Serve with generosity and a passion for justice
Putting Faith Into Action!
Beargrass Christian Church is part of the Disciples of Christ movement for wholeness in a fragmented world. Guided by the love of God, we serve with generosity and a passion for justice. We believe in being involved in activities that help others in our local community, nationally, and internationally. Here at Beargrass, we feel caring for creation is also in a vital part of bringing about healing for ourselves and the world in which we live.
Local Opportunities
L.O.U. (Louisville Outreach for the Unsheltered)
L.O.U. is dedicated to helping the homeless population in the greater Louisville area. They work on the frontlines, serving meals and collecting and delivering donations of blankets, coats, and other much-needed items. Their efforts are toward direct support of those in the streets, shelters, and homeless camps. Beargrass members have been an integral part of this ministry.
Pedal Power
Pedal Power is a ministry of Beargrass Christian Church that empowers folks in Louisville by providing refurbished/rebuilt bikes. Reliable bike transportation brings independence and stability to those who seek a better life. Whether it is an immigrant who needs transportation to the store for food, a refugee that needs a way to get to work, or an impoverished child that wants to feel the freedom of riding a bike, Pedal Power is here to help.
Prisoner Re-Entry Assistance Program
A committed group of BCC members provides assistance and support to individuals re-entering society from the correctional system as a means of sharing God’s love for all. For those accepted into our program, we commit to a 90-day period of financial and emotional assistance. We help with housing, applications for food stamps, transportation, clothing, furniture, cell phone, and obtaining necessary documents (social security card, IDs, driver’s license), and finding work. We focus on who the men and women have become, not what they did in the past. We work with them to find the resources they need to be successful in re-entering society. Most of those we have assisted choose to stay in touch over the years as we walk beside them in their struggles and celebrate their progress and successes together.
We are please to see that the recidivism rate of our participants is far below the statistics from the state.
In addition to ministries and projects formed here at Beargrass, we partner with several local organizations on an ongoing basis. Some of our partners include:
National and International Mission Trips
Beargrass periodically offers opportunities for short mission trips to locations in the United States or neighboring countries that have been struck by natural disasters. Our members have worked in places damaged by Hurricane Katrina and by floods in Nashville. We sent a group to Haiti for a week, working with the local non-profit group, Waterstep to help provide safe drinking water to that hurricane-ravaged country.
In November 2015 eleven adults from Beargrass journey to to Guatemala to work with Hope for Tomorrow children’s home. A year earlier twenty-nine persons (from high school to senior citizens) traveled to Hope for Tomorrow. Another trip is planned for July 2016.
As situations arise in which we feel we can be of help to others in need, advertisements for volunteers will be posted in the monthly newsletter, or in the service bulletins. Details will be provided regarding duration of the mission, the nature of the work to be done, cost and other pertinent information, and interested persons will be invited to sign up.
St. Matthews Farmers Market
The St. Matthews Farmers Market is a vibrant, community-oriented operation which takes place each Saturday from mid-May until October on the grounds of Beargrass Christian Church. More than 60 regular vendors and alternates from the surrounding counties in Kentucky and Indiana are at the market each week. The variety of produce, plants, flowers, and more reflects the area’s growing season and harvest times. In addition to the farmers, a small group of area craftsmen participate. The market is a Kentucky Proud market. The guiding principals of the market are to provide high-quality food and products from local producers, bring farm-fresh food to the East End community, support small farmers who care for the land, and create a community gathering space with prepared foods, live music, and special events. Volunteers have an integral role in the success of the market. A part-time market manager is the only paid position. Volunteers are involved in operations, marketing, special events, and parking. There is a gleaning program, in which the producers donate goods they have left at the end of the market day to be transported by volunteers to local food banks and other charities. To find out more about the market, go to the Farmers Market website.
An important ministry of hospitality 2 opportunities exist for assisting in welcoming and greeting marketgoers. The Market needs volunteers to help direct guests to parking spaces behind the church, and at nearby Owens Medical Plaza. 2 parking volunteers assist at the 2 Browns Lane entrances and 1 in the parking lot behind the church. A breaker comes mid-morning to track attendance and give breaks to parking volunteers. To sign up please click the link here.
Creation Care
The Green Chalice Group is comprised of energetic individuals who care for the grounds of Beargrass, provide monthly articles, resources, and tips for how to care for creation. The Green Chalice group also leads the recycling program here at Beargrass Christian Church and hosts yearly Earth Day worship services, along with service driven projects throughout the year.
In the summer of 2007, the DOC came together to discuss how to better care for God’s creation. Since then the Green Chalice program has been active empowering congregations with ideas and resources to enable them to walk gently on the earth. The program has two tiers to achieving certification, the first of which was to become a Green Chalice Congregation, which we attained in 2017. To fulfill the second tier, we needed to accumulate 20 points in these 4 areas: Building/Facility, Grounds/Property, Worship and Office Practices, and Education/Outreach/Justice. Most of what we did can not be readily seen. However, one area that stands out is a decrease in our energy usage by changing our lighting to LED!On September 15, 2020 we received word we achieved the points to become a Certified Green Chalice Congregation!Thanks to all who helped make this happen!