What To Expect
Visiting a new church for the first time can be very intimidating. We’d like to help you out by telling you a little bit about what to expect to help relieve some of that anxiety and give you a picture of what a typical Sunday looks like at Lantana Community Church. Our desire is that you will find a safe place to be real, ask questions, and grow toward God.
First things first
Services start at 10:30 on Sundays, and most are streamed on Facebook and Youtube if you aren’t able to be there in person. If you are coming in person (and we love to see your radiant face), there’s plenty of parking with handicap access, and Sundays are always free!
Come as you are. We regularly have teenagers in pajama pants, adults in jeans, skirts, shorts, and once in a while even someone wearing a tie. You are welcome to bring your coffee, your kids’ half-eaten breakfast, and your whole, real-self to Lantana Community Church.
When you first arrive in the building, you will typically be greeted by a kind face. You will then find a pot of coffee and donuts in case you didn’t have time for breakfast. These items are open for everyone and you are welcome to bring them into our sanctuary as well. The greeter will be happy to answer any questions and make sure you know where to go.
Kids
If you have kids, know that they are very welcome! We believe these small humans are super important and all are encouraged to participate in the service! We have a nursery for the smallest ones through age 3 and most Sundays we have kid's church for those 3 years old through 5th grade. (You can choose where your 3 year old goes as each kid is different.) Each child will be given a name tag and you will sign them in so we know who will pick them up after the service.
Sometimes we have Family Worship where the kids stay throughout the service and learn how we worship together in “big church.” We have activities in the sanctuary they can use during service.
Seating and Dress
We invite you to come as yourself. You will see folks dressed in anything from “business casual” to jeans or shorts. When you enter our sanctuary you will find cushioned chairs arranged in rows and are welcome to sit anywhere you like. You will typically be handed a welcome card when you arrive. This card is an easy way for us to get better acquainted; you can give us your information, ask any questions, or simply let us know what you think. After the service you can bring your card to a greeter and they will give you a gift; our way of saying "thank you" for sharing your Sunday with us!
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Calvary Callender
Lead Pastor
Calvary Callender serves as the Lead Pastor of Lantana Community Church located in Bartonville, Texas, where he ministers to the diverse communities of Lantana, Argyle, Lewisville, and Flower Mound. Affiliated with the Church of the Nazarene, Lantana Community Church welcomes all people to its Sunday worship services. Bringing over twenty-five years of pastoral experience, Calvary previously led Naz Family Church in Big Spring as Lead Pastor for eight years, following an extensive eleven-year tenure in youth ministry. Educationally, Calvary holds a Bachelor's degree in Sociology from Southern Nazarene University in Bethany, Oklahoma, and a Master of Arts in Religion with a specialization in Spiritual Formation from Northwest Nazarene University in Nampa, Idaho. Recently, he completed his Doctorate of Ministry in Intentional Leadership in Changing Cultures at Nazarene Theological Seminary. Beyond his pastoral duties, Calvary finds fulfillment in his role as a husband to Ceresa and a father to three amazing children—Morgan, Matilyn, and Cayden. His passion lies in nurturing genuine community and being a pastor to the neighborhood through the principles of loving God, loving others, and serving the community. Calvary is enthusiastic about the journey ahead with Lantana Community Church, where together they strive to love like Jesus so lives are changed.
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Bruno Ponce
Worship Pastor
Bruno and Gabi were born and raised in Campinas, São Paulo. Gabi used to be a lawyer in Brazil and is currently seeking her Masters in Ministerial Leadership. Bruno first graduated with a degree in Physical Therapy in Brazil. Right after receiving this, God called him to ministry and he moved to Australia to get his ministerial degree at Hillsong Leadership College. In 2018, during their first year of marriage, Bruno and Gabi were called to move to the USA to lead worship. Their first mission was in Lakeland, Florida, where they served together and embraced a new culture for 2 years. Now, God has placed them in Lantana, Texas, to continue their mission. They are very excited for what is to come and thankful to the community that is now part of their lives! The desire of their hearts is to establish roots for their family to grow here and for the church and community to find a fountain of dreams that never cease! It’s only the beginning of great things!
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Michael Preston
Youth Pastor
Michael and his wife Amanda got married and moved to Texas from California in December 2012. They currently live in Flower Mound and have two wonderful children, Emery and Harper. Michael has served the Church of the Nazarene both in youth and worship ministry. While pursuing a career in nursing, Michael felt a call to full-time youth ministry. He received his local ministers license in April 2018 and is currently working on his district license. Michael has a passion for youth ministry and creating faith-based relationships with students so that the love of God flows through each of them like WILDFIRE. His mission and vision for our youth is to encourage Christ-centered conversations and discussions so that each student feels empowered to share the gospel with others!
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Angel Johnson
Childrens Pastor
Angel and her son Carter, moved to Texas from Louisiana in 2019. While Angel always felt a call towards children, she believed it would be fulfilled in an elementary school classroom. After high school, Angel began pursuing a degree in Elementary Education from the University of Louisiana Monroe. In 2021, Angel would feel God shifting her direction and would feel led to serve in the children's ministry of her local church. Within a few months, she was leading students and volunteers of kidmin and coming alongside a different local church to launch a children's ministry program. By the end of the year, Angel was certain that God was calling her into full time ministry. Angel is currently preparing to complete her degree in Elementary Education and working towards her local minister's license. Angel is dedicated to equipping children and their families with the tools necessary to live a life fully surrendered to God and His will. She believes that all believers, especially children, can be met right where they are, and guided towards the Kingdom life they were always designed to live.
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We are a sent people, responding to the call of Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit to go into all the world, witnessing to the Lordship of Christ and participating with God in the building of the Church and the extension of His kingdom (Matthew 28:19-20; 2 Corinthians 6:1).
Our mission begins in worship, ministers to the world in evangelism and compassion, encourages believers toward Christian maturity through discipleship, and prepares women and men for Christian service through Christian higher education.
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As members of the Church Universal, we join with all true believers in proclaiming the Lordship of Jesus Christ and in affirming the historic Trinitarian creeds and beliefs of the Christian faith. We value our Wesleyan-Holiness heritage and believe it to be a way of understanding the faith that is true to Scripture, reason, tradition, and experience.
We are united with all believers in proclaiming the Lordship of Jesus Christ. We believe that in divine love God offers to all people forgiveness of sins and restored relationship. In being reconciled to God, we believe that we are also to be reconciled to one another, loving each other as we have been loved by God and forgiving each other as we have been forgiven by God. We believe that our life together is to exemplify the character of Christ. We look to Scripture as the primary source of spiritual truth confirmed by reason, tradition, and experience.
Jesus Christ is the Lord of the Church, which, as the Nicene Creed tells us, is one, holy, universal, and apostolic. In Jesus Christ and through the Holy Spirit, God the Father offers forgiveness of sin and reconciliation to all the world. Those who respond to God’s offer in faith become the people of God. Having been forgiven and reconciled in Christ, we forgive and are reconciled to one another. In this way, we are Christ’s Church and Body and reveal the unity of that Body. As the one Body of Christ, we have “one Lord, one faith, one baptism.” We affirm the unity of Christ’s Church and strive in all things to preserve it.
(Ephesians 4:5, 3).
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God, who is holy, calls us to a life of holiness. We believe that the Holy Spirit seeks to do in us a second work of grace, called by various terms including "entire sanctification" and "baptism with the Holy Spirit"-cleansing us from all sin, renewing us in the image of God, empowering us to love God with our whole heart, soul, mind, and strength, and our neighbors as ourselves, and producing in us the character of Christ. Holiness in the life of believers is most clearly understood as Christlikeness.
Because we are called by Scripture and drawn by grace to worship God and to love Him with our whole heart, soul, mind, and strength, and our neighbors as ourselves, we commit ourselves fully and completely to God, believing that we can be "sanctified wholly," as a second crisis experience. We believe that the Holy Spirit convicts, cleanses, fills, and empowers us as the grace of God transforms us day by day into a people of love, spiritual discipline, ethical and moral purity, compassion, and justice. It is the work of the Holy Spirit that restores us in the image of God and produces in us the character of Christ.
We believe in God the Father, the Creator, who calls into being what does not exist. We once were not, but God called us into being, made us for himself, and fashioned us in His own image. We have been commissioned to bear the image of God: "I am the LORD . . . your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy" (Leviticus 11:44).