Our Story

On October 19, 1908, in a small house in Roscoe, Texas, Byrd and Nina Wallis were celebrating the birth of their fifth child, Sullivan. With a family that would ultimately number six boys and four girls, the Wallises trusted God for all their needs and raised their children in a wholesome Christian environment. Eventually, God would call Sullivan and his younger brother to the ministry, as preachers of the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ.

After a time, the Wallafces moved to Coleman, Texas, where Sullivan worked at a hardware store for Mr. Will Stephens. Sullivan's close friend, Raymond Horn, also worked at the store. Raymond had a sister named Hazel, and it would not be long before Sullivan and Hazel began courting. On March 25, 1930, Hazel Horn became Mrs. Sullivan G. Wallis, and they would raise a family of four children. They eventually moved to Breckenridge, Texas, where Sullivan heeded God's call to preach and pastor his first church. God would lead them to other churches over time, slowly preparing him for a tremendous undertaking. To establish a church in Waco, Texas.

In 1953, Sullivan began to organize a New Testament, Bible-believing church in Bellmead. At the time, a eight-bedroom house at the corner of LaVega and Bellmead Drive. He inquired with the owner, who had it up for sale. After hearing that Sullivan wanted to temporarily hold services in the house, the owner agreed on the condition that Sullivan kept the grass mowed on the property. After a month, the house was sold, and the congregation moved across Bellmead Drive to an old washateria. A partition wall was removed to make one large room, and in August of that year, Sullivan G. Wallis founded the Calvary Baptist Church of Bellmead. There were eleven charter members. Bro. and Mrs. Wallis continued knocking on doors, putting in many hours of labor and prayer, constantly trusting in God to protect and nurture the new church. Mrs. Wallis told stories of visiting every house in Bellmead several times over in those early days. Many current members give testimony of their salvation as a direct result of a visit from Bro. Wallis.

The church was soon able to purchase property on the corner of Latimer and Fisher Streets. In late 1953, the church began erecting a building there and flourished under the dedicated leadership of its pastor. Bro. Wallis resigned from the church in 1975, but he continued to preach at every opportunity and even briefly pastored the Whiterock Baptist Church in Bremond, Texas. Bro. Wallis preached his last sermon on Sunday, January 10, 1982. The following Saturday, he became ill and was admitted to the hospital. On Tuesday, January 19, just after 1:00 PM, Sullivan G. Wallis was ushered into the presence of God himself. Bellmead Calvary members who knew him well believe that Bro. Wallis may have heard Jesus Christ repeat the words of Matthew 25:21, "... well done thou good and faithful servant, thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler of many things; enter thou in the joy of thy Lord." Over the twenty-two years that Bro. Wallis pastored Bellmead Calvary; he saw many souls come to know Christ. Many of those he won to the Savior have been winning others, and only eternity will reveal the true extent of his efforts.

After Bro. Wallis' retirement, the church called Rev. Gene Wolfenbarger as pastor. His resignation in 1976 prompted the church to again search for a new pastor. That search culminated with the calling of Dr. James G. Adams as the church's third pastor in February of 1977.

Bro. Jimmy Adams is a native of Waco, born there on June 17, 1944. In August of 1960, at age sixteen, he received Christ as Savior while attending a Youth for Christ rally. He was baptized at the Parkview Baptist Church, and it was there, in January 1961, under the ministry of Pastor Everett Cox, Bro. Jimmy surrendered to the ministry. Bro. Jimmy graduated from Waco High School in May of 1963 and began his ministerial studies that same year at Tennessee Temple University in Chattanooga, Tennessee. He married his childhood sweetheart, the former Miss Patricia Shelton, in June of 1965. They have three sons, eleven grandchildren and one great-grandson. Upon graduating with a B.A. degree in 1968, Bro. Jimmy and his family began a seven-year ministry in Guadalajara, Mexico, serving with Baptist International Missions, Inc. Returning to Texas in 1975, he served as the associate pastor of his homechurch (Parkview Baptist) and administered its Christian School. He also served on the faculty of the Liberty Bible College, where he earned a Doctor of Theology degree.

Bellmead Calvary grew under Bro. Jimmy's ministry to the point that adjacent property was acquired in 1977 and again in 1978. Construction of a new sanctuary seating 500 with nurseries and educational space began in 1978 and completed in 1979. The church expanded the educational wing in 1982 with the addition of a second story to accommodate the growing congregation. This education wing was named after the founding pastor, Bro. Wallis.

On May 10, 1987, the church voted to purchase an eighteen-acre site on Loop 340, approximately two miles from the original location. The land was purchased in June 1987 and paid for by July 1990. Construction on an 800-seat sanctuary, much-needed educational space, offices, and parking began in December 1995, and the facility was dedicated in August 1997. The men of Bellmead Calvary, assisted briefly by the Texas Baptist Men, did much of the work themselves. In 2008, Bellmead Calvary opened the doors of the Bellmead Calvary Christian Child Care Center, which sits adjacent to the main church building.

In February, 2010, Bro. Jimmy resigned as pastor in order to return to the mission field. He serves as the Latin American Director for the David Wood WITNESS Project. We are truly grateful for his thirty-three years of faithful service to Bellmead Calvary Baptist Church. During the transition from Bro. Jimmy's leadership, the church called Dr. Gerald W. McKelroy to be the fourth pastor of Bellmead Calvary. Dr. McKelroy has been at Bellmead since he was a small child. He was saved under Sullivan Wallis, God called him to preach under Dr. Gene Wolfenbarger, and he was ordained and sent out as a missionary church planter to Oregon under Bro. Jimmy. Dr. McKelroy attended Arlington Baptist College in Arlington, Texas, and Hyles Anderson College in Hammond, Indiana. He founded and pastored churches in Oregon for twenty-one years before coming to Bellmead.

Over the past seventy years, many beloved members have come and gone, the meeting place has changed, and four dedicated pastors have left their indelible marks. The principal mission of Bellmead Calvary Baptist Church remains, as it was in 1953, to fulfill the Great Commission: win people to Christ, see them baptized, and teach them God's Word. May God forever bless all who grace its doors.