Calvary Spokane grew out of a series of informal meetings held at the Ridpath Hotel in 1981 by a small group of Christians from Idaho. Jim Kempner, an evangelist with the Calvary fellowship in Costa Mesa, led these initial gatherings and became the first pastor as the group moved to Willard Elementary School in September 1981.

Soon, over 400 people were attending, and the group purchased an old church at 708 W. Nora Street in May 1982. With this move, attendance soared to over 700, necessitating a second Sunday morning service. In September 1983, Jim Kempner returned to the pastoral staff at Calvary Costa Mesa as Ken Ortize left that staff to become the new pastor in Spokane.

God blessed this ministry as the church grew in numbers and spiritual maturity. In 1986, the church added a daily radio program, Matters of the Heart, which was heard on a number of independent radio stations around the country until December 2009.

Expanding as far as possible in this facility and believing God was leading, in 1989, Calvary Spokane purchased a major portion of the Fairwood Shopping Center which offered the potential for 80,000 square feet of space for a sanctuary, meeting rooms and classroom spaces. With severely limited financial resources and mostly volunteer construction help, the first phase was completed in seven months with initial church services beginning in October 1990. Services were held in this "temporary" facility until our new sanctuary was complete. In November 1997, with the Lord's blessing, we completed our new 1500-seat sanctuary.

Today, many changes have taken place, but our focus remains the same – to bring glory to our Lord through the study of His Word, and having been impacted by His Word, to make His name known "...to the ends of the earth."