under guided lay leadership, members were encouraged in prayer, bible study, fellowship and mutual caring within the classes.

The Membership steadily grew to eight hundred (800). The growing commercialization of the town where the church was located started to pose practical challenges for the execution of ministry in that locale. Therefore in 1975 the Church acquired a one-acre site at 13 Humber Avenue, with the objective of relocating. On September 20, 1979 Phase 1 of the re-location was completed which was the construction and dedication of the Calvary Education Centre. With the sale of the Market Street premises in January 1983, phase two which was the construction of the sanctuary was embarked upon. On Thursday, September 20, 1984 – five years to the day, after the opening of the Education Centre -  by the grace of God and through  the sacrificial giving and labour of many people, the new Calvary Baptist Church was dedicated to the glory of God for worship, teaching and service among other ministries.

 As the membership increased, it was obvious that some help was needed at the Pastoral level. As a result, in February 1995 the Rev. Karl Johnson accepted a call to join the pastoral team as Associate Pastor with special responsibility for youth and training. He was accompanied by his wife, Yvette and young son, Nicholas. Later, the family was increased by the addition of two more sons, Joel and Nathan. During his stint he played a significant role in the total life of the church as well as the growth of the Bogue Hill mission to church status within the Jamaica Baptist Union. In 2001 the Rev. Mr. Johnson accepted an invitation from the Jamaica Baptist Union to become General Secretary thus bringing to a close a relationship that impacted in a positive way the worship, music, administration and missional life of the church.

After approximately thirty-four (34) years of vibrant, visionary and insightful ministry, the Rev. C.S Reid retired due to ill health  in 2002. During the interim, the circuit which included Salt Spring and Bogue Hill Baptist churches was moderated by the Rev. Dr. George Simpson, Pastor of the Mt. Carey Baptist churches.

After much prayer and fasting the circuit was led to extend a call to the Rev. Everton Jackson to assume the pastorate of the circuit. The Rev. Mr. Jackson responded in the affirmative and so on March 1, 2005 he assumed the pastorate of the circuit. He was accompanied by his wife Cecelia and son Abdu. Building upon the foundation established by the previous pastors, the Rev. Mr. Jackson continues to lead the church in the direction of spiritual, missional, congregational and  administrative renewal. We celebrate the expansion and consolidation of an efficient administrative structure, social outreach ministry, church growth emphasis, youth, young adult and children’s ministries as well as a strong focus on spiritual disciplines. At every stage of the historic evolution of the Calvary church, the members have played a significant role through their sacrificial giving and service. To God be the Glory!!