Calvary Assembly of God is a church of about 100-150 people in Carthage in upstate, rural New York in an area affectionately known as “the North Country”. It is one of the larger churches of the area. Geographically, we are a quaint village (of about 3500 people) situated along the Black River surrounded by rural, farming communities, rolling hills, lakes, just outside of Army installation Fort Drum and situated in the foothills of the pristine Adirondacks, Lake Ontario & the stunning St. Lawrence River separating this part of NY from Canada.
Culturally speaking, the area is a very slow-paced, non-materialistic, community-oriented setting with great educational systems and minimal crime. Stores are characterized by mom & pop stores, family owned diners, older style meat markets and mercantiles, and socially blends the Mennonite farming atmosphere, the soldiers of Fort Drum with a subtle, local population who has lived and stayed here predominantly their entire life. Outside of the main industries being local mills and farming, a secondary source of main employment otherwise is the schooling systems and the base. Generally-speaking, the locals have a knack for fishing, hunting, gardening, crafting, producing their own maple syrup, skiing, ice fishing, boating, riding snowmobiles and four-wheelers as this is an outdoorsman’s paradise.
It’s important to note that due to living this north in the U.S- with the help of living off of Lake Ontario, this region is known for its severe (but fun) winters that extend from November-end through May, before ushering in a short but stunning summer of vibrant colors and outdoor activity, followed by a spectacular visual of red/orange leaves popping before the trees go bare again for the winter. Some services may be canceled (or livestreamed only) in the winter as conditions get more extreme.
Calvary Assembly of God is a spirit-filled church with a lengthy history and great reputation in this community dating back to its spirit-filled beginnings in the 1930s. It has been called by some locals “the lighthouse on the hill” as the church campus of 10 acres sits overlooking parts of the community and dwells at the entrance of the village when coming from one of its’ largest neighbors, cities of the area, the city of Watertown 10 miles west. Our church is perhaps 20% children, 30% younger/career/parenting adults (ages 25-45) and roughly 50% of age 55 or older.
