Meet Dr. Philip Calvert of Casa Grande

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Philip Calvert.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Drive Thru Prayer started with a question and an answer. One day in 2016, while standing in the Fellowship Hall at church, I was watching cars drive by and said to the Lord, “I wish I knew what was going on in their life.” As another car drove by, I said the same thing to God. The Lord very clearly impressed upon me this answer, “Go stand outside and ask them.” The Lord reassured me that people would stop in for prayer.

While I’ve had a vision for such a parking lot prayer ministry for many years, it was not until 2022 that the Lord unleashed its full potential by bringing together passionate ministry leaders and volunteers from across the spectrum of Trinity’s congregation, as well as several other Bible-believing churches.

The Drive Thru Prayer (DTP) vision is one DTP site for every 10,000 people worldwide. This means that by 2050 we envision 800,000 DTP sites globally! At that point, the four million Prayer Warriors of Drive Thru Prayer will be praying for 400 million people every year.

By 2070 our goal is to specifically pray for every single person on the planet at least once. To make this vision become a reality, our goal is 40,000 DTP missionaries around the world who are sharing the life-changing message of hope in Christ by helping others start DTP at their church.
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​DTP is about introducing our problems to God’s power through fervent and sincere prayer. Roughly 80% of people who stop by for prayer are unchurched. This is a great way to reach your community for Christ!​

Every Wednesday morning we begin with prayer in our Fellowship Hall at 6 a.m. and have Drive Thru Prayer in our parking lot from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. We also have DTP every Saturday from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m.

We average 10 to 12 volunteers each week, and the requests that people stop by to ask us to pray for are urgent and immediate.

What we have learned is that you can give someone food from your pantry, and you can give someone shoes from your closet, but only God can answer prayer. We are so blessed to meet people right where they are at and introduce them to the power of the Lord God Almighty. Through answered prayer people can meet Jesus in a way that will change their life and their eternity.

Since launching Drive Thru Prayer in places like the USA, Ecuador, Eswatini, and Mexico, we have also started Walk Thru Prayer for places like Nepal where people walk more than they drive, and Break Thru Prayer to minister to the homeless and people in prisons and rehab centers.

Check out our sites at https://www.drivethruprayer.com/our-sites.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The great challenge (opportunity) is to convince Believers that standing outside of the four walls of the church will enable them to reach the unchurched, the under churched, and the never churched.

By the grace of God, and regardless of country or culture, on the very first day of launching a Drive Thru Prayer/Walk Thru Prayer site people from the community stop for prayer!

Drive Thru Prayer…hold on…I just got an email while I was typing this that another church is launching Drive Thru Prayer. They launch next Friday the 27th of June in the state of Michigan!

This is what Drive Thru Prayer is all about…being the hands, feet, and heart of Christ in a very angry, agitated, and hurting world. DTP is about taking John 3:16 literally. You see, when we quote that verse to the unchurched, what they hear is that in order for them to meet our God, they have to come to our building on a day and at a time that is convenient for us! Drive Thru Prayer is about meeting them right where they are at as they are living their daily life and feeling the pressure of their daily needs.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Prayer is a central focus of my vision for global ministry. Through more than two decades in Gospel ministry, I have learned that the first step in standing powerfully for God is kneeling prayerfully before God.

I was a United States Fulbright Scholar to Iceland and earned my Ph.D. in Political Science from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, where I was a Morris Doctoral Fellow.

I am an ordained minister and, along with my wife, Kristen, have served as missionaries in Ecuador and Peru. We have four children (Nathaniel, Benjamin, Rebekah Praise, and Abigail). Abigail was born on the mission field in Quito, Ecuador.

I have taught as both an adjunct and full-time faculty member and have published five books: The Gift of Courage, The Gift of Justice, The Gift of Unity, The Gift of Prayer, and a children’s book titled, How to Say ‘No!’ to a Princess. You can read more about these books at thegiftofcourage.com, giftofjustice.org, thegiftofunity.com, thegiftofprayer.org, and saynotoaprincess.com. They are available on my web site shapedbygrace.org and at Amazon.com.

I have written and produced three songs, “Leaving Me in Pieces,” “Going Broke Saving Money,” and “One Boot Off,” which are available on more than 150 music platforms worldwide.

“Leaving Me in Pieces” was written to minister to those who have experienced, or are currently experiencing, the long illness of a loved one. There is a full version and a radio version. “Going Broke Saving Money” is a fun country song. “One Boot Off” was written to celebrate the special relationship between parents and their children.

You can listen to these songs on your favorite music platform or at leavingmeinpieces.com, goingbrokesavingmoney.com, and onebootoff.com.

On July 1st of 2025 I will begin my 14th year serving the people of Trinity and the Casa Grande community.

What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
We love the Phoenix metro area. There are many fine restaurants, professional sporting events, cultural and art venues (such as the amazing Music Instrument Musuem), and we genuinely enjoy the people.

The thing we like least is the traffic, but as the tenth largest metropolitan area in America the traffic is manageable.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.drivethruprayer.com/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61556353821326
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLdDV0kFkAX6i7HkgvqoMl0r3u3SlYfve