St Paul Shively Heights Brazil 16 +17

St. Paul Shively Heights Baptist Church is located in Louisville Kentucky and is Pastored by Pastor Deryk Hayes.

In early January of the year 2009, Pastor Lincoln Bingham (St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church) and Pastor Mark Payton (Shively Heights Baptist Church) sat down for a conversation. Being friends for over 20 years, sitting down to converse with one another was an ordinary practice but by the time Pastor’s Bingham and Payton parted ways on that day, the seed to merge, mix ministries, free up finances, combine congregations; ultimately birthing a new church that would be a unified witness for Christ had been planted. This new church would be better equipped, resourced and strengthened to continue in missions and ministry. This new church would intentionally prepare to reach future generations and this new church possessed the capacity to reach the changing community. As important as all of that is, what was most important is that this new church would aim to glorify God.

At 11:00 a.m. on August 23, 2009, just a few short months after the initial conversation, with a reported 600 plus people in attendance the two churches had become one. Less than 50 years prior to the birth of this new church Rev. Dr. Martin Luther KingJr., said, “I think it is one of the tragedies of our nation, one of the shameful tragedies that eleven o’ clock on Sunday morning is one of the most segregated hours if not the most segregated hours in Christian America.” On that great day, at 2627 Crums Lane in Shively, Kentucky during the eleven o’ clock hour there was a Christian church in America being integrated. The name of that new church would be St. Paul Baptist Church @ Shively Heights Inc.

It was reported that the new church was birthed with 318 members. Another report suggest that this new church would grow by 132 members during her first 18 months. However, within the last fourteen going on fifteen years so much has changed. The church grew in wisdom and age but like many other churches struggled to draw, engage and keep active and energetic children, youth and young families. Resources declined and a significant mortgage debt was still present and many cosmetic, structural and technology updates needed to be made. Approximately three years into the life of this young church, Pastor Payton would be called to serve a church in another part of Kentucky and at 81 years of age with overt six decades of pastoral ministry behind him, Pastor Bingham was left to serve as the lone pastor and he served faithfully up to the time of his retirement and beyond. We praise God for both Pastor and Sis. Bingham.

On the third Sunday in the month of September of the year 2019 after a seven month pastoral search the then ten year old church called Deryk Hayes of Rockford, IL to become her next pastor.

Pastor Hayes and his family relocated from Illinois to Kentucky in January of 2020. Less than two weeks after the pastoral installation the city would experience a long and continuous season of civil unrest and the world would find itself in a global pandemic. In addition to all of that our church was experiencing all of the blessings and burdens that come with pastoral transition. The world, this country, our city and even the local church would be forever changed. In it all, we have seen God at work, we are a testament of His sustaining power and we have been comforted by the Holy Spirit.

Our theme for year fifteen is RECLAIMING OUR IDENTITY and we the St. Paul Shively Heights Baptist Church will continue on as a Caring & Committed church!