Dear Friends of CBC and CBA,
This year is a very special and unique year for Calvary Baptist Church and Calvary Baptist Academy. It is the 50th anniversary for CBA but it is also the 45th year of service at Calvary for a man whose name is almost synonymous with CBA, Dr. Mike Reece. Pastor Mike taught in two other Christian Schools for five years before coming to Calvary making this the completion of 50 years of faithful ministry! Pastor Mike has announced that he is retiring at the end of this school year.
Our school was called Calvary Christian Academy when the Reece’s first came. The school was just 5 years old in 1978 when Pastor Mike became the administrator and was meeting in the basement of the church at Cherry Street. In 1981, the first phase of the current facility on Wackerly Street was completed and the church and school moved.
Under Pastor Mike’s leadership not only did the facilities grow but so did the enrollment. In 1998, Hidden Treasure Preschool was opened and CBA has grown from a handful of students in the basement of a church to a school with two campuses and nearly 700 students. Over 45 years of faithful service at Calvary and 50 combined years of faithful service, Pastor Mike and Jeanie have influenced literally thousands of boys and girls to know Christ and helped train them to serve him. Today there are CBA graduates all around the world serving the Lord and making disciples.
Pastor Mike is a wonderful example of servant leadership, being willing to do whatever needed to be done from cleaning toilets to leading large groups of hundreds of people. He led the change from an Accelerated Christian Education School to a traditional school. He organized work crews for each of our many building phases and encouraged the building of a full sized gymnasium. He encouraged Calvary to add two missionary houses as he had seen elsewhere. He has overseen maintenance of our buildings and worked closely with the building committee. He cultivated a good relationship with Midland Christian which has led to our leasing and a purchase agreement to buy their facilities. He has coordinated Men’s Retreats, Marriage Retreats, Wild Game Dinners, Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve Services, helped oversee many staff hiring, taught Bible in school and church, served on many committees, served on the Michigan Association of Christian School board, overseen the MACS fine arts convention and MACS Teacher’s Convention at Calvary Baptist Church, served as Administrative Pastor at Calvary Baptist Church for 20 years, and has planned many special days, projects and recognition times for others.
God has abundantly blessed CBC and CBA and He has chosen to use Pastor Mike for the past 45 years to lead in so many areas of this ministry. It is our desire to give you an opportunity to help us honor him.
Give
We would like to collect $1,000 for each year of service Pastor Mike has given for a total of $45,000. We will be collecting love-offering contributions and presenting them to him at our celebrations. If you would like to participate, you can send your gift to the church office labeled “Love Offering for Pastor Mike,” or you can give it online here by selecting “Special Gifts” and designate “Love Offering for Pastor Mike.
Memories
We would also like to present both
written and video testimonies, memories, and/or words of encouragement to Pastor Mike and Jeanie. If you would like to be a part of this, you can submit your video or note here.
Celebrate
We will have a special reception following the high school graduation to share in
the celebration. Graduation is Friday, May 26, at 7:00 PM in the church sanctuary. We will also honor Pastor Mike that Sunday, May 28, in our morning church service at 10:15 AM with a reception immediately following that service. Please RSVP by May 19th for this reception here.
Thank you for helping us celebrate and honor God’s faithful servant
for a life of service to Calvary Baptist Church and Schools.