|
Parkwood Baptist Church
began as Parkwood Mission on January 23, 1944. It was started in the home of Rev. Charles B. Althoff,
and 19 people were in attendance for the 3:00pm meeting. Rev. Althoff's
sermon that day was entitled "To the Church That Is In Thine House."
A few months later, the first weekly prayer
meeting was held at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Theodore R. Burkhart on
Thursday, May 24.
On June 1, 1944, Rev. Vaughn Tollett
became the first pastor of Parkwood Mission. It was soon decided to rent the
Edgewood Inn on Palatka Road for $12.00 per month while looking for a
permanent site.
Later that same year, on October 1, 1944,
Parkwood Mission gained a sponsor in Carlisle Avenue Baptist Church. On
November 5 of that same year, 28 charter members joined Parkwood.
A tent revival and the first
Vacation Bible School in Parkwood's young history were held July 15-22, 1945.
On April 11, 1946 an acre of ground on Manslick Road was purchased for $3,000.
This would become the future site of Parkwood.
Rev. Carl B. Robbins became the second
pastor on October 6, 1946.
A new structure was built on the
Manslick Road property
and was first used on February 2, 1947.
On June 8, 1953, Rev. Gene Hitchcock became Parkwood's third pastor.
Ground was broken for a newer building on
January 7, 1954, and was first used on April 25 of the same year. The
building, which consisted of the modern-day basement and first level of the
education building, was dedicated on June 27, 1954, with 170 people in
attendance.
Rev. Hugh Brooks became the fourth
pastor of Parkwood on March 17, 1957.
In 1958, Parkwood Mission became
self-supporting and became Parkwood Baptist Church. They held a Service of
Constitution on November 2.
TOP
 Once
Parkwood became self-supporting, expansion happened rapidly.
Dr. Sherman E. Towell became the fifth
pastor on January 1, 1960. Dr. Towell served as pastor for
21 years, making him the longest-tenured pastor in Parkwood's history.
During the early 1960s, the top floor of
the education building was added on, and the sanctuary building was built
and first used in October 1964.
In July 1981, Rev. Jerry H. Mantooth
became Parkwood's sixth pastor.
In September of 1981, Rev. Mantooth and Hazel
Dobrick organized a senior citizens group that would be known as the Eat &
Travel Club. Their first meeting was on October 6, with 15 people in
attendance. Later that fall, the group went to Brown County,
Indiana, the first of many trips that would take them around the city, state, and nation.
The church mortgage was paid and the note
burned in November 1984.
TOP
With the loan on the expansions paid off,
Parkwood began to take care of some other projects during this time.
In September 1985, Rev. Kenneth
Whitehouse became the seventh pastor.
In the mid-1980s, the parking lot was
enlarged and air conditioning was installed in the educational building.
In August 1988, Dr. Eric Lethco became
Parkwood's eighth pastor.
The pews in the sanctuary received
padding in the late 1980s and the sanctuary itself was redecorated.
In March 1996, Rev. Thomas Dail became
Parkwood's ninth pastor.
Security was upgraded in 1996 with the
addition of new doors and locks on the buildings. Parts of the educational
building were also refurbished.
In November 1997, Rev. Randy Stinson
became the tenth pastor of Parkwood.
TOP
In June 2001, Rev. Benny Phelps became
the eleventh pastor of Parkwood.
In 2002, Parkwood
began working with other churches in the south Louisville area to hold
an annual crusade at the Iroquois Park Amphitheater. Called
"Faith for
Today, Hope for Tomorrow", the crusade started in a tent on the property of
Rockford Lane Baptist Church, and quickly expanded into the larger facility
at the Amphitheater one year later.
In 2003 the
Global Outreach (GO) mission
projects began with a trip to Boston, MA. In the years following, Parkwood
also sent missionary teams to
Seattle, WA; Alexandria, KY; Rio Grande Valley, TX; Dixon, KY; New
Orleans, LA; and Atlanta, GA.
 Also in 2003, a program entitled
"Renewing His House" designated $40,000 towards much-needed upgrades and
repairs throughout the facility. In October 2003, the church parking lot was
repaved and expanded to add some additional spots. Shortly thereafter, as
part of the program, the sanctuary was given a fresh coat of paint.
Another Renewing His House
project was updating the entrance to the educational building. The church
offices were moved to this location, the hallway was repainted and
re-carpeted, and the restrooms were refurnished.
The Parkwood Baptist Church website first
launched in August 2005. Since it's inception, it has continued to grow and
develop into the website of today. It has also been helpful in providing an
online archive of pictures, events, and the life of Parkwood.
As
part of the ongoing Renewing His House program, repairs to the church
steeple were made in November 2006, and included a cleaning, repainting, and
removal of damaged or broken pieces.
Throughout these years, Parkwood
began celebrating a Constitution Sunday on the first Sunday of November each
year. This was a day of celebrating the history of Parkwood and thanking God
-- not only for all He has done in our past, but for what He is doing today,
and for the plans He has for our future.
  In
May 2007, the exterior woodwork was cleaned and painted as part of the
Renewing His House program. This project included repainting the windows of
the sanctuary building, as well as the pillars, doors, breezeways, and
framing. Additionally, the rear breezeway's railing was reinforced during
this time to make it more stable and secure.
July 2007 was the first edition
of a new church-wide Sunday School series designed to let all ages of our
fellowship study the Word of God together. The topic was "Battle For the
Sexes", and the month-long study helped us see what the Bible teaches about
the equal, yet different roles of men and women. Other topics included the
Bible (January 2008).
TOP
 As
we look forward to what God will do in the future of Parkwood Baptist
Church, we are reminded that Parkwood is more than historical facts and
figures. It is more than a set of buildings. It is a group of believers in
Christ that have come together with a unified purpose: to share the truth of
God revealed to us through His Son, Jesus Christ, and His Word, the Bible.
TOP |
