Our Pastor
Mark Cartier
Lead Pastor
Mark Cartier is the lead pastor of Calvary Christian Fellowship and has ministered both inside and outside the church in various capacities since 1991. He and his wife Tracy have been married for 32 years, have three grown sons, two daughters-in law, and four grandchildren. They are very blessed to call North Idaho their home.
What to Expect at Our Church
We are an Acts 2:42 fellowship allowing the Word of God to be our foundation of operation.
Act 2:42 And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. (NKJV)
We strive to minister to the community of Spirit lake through:
Doctrine: Verse by verse teaching and preaching that we may understand the whole counsel of God, Acts 20:27 “For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God. Our am service would be somewhat typical of Calvary Chapel Churches where as our pm service is more interactive between the pastor and the congregation.
Fellowship: Where our coming together is focused on the Lord Matthew 18:20 “For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.” Worship through contemporary music which is an integral part of corporate praise unto God and our Lord Jesus Christ
Breaking of bread: We celebrate Holy communion with the Lord on the first Sunday of each. 1 Corinthians 11:26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes. We also celebrate a time of breaking bread together, loving one another as defined in the scriptures.
Prayers: Our constant and direct communications with God where we pray individually and corporately for the body of Christ. 1 Timothy 2:1 Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men. We dedicate a substantial time in our Sunday Evening service to prayer.
In Giving : We believe in a want to and not a have to; 2 Corinthians 9:7 So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. We apply this scripture to all aspects of our Christian walk. It is the love we have for the Lord that motivates us, not a have to but a want to.
The History of Calvary Christian Fellowship
Calvary Christian Fellowship first started meeting on February 18, 2007 in the home of Pastor Terry Robinson and his wife Ellen. Terry had served the Lord in various rolls in the church since 1974. After just four months of meeting in Pastor Terry and Ellen’s home, the church grew to the point that there were too many people to meet in the home.
Next, the church rented the Seventh Day Adventist Church in Spirit Lake on Sundays and met there for its first Sunday service on June 20, 2007.
In 2015, the Lord provided a property for the church to purchase. Once it was purchased, Calvary Christian Fellowship started meeting in a tent on the property while the process of funding, permitting and building were underway, but then winter time came.
Meeting in a tent in North Idaho in the winter was not practical so the church rented space in Spirit Lake Elementary School in September 2016.
Pastor Terry & Ellen Robinson
First Church Service location. Terry & Ellen's house. February 2007.
Tent Services, 2015
Pastor Terry was used by the Lord to build the church spiritually as well as physically. Terry served as the general contractor and personally participated in the work of building the church.
In June of 2017, after 9 months of renting the elementary school, the church building was not completely finished yet but was finished enough to be used to meet in on Sunday mornings for service. There were concrete floors and studs for walls but at last the church was meeting on its own property and inside its own building. The one requirement for church at that time was everyone needed to bring their own chair to sit on for service!
In those days, when weather was nice, Children’s Church was held out of doors but when there was inclement weather, adult service and Children’s Church alike were held inside, separated by nothing more than a tarp. That created some understandable noise challenges for both the adult service and Children’s Church. That was quite a motivator for the interior of the church to be completed for everyone involved!
After purchasing a modular unit in 2020, and several months of diligent work by church members, Children’s Church was finally able to enjoy learning about Jesus in their own dedicated space on Sunday mornings in February of 2021.
In February of 2021, Pastor Terry passed the mantle of leadership to Pastor Mark Cartier and continued to attend and worship with his church family at Calvary Christian Fellowship.
In April 2021, Pastor Terry was received home and into the loving arms of Jesus, the Lord he served so faithfully.