As the old saying goes, when one door closes another one opens. And that has certainly been the case for several local faith communities. Here in Owensboro, those include churches like Living Hope Community Church, Abundant Life Church, One Faith Fellowship, Matthew’s Table, Life Community Church, Redemption Place, and New Life Church. Each of these churches has found new homes, revitalized congregations, and brought a renewed commitment to community presence.
Living Hope sprang forth from the roots of Seven Hills Baptist Church on the corner of 18th and Alexander Avenue, with its primary mission of helping people get to heaven and reaching out to those in need.
“I thought I was nearing retirement, but the Lord had other plans for me,” laughed Pastor Jerry Tanner, recalling how after two years of involvement with Living Hope, the budding faith community found a permanent home.
After purchasing the building on 18th and Alexander (formerly occupied by Seven Hills), Tanner and the congregation grew together, continuing to add new members and having the opportunity to pay off the building in just two years’ time.
“God has definitely blessed our efforts,” noted Tanner. “We love this neighborhood and want to continue the work of Seven Hills here, which is growing the kingdom of God. We have been very blessed to have the opportunity to give out clothes three times a year with Shepherd’s Hand Clothing Ministry, and have definitely seen lives changed through this ministry.”
Tanner called Owensboro a “God-friendly community.”
“You know, if someone tells you their grandmother is in the hospital and you ask if you can pray for her, they are usually fine with that,” Tanner reflected. “This community is welcoming to people of faith, and that is a very good thing.”
The congregation of Living Hope is poised to offer a new home for those in search of one.
“There are plenty of people in our community who need a church home, and more importantly, a relationship with Jesus,” said Tanner. “At Living Hope, our arms and hearts are always open to help people find both.”
Much like Jerry Tanner, pastor Farrell Isenberg had retirement plans as well; then, he felt the call to start something new.
“It was in the fall of last year that a handful of local families felt the need for a fresh start,” said Isenberg. “They met and prayed about it, and held their first meeting at the Isaac Sterett Adventure Foundation Building (Center for Good Works) on Allen Street. We met there for about six months, then found our permanent home at the old Masonville Baptist Church campus.”
When faced with dwindling weekly attendance, Masonville Baptist (located on US 231 in Utica) needed to find new tenants for its building; the upstart church they discovered in Abundant Life was a perfect fit.
“At the end of 2020, I resigned from Cross Pointe, where I had served for thirty years,” Isenberg reflected. “I began filling in for area pastors here and there, and had been asked to preach a few times for Abundant Life. I saw that God was doing something great with this church.”
Farrell Isenberg soon found himself going from interim pastor to full-time in his retirement years, and called his experience thus far with Abundant Life Church a “huge blessing.”
“It’s been truly amazing to see how it’s all come together,” Isenberg noted. “The folks at Masonville Baptist wanted to see their building used and they laid the groundwork.”
Isenberg and the congregation at Abundant Life Church have the “tremendous honor” of continuing that mission.
“Our hope, vision, and prayer are that we don’t stop growing,” said Isenberg. “We want to reach those who are new to the community and those who have lived here for years– to meet the needs of all. We plan to host some community outreach events, like block parties and community barbeques.”
Isenberg emphasized that those at Abundant Life are in the “caring business” and that the young families they have in their congregation help the older members to better understand the needs of today’s young families.
“We hope to make a great impact for God’s kingdom,” said Isenberg. “Right here at home, and maybe eventually worldwide.”
Roger Chilton, co-founder of Friends of Sinners, said he became a pastor at Matthew’s Table “through a call from God to step out in faith, reach the unreachable, and teach the unteachable.”
At their home in the building that formerly housed Buena Vista Baptist Church, Chilton and the staff and volunteers of Matthew’s Table are living out that mission daily. Matthew’s Table began with a group of Christ-followers who sought to reach people in underserved areas. As a result of their efforts, the congregation experienced exponential growth in a short period of time, and needed a larger church building to call their own.
Around the same time, Buena Vista Baptist Church was preparing to celebrate their 100th anniversary. However, their attendance was dwindling. That’s when Buena Vista reached out to Matthew’s Table and invited them in. Chilton shared, “Through their kindness and commitment to use the building to share the Gospel, they allowed us to take over the facility and property to continue the mission.”
Chilton also appreciates the importance of preserving the legacy of Buena Vista, saying, “We proudly say all the time that we are a non-traditional church in a very traditional building that inherited a home from an amazing faithful body of believers formerly known as Buena Vista Baptist Church. Today our vision statement reflects who they are as a way to honor their legacy, ‘A church in the heart of the city, with a heart for the city.’” OL
