Biography of Rev. Calvin B. Rooks
Rev. Calvin B. Rooks was born on September 7, 1962 in Franklin, VA to the late Mr. and Mrs. Ben and Mary Rooks. As a child he was kept in the house of God by his grandmother Emma Joyner and was made a lead singer of the Galilee Baptist Church Male Chorus at the tender age of ten. Even at that young age, the calling he had upon his life for ministry/preaching was noted by the leaders of the Youth Ministry.
At the age of sixteen, he graduated from Southampton Senior High School with honors and was accepted to Virginia State University where he received his Bachelors of Science in Industrial Technology. While in attendance at Virginia State, he joined the Army National Guard and eventually became a full time soldier in the United States Army serving a total of eleven years. It was during this time that Calvin strayed away from the early teachings of his mother and grandmother regarding the Word of God and became the epitome of the prodigal son. But God’s mercy and hands were upon him sparing him from what he says to this day should have been an early demise.
In 1993, Calvin came to Philadelphia to begin what he thought was a new life in his then current habits and state; not realizing that it was the hand of God guiding this very change. His life began a downward spiral due to elicit drug and alcohol use and he was on his way to an early death. However, on Saturday, January 1, 1994 Calvin began a new year and a new life. Being lead by the Holy Spirit, he found himself knocking at the unknown door of a family who would be used of God in helping him turn around his life. That fateful afternoon, Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Jackson witnessed to a young man who reeked of alcohol, was intoxicated by drugs, and appeared to be knocking at death’s door. Their kindness and obedience to God’s Word helped him to become free of the bondage he was in and to come in contact with a God-fearing man in the person of Pastor Abner L. Fortson who would later become his pastor, mentor, and friend.
In January 1994, Calvin joined Christ of Calvary Church in Philadelphia. He, along with his long time sweetheart and wife of three years, Angela Brooks, who preceded him in death in 1998, would become faithful and active members of the congregation. Under the teachings and mentorship of Pastor Fortson, Calvin became one of the youngest men to become an Elder, director of Children’s Church, Gospel and Men’s chorus member, and one of the leaders of the church’s finance committee. During this time he attended and graduated from the Melvin Floyd School of Evangelism in 2003.
In April 2005, another difficult time in his life came when God called home his Pastor/friend/mentor, Pastor Fortson. However, his many teachings and guidance served as a preparatory stage for what God had planned for Calvin’s next stage in the ministry. On June 26, 2005, Calvin became the first member of the now Christ of Calvary Covenant Church Ministries International (under the leadership of now Senior Pastor Rev. Dr. Rodney D. Rogers) to be licensed as a preacher of the Gospel.
After receiving his licensor he, along with his current wife Rev. Eleanor Rooks, was appointed as Director of Youth Ministries. He, along with fellow minister the late Rev. Darlette Caster, were the first to partake in the missionary cross country “Bus” ministry in which they preached, taught and witnessed from Philadelphia to California and back on Greyhound, touching lives in more than ten states and beyond.
In May of 2009, Calvin completed a CPE (Clinical Pastoral Education) unit at the Hospital of The University of Pennsylvania (HUP). Along with the collaboration of Sayre Senior High School and HUP, Calvin’s CPE unit was unique to the program in that it incorporated a mentorship and Chaplaincy role in a public school as opposed to a strict hospital Chaplaincy course. His work in the CPE unit was recognized and commended by both Sayre High School and HUP’s administration as groundbreaking and greatly effective in the lives of many of the Sayre students. In October of 2009, Calvin reached another milestone as he became the first member to be ordained as an Elder at Christ of Calvary Covenant Church Ministries International. Calvin obtained his M.Div. in Congregational Ministry from Evangelical Theological Seminary in 2014. He has since been elevated to the level of Associate Pastor of Evangelism at C.O.C.C.M.I. He also serves as full-time Chaplain of the Philadelphia Juvenile Justice Services Center and as council president of “God’s Mighty Men” Men’s ministry.
In all that has occurred in his life over the years, God’s hand of mercy has always reigned. With the blessings of his father and mother Ben A. and Mary R. Rooks and his family who reside in VA, he has remained in Philadelphia to carry out the work which God has given to him. God has since blessed him with a beautiful, God-fearing wife in Rev. Eleanor L. Rooks and two beautiful daughters at home, Anjelica and Christina. They are also the parents to daughters Natasha Williams, Clarissa Rooks, and Evonne Rooks and son Samuel Johnson along with six granddaughters: Kayla, Katia, Zaniyah, Asionna, Avaiyah and Londyn and two grandsons: Tyshaun and Andre Jr. who reside in Virginia. Calvin is excited and anticipating the work and lives that God will have him touch as he continues to labor in this end time hour with the new ministry that God has given to him and his wife: Christ Restoration Evangelistic Worship Ministries better known as THE C.R.E.W.