In 1922, a local Baptist church started a mission at the corner of 38th and Market in Louisville, Kentucky. On March 29, 1923, that mission became known as Shawnee Baptist Church. Over the next 49 years, church attendance would decline from four hundred to just sixty. As a last effort, the deacons called Lonnie Mattingly, a young man from Bowling Green, Kentucky, to be their pastor. Energized with a renewed focus, Shawnee Baptist Church soon began to grow again.
In the 1970′s, the church began many new ministries, including Northside Christian School, New Life Communications, a bus ministry, and Kids Krusade- an annual city-wide effort to reach young people for Christ. The church continued to expand, moving to a new property at 2214 Bank street and facilitating multiple construction and expansion projects. These projects culminated in 1995 with the construction of our current auditorium. Other ministries were started as well, including a national, annual youth conference, Indian Creek Baptist Camp, Shawnee Baptist College and our printing ministry.
A new chapter in Shawnee’s story began December 3, 2009, when Dave Delaney became our senior pastor. Pastor Delaney’s vision for spiritual growth has truly inspired our church body to continue on with the goal of proclaiming the Gospel throughout Louisville, the Kentuckiana area and the rest of the world. It is truly an exciting time to be at Shawnee Baptist Church, and we hope you’ll join us as we continue to write our story.