In November 1963, Reverend Robert McKinnies thought he was coming to Flint, Michigan to start
a small church on the west side of the city and then return home to his boyhood home in southern Illinois. But the Lord had different plans for him. 53 years later, Calvary Apostolic Tabernacle is a now a strong influence on the west side of Flint.
The church began in Reverend McKinnies living room with just 8 people. The congregation made several moves in the years that followed, a basement home, a store front, an Odd Fellows Hall, and eventually to a 4000 square foot church building. With the help of his son, Keith McKinnies, who first co-pastored with his father then later became Pastor himself, the church group grew to around 100. It was time to find a larger building.
A search began for vacant property, which was purchased in 2004. Plans were drawn up for a church building of 10,000 square feet with room to expand and build on a fellowship hall/gym and outside picnic area. The congregation started a building fund program in anticipation of moving to the new property. But once again, God had different plans.
After hitting roadblock after roadblock with the township regarding the building plans, Pastor Keith McKinnies was left discouraged. He left the local township office one afternoon asking, "Lord, what can I do?" He heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Back off and let me take care of it." Not knowing what to do next, he waited on His direction.
The following week, Pastor McKinnies was sitting in a restaurant when a church one block over caught his eye. He had never paid much attention to the building before, but he heard the Lord's voice again, "This is your new church." Not even knowing if the building was for sale, he drove over to the front door where he found a sign on it, which said "Church closed due to fire. Call the Pastor for more info." He called the Pastor and found out that the building was in fact for sale and with a handshake agreement, bought the church. That was May 2007.
The congregation quickly hired a general contractor, refurbished the entire building, and held their first service February 23, 2008. It was a 24,000 square foot church for less than half of what they would have paid to build the original plan! God gave the church twice the space for half the money!
In January 2015, Calvary Apostolic Tabernacle was informed by their lending institution that the balloon payment on their loan was due in December 2015, and because of the economic collapse of Flint, they would not be rewriting the loan. In desperation they started looking at other lending institutions, but could not find one willing to help. Enter in the United Pentecostal Church Loan Fund! After a few short weeks of correspondence, the UPCLF was able to extend a mortgage so the congregation could stay in their church.
But that is not the end to the story! For six years straight the church had attempted to repair their leaky roof, spending over $8,000 in the process. The leaks continued to destroy the ceiling and walls. In August 2016, they were informed that the entire roof needed to be replaced. Once again, they contacted the UPCLF and were able to obtain additional financing for this project as well.
So what started out as a temporary Pastorate for a few people on the west side of Flint, is now a thriving congregation of over 160 souls and is now Pastored by Robert's grandson, Reverend Timothy McKinnies.
For more information on Calvary Apostolic Tabernacle in Flint, please visit their website. Thanks to Sister Joyce McKinnies for her assistance on this article!
