Calvary Braid Valley is an evangelical church with an emphasis on making the Bible understandable and relevant to our lives. We feature an exegetical style of studying God’s word, which is a verse-by-verse, chapter-by-chapter method of teaching. The Bible says of itself that “The word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword” (Hebrews 4:12), so you might say—it knows how to get to the point. But the Bible is a work that is alive and the Author, the Holy Spirit, knows how to reveal God’s will for our lives through it. It is so important to allow this amazing resource to do its work in our lives
Calvary Braid Valley, as a community of believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, gathers together to understand the Bible and apply it to our day-to-day lives. We enjoy being together and take time to linger around after service on Sundays. We aim to pattern ourselves after the model of the early church as described in Acts 2: “And they devoted themselves to the apostle’s teaching (study of the Bible) and to the fellowship (gathering together on Sundays and during the week), to the breaking of bread (two things: we observe the Lord’s Supper and also gather for meals, eating together on occasion) and to the prayer” (v. 42).
Pastor Rick Johnston and his wife Cindy moved to Ballymena from the warm and dry state of California in 2009. They were called to serve as missionaries. They continue to minister to individuals today by seeking to help them grow in their faith in the Lord Jesus.
Rick came to faith in the mid-1970s during the ‘Jesus people’s revival’ in southern California after living a period of time ‘on the wild side.’ Whilst always active in his local church, he worked as a quality assurance technician for various companies in the aerospace industry until the clear call of God came for him to go to Northern Ireland. He was able to graduate from Calvary Chapel Bible College then went on to the School of Ministry, Calvary’s version of seminary, and was ordained as a pastor in 2008.
Calvary Braid Valley 