Welcome to Beargrass!
We are a warm and welcoming, faithful and friendly congregation.
There is a “family” feel to Beargrass. We have folks of all ages and stages of life. We are often described as “big enough to serve you, but small enough to know you.” Our community and life together center around Christ’s Table. We welcome everyone to the Table and to the Beargrass family. We are an intergenerational church with people of all ages and stages of life with both young families new to the church and longtime members who have helped serve the congregation for generations.
Our hope is that you discover Beargrass to be a community where you feel at home and form deep and lasting friendships. If you are searching for a place where you can worship with hope, grow with love, and explore ways to serve a passion for justice – we think Beargrass Christian just might be for you! Below you will find a quick glance about what to expect with our service times and more about the community feel at Beargrass.
We worship every Sunday with 2 unique worship service styles that meet you where you are: our 9:00am contemporary service has a full praise team with modern, uplifting music, whereas our 11:00am traditional service has an outstanding choir and historic pipe organ. Both services offer safe, quality nursery care and children’s activities for all ages.
We know meeting someone for the first time can be intimidating and going to a new church for the first time can be nerve-racking. We want to help make your first experience at Beargrass Christian Church a great one! Below are some of the most common questions people ask about navigating a new church:
WHERE DO I GO WHEN I GET THERE? Visitor parking spaces are available on all four sides of the parking lot. Most new people find it easiest to enter along Shelbyville Road and come in the main “columns” entrance with the stained-glass doors. We have a coffee bar available right inside of that entrance, and then the Sanctuary will be just up the hallway. Regardless of which entrance you come in, we have friendly greeters at each door to help welcome you, answer any questions, and help you get to the right place. Once you arrive, you are invited to stop by the Welcome Center outside of the Sanctuary to receive a visitor welcome bag and learn more about upcoming church events, ministries, and programs. Our facility is fully accessible; those with either strollers or mobility issues usually find it easiest to navigate by parking along the Browns Lane covered entrance, where a push-button door leads right into the Sanctuary without additional steps.
WHAT’S THE CULTURE LIKE AT BEARGRASS CHRISTIAN CHURCH? Sundays at Beargrass are exciting, casual, and relaxed. You may detect the aroma of fresh coffee brewing in our gathering space. Clothing styles vary from casual to formal – but we accept God’s invitation to “come as we are!” We are a warm and welcoming, faithful and friendly congregation. There is a “family” feel to Beargrass. We have folks in all ages and stages of life. Someone described us as “big enough to serve you, but small enough to know you.” We are located in the St. Matthews area of Louisville but draw people each week from all over our city and the wider region.
WHAT IS WORSHIP LIKE?
All of our services are uplifting, friendly, and filled with hope. In total, our morning services are about an hour, and our “Table” service in the evening tends to run around 45 minutes. Services begin with the congregation joining in music – song lyrics are projected onto the screens so you can sing along and/or engage with worship however you feel most comfortable. After the music portion of service, one of our pastors will share an inspiring message rooted in God’s love for all people. The messages focus more on love than law, more on grace than guilt, more on joy than judgment. Core to our worship is the weekly celebration of communion that is open to all people, regardless of whether or not you are a member of our church or denomination.
WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE?
As a Disciples of Christ church, our members hold a wide variety of beliefs and understandings about faith. We celebrate our diversity and do not use creedal statements to divide up Christians who wish to worship with us; as our founders were fond of saying, we have “no creed but Christ.” Instead, we welcome all to the open communion table and believe that our faith is made stronger by learning from people who have a different understanding than our own.
WHAT ABOUT MY KIDS?
We believe that kids should have a blast at church every single week – and at Beargrass, we make this a priority. The other thing we make a priority is your children’s safety. Safe quality childcare is available in our nursery, known as the ARK (“Always Reaching Kids”) Wing for children preschool age and under. During the 9 am contemporary service, following the Children’s Moment children in grades K-2 are invited to participate in Children Worship and Wonder in room 214; children in grades 3-4 may attend Following Jesus in room 215. During the 11 am traditional service, children in grades 1–4 are led by the Children’s Ministry Director to room 213 for their own worship experience following the children’s moment. Parents or grandparents are asked to pick up their children immediately following the service. We also have vibrant ministries for children and youth of all ages that meet throughout the week for additional times to connect and grow together.
WHAT IF I STILL HAVE MORE QUESTIONS? We’d love to connect with you to answer any questions you have and feel at home at Beargrass. Feel free to call the church office at (502)896-1161 or reach out to our staff or one of our ministers by email. We also encourage you to stop by the Welcome Center (located in the Gathering Space right outside of the Sanctuary), where one of our friendly volunteers will be ready to greet you and answer any further questions. You are also invited to attend any of our monthly “Beargrass 101” brunches to meet our ministers and ask any questions about Beargrass or who we are as Disciples.