Beargrass—A 200 Year Legacy

1784 Beargrass (Baptist) Church organized
1803 Beargrass joins Long Run Baptist Association
1809 Land purchased near Shelbyville Road Plaza
1824 Alexander Campbell preaches in Louisville
1829 Benjamin Allen organizes Goose Creek Church
1831 Beargrass leaves Long Run Baptist Association

1842 Beargrass Christian relocates to Westport Road
1842 Alexander Campbell preaches at Goose Creek
1842 Goose Creek members transfer to Beargrass
1888 New frame sanctuary built

1917 Church relocates to Shelbyville & Brown's Lane
1931 Walter Lawrenson called as minister
1939, 1949 Building expansions
1953 Will Van Nostrand called as associate minister
1963 Van Nostrand becomes senior minister
1958 Current sanctuary built
1975 Mary Beth Guy joins staff as third associate
1980 Activities Building constructed
1990 Education Building replaces 1917 building
1994 Scott Colglazier succeeds Van Nostrand
1997 Leigh Bond called as senior minister
1998 Youth and community building purchased
2006 New sanctuary & youth space open in December
2007 Dedication on sanctuary on January 21

The Origins of Beargrass Church: 1784
In 1781 Squire Boone, a lay Baptist preacher and brother of Daniel Boone, preached at "Dutch Station" outside Louisville. In January 1784 Rev. John Whitaker organized the Dutch Station settlers into "Bear Grass Church," the first church in Jefferson County. When Beargrass joined the Long Run Baptist Association in 1803 it numbered 67 members. In 1809 the church obtained land on what is now the Shelbyville Road Plaza shopping center. Rev. William Kellar of Harrod's Creek Baptist Church also provided leadership at Beargrass until his death in 1817.

In 1824 Alexander Campbell took a preaching tour of Kentucky, seeking to extend the influence of the Reform movement among Kentucky Baptists. Louisville pastors Philip S. Fall and Benjamin Allen were early Campbell advocates in Kentucky. In 1825 Fall's First Baptist Church of Louisville rejected the Baptist Philadelphia Confession of Faith. The congregation relied on the Bible alone as the guide for faith and practice. When Fall moved to Nashville (and later to Frankfort), Benjamin Allen, pastor of Harrod's Creek and Beargrass Baptist churches, provided pastoral leadership in Louisville. Kentucky Baptists were becoming sharply divided over Campbell's ideas. During the 1829-1833 period, the Louisville First Baptist Church divided into two congregations that would eventually become the First Christian and the Walnut Street Baptist churches.

Beargrass Leaves Baptist Association: 1831
Meanwhile, the Beargrass church had grown to 142 members in 1820 and 184 in 1830. But conflict over Campbell's views also arose at Beargrass with most of the members following the Campbell reformers. Benjamin Allen had provided leadership at Beargrass for many years, succeeding his mentor William Kellar who died in 1817. In 1829 he organized additional churches at Pond Creek (Oldham County) and Goose Creek (eastern Jefferson County). In 1831 the Long Run Baptist Association refused to admit these "Bible only" congregations. As a result, Beargrass and several other Campbellite churches withdrew from the Long Run Baptist Association in 1831. Allen continued to minister to these congregations until his death in 1838.

Beargrass and Goose Creek Unite: 1842
In July 1842 Beargrass sold its land south of Shelbyville Road and in August purchased land on Westport Road. Before the congregation finished building the meeting house at the new site it began meeting with members of the Goose Creek Church at the Edwards-Herr-Hite house at 4417 Westport Road. The home was then owned by Alfred Herr who was one of the four elders chosen to lead the church in 1842 and one of the five trustees who purchased the new church property at what was later 4164 Westport Road. That same year Alexander Campbell preached to the Beargrass/Goose Creek congregation at Alfred Herr's Westport Road home.

In December 1842 forty four members of the Goose Creek Church of Christ formally transferred their membership to Beargrass, doubling the size of the Beargrass congregation. There were more than 90 "sisters" and "brothers" in the 1842 Beargrass Church of Christ. The family names on the early roster read like a who's who of area history: Arterburn, Cannon, Herr, Hikes, Hite, Hubbard, Oldham, Ormsby, Rudy, Simcoe.

The new united congregation built a brick church at the corner of Thierman Lane and Westport Road. After surviving the difficult years of the Civil War, in 1888 the congregation replaced the brick structure with a frame church. The new building included a brick baptistry—though baptisms seem to have continued in Beargrass Creek. In 1906 Beargrass Christian Church installed its first organ, ending the practice of unaccompanied singing.

Brown's Lane and Shelbyville Road: 1917
In 1917 the congregation moved to its present location at Brown's Lane and Shelbyville Road. The church was then an island surrounded by potato fields. In the mid-1920s the first building boom began in St. Matthews.

Tremendous Growth: The Lawrenson Years (1931-1969)
Beargrass' modern history began in 1931 when the Rev. Walter Lawrenson became the minister. The church had 137 members. In Rev. Lawrenson's early years the congregation experienced steady growth. Then in 1938 Shelbyville Road and Frankfort Avenue were widened (becoming US 60) and a second building boom began in St. Matthews. Coupled with Lawrenson's leadership, this boom led to tremendous growth at Beargrass. In 1939 the church expanded the sanctuary and added classroom space. By 1942 there were 375 members.

After World War II the boom resumed. Scrapping plans to relocate, Beargrass constructed another addition in 1949. St. Matthews incorporated in 1950, Beargrass added its first associate minister in 1951, and by 1952 membership totaled 670. In 1953 Rev. R. Willard Van Nostrand joined the staff as associate minister. The church continued to grow, passing 1,000 members in 1957, and building the current sanctuary in 1958.

The 1960s saw continued growth and change. Health considerations forced Dr. Lawrenson to resign as senior minister and become minister of evangelism. Rev. Van Nostrand became the pulpit minister. After 38 years at Beargrass, Dr. Lawrenson died in 1969. Beargrass added a second associate in 1975 when Mary Beth Guy was called as minister of education. Later that year the congregation decided women could serve on the official board for the first time. An activities building was constructed in 1980.

1990 marked the beginning of a period of rapid change as Beargrass began to modernize. In 1990 the old education building (originally the 1917 sanctuary) was torn down to make way for a new one. After 40 years at Beargrass, Dr. Van Nostrand retired in 1993 and was succeeded as senior minister by Dr. Scott Colglazier. A fourth associate position (full-time minister of youth and young adults) as well as a contemporary worship service were added in 1996 . Dr. Leigh Bond succeeded Colglazier in 1997. A youth and community building was purchased in 1998. Saturday night worship began in 2000. In 2003 Beargrass purchased the building at 211 Browns Lane to secure additional parking. The building is now leased to Cornerstone Child Development which provides quality childcare and preschool for the community. In 2005 Beargrass demolished the youth and community building in order to begin construction on a new sanctuary and youth space. Target date for completion of the new building project is December 2006.