Sometimes Neal speaks in tongues. Children dance joyfully near the platform. The focus of the New Testament is on Jesus. Despite criticism, Hicks and Neal say their cooperation is biblical. Fellowship Withdrawn Hicks believes prayer is a key to the church's growth and revival.
Children are also important members of the prayer team, and they worship with intensity.
A recent Tuesday-night service lasted a typical three hours, starting with extended worship, shifting to testimonies from the congregants, preaching by Neal, more worship, and ministry time that included several attendees falling over. While copies of the Baptist Hymnal fill the pew racks, they remain untouched. Instead, guitars, drums, and a keyboard pound out contemporary praise songs as well as old-time Pentecostal tunes. Hicks came to the church on the outskirts of this town of 4,500 in 1986 when it had only 17 members, eventually building the membership to 300. For his first dozen years, Calvary Baptist used a traditional worship style.