South Philly Review

Calvary Temple of Philadelphia, 3301 S. 20th St.

Denomination and tenets of faith: Pentecostal; associated with the Assemblies of God, a fellowship of churches worldwide that subscribes to 16 Fundamental Truths, which include a belief that the Church has a mission to "seek and save all who are lost in sin."

Pastor: George Valco
Size of congregation: 300
Founded: 1925
Origins and history: Started as an Italian Pentecostal church in 1909 with services in Italian through the 1950s. Valco is the first non-Italian pastor.

In 1925, the Calvary congregation was formed. As the congregation grew, the church moved a half-dozen times before settling at its present location in 1962. Calvary Temple was dedicated in November 1965. In 1961, Bethel Pentecostal Church at 3000 S. Carlisle St. merged with Calvary Temple. A nursery and kindergarten program started in September 1967. Over the years, the congregation has evolved from solely Italian to a mix of all ethnicities and races.

Special causes/ministry: Fully accredited school that serves 200 students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade; Sunday school; boys/girls ministry called Royal Rangers and Missionettes; visitation of the sick and shut-ins; strong missionary outreach program that funds and supports 40 missionaries all over the world.

Christ's Presbyterian Church in South Philadelphia,1020 S. 10th St.

Denomination and tenets of faith: Presbyterian; teachings rely on the Scriptures, Nicene Creed, Apostles' Creed, the Scots Confession, the Heidelberg Catechism, the Westminster Confession of Faith and the Confession of 1967.

Pastor: George Aiken
Size of congregation: 78
Founded: 1903
Origins and history: Built at the turn of the last century to house the congregation of the First Italian Presbyterian Church in the Presbytery of Philadelphia. The ministry was heavily involved in the evangelism of families newly arrived from Europe, said church clerk of the session Robert Brewton. Services were offered in Italian and the first pastor was the Rev. Michele (Michael) Nardi, often referred to as "The Italian Evangelist."

In 1973, First Italian Presbyterian Church and South United Presbyterian Church - a congregation at 17th and Snyder - merged to form Christ's Presbyterian Church in South Philadelphia. The union stemmed from a 1958 consolidation of the United Presbyterian Church in North America and the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America.

Special causes/ministry: An increase in Asian populations in the community spurred the addition of Indonesian and Vietnamese language services, both offered on Sundays. Weekday Bible study and teen worship round out the ministry.

Emanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church, 1001 S. Fourth St.

Denomination and tenets of faith: Lutheran; the Lutheran Church in America has German roots. The Protestant Reformation finally came to a head in 1517 when Martin Luther, of Wittenburg, Germany, posted his 95 Theses on the door of the Wittenburg Castle church. The document denounced Catholic dogma, including the idea of winning God's acceptance with good works. Luther proposed one of the most basic tenets of Lutheran theology - that justification in the eyes of God is based upon the gift of God's grace through faith.

Pastor: Cornelius Eaddy
Size of congregation: 150
Founded: 1847
Origins and history: Emanuel's roots can be traced to the mid-19th century. It began as a Sunday school outreach program for German immigrants settling in the Southwark neighborhood. In the early days, the congregation was predominantly German and the church had a German-language service until the 1950s.

Today, the congregation is 98-percent African American. In 1868, the congregation laid the cornerstone for a neoclassical building designed by the firm Collins and Autenreith, who designed several other Philadelphia landmarks such as the former Lit Brothers building on Market Street.