And here it is. Further explanation.
But first, the background info. Which, if you know much about us, you probably already know. We became members of Highview Baptist Church when we moved to Louisville in 2005 and became involved with the Spencer County Campus of Highview during it's launching days in early 2006, eventually moving to Spencer County in 2007 to be able to be closer to the church we were serving at.
Long story short, we fell in love with Spencer County and the people here and made a conscious decision that this would be our mission field during our [indefinite] time in Kentucky. A series of events earlier this year lead to the launch of Redemption Hill Baptist Church here in Spencer County and we have been given the opportunity to be part of something that God is blessing in a big way!
We struggled for a while about what to do, where to go, but ultimately God made it very clear that He wanted us to continue to serve in Spencer County. And with this new church plant. Below is the story of how RHBC came to be, from our Facebook page...
Our story goes perhaps something like your parents’ or grandparents’ wedding story. If not your parents or grandparents, at some point you have probably known a married couple ...who grew up in the same town, went to the same schools, were a part of the same community for years and years, but each never thought twice about the other until one day when all the right pieces fell into place. And the rest, as they say…was history.
Similarly, in the mid-1980’s the church planting department at the Kentucky Baptist Convention began to take notice of an area just southeast of the Louisville Metro area called Spencer County. In particular, what caught their eye was the rapid growth but a corresponding lack of churches. The KBC decided it was time to act. So they purchased a 15-acre plot of land on Taylorsville Lake Road and planted a Baptist church called Green Hills Baptist Church. When this church came on hard times, in 2001, the KBC approached Parkland Baptist Church in Louisville about taking this church on as a mission. It was then that Green Hills Baptist Church began to be known as Parkland Hills Baptist mission.
A few years later, in 2006, the Lord began doing a similar work in the life of a sister church in Louisville called Highview Baptist Church. Through the visionary leadership of pastor Kevin Ezell, Highview was committed to launching a series of multi-site campuses across the Louisville Metro area and beyond. One of the areas for which God provided a ready and eager core group for a campus was Spencer County. So on Easter Sunday of 2006, the Spencer County Campus of Highview Baptist Church was launched and began meeting in the gymnasium of the Spencer County Elementary School. After a year of progress and growth, the Lord allowed for them to move to the Spencer County Middle School where they would make their home for the next 5 years to do outreach and discipleship ministries.
Throughout this time, the Parkland Hills Baptist mission and the Spencer County Campus of Highview Baptist Church were doing ministry in the same community, preaching the same message, under the leadership of sister churches from the same denomination, with the same goal in mind—reaching Spencer County with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. One of these ministries had a phenomenal location, a great piece of land, and a highly utilizable building, yet they needed a pastor and an influx of young life. The other ministry had a pastor and staff already in place, vibrant children and student ministries, and a host of young families who were charged, trained, and ready for community outreach, yet they did not have a permanent location or a building in which to meet.
And since June 3, we have been working almost daily to get this building ready to move into by the end of the summer. Or before. The building has good bones, but needed a lot of TLC...like paint and new floors. Knocked out a few walls, did a little rearranging.
And bought new potties.
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| One of our freshly painted, freshly floored Children's Ministry rooms! |
I think I can speak for both Kenny and I when I say that we are extremely excited about what God has in store for Spencer County and RHBC! We've already seen the people of Spencer County moving...folks turning to Christ who have spent years pushing Him away, families joining together for Worship and God providing opportunities for us to reach out and serve our community!
Our official launch date is August 5th, but we are moving into the building next week and starting services on July 29th. A practice run, if you will.
Please join me in praying for our leadership and staff as decisions are made and we move forward. Pray for the unity of our congregation as we work tirelessly yet another week to get everything finished and moved in. Pray that the Lord brings unchurched families into our midst and gives us opportunity to share Christ with each of them. Pray that the Lord continues to give us opportunities to reach out to our community, to serve Spencer County.
Tomorrow morning will be the last time we unload our trailers into the middle school.
It will be bitter sweet, as this has become almost a way of life for us...for 6+ years we have set up and torn down "church" every Sunday and Wednesday. To say that we are excited to be leaving that part of our adventure behind us is an understatement! Not having to take home the baby wipes each week during the winter because they will freeze if I leave them in the trailer. Not having to make sure that each toy, table and chair folds up because it has to go inside a crate at the end of the day. Not having to worry about what room our preschoolers will be in while they wax the floors each summer.
All little things, but all things that make us thankful to have four permanent walls and roof!
Keep us in your prayers and I'll update after our launch in August.
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