Bright Hope Baptist Church

Immanuel has always sought to be a biblical church, which includes being a church-planting church. Immanuel has raised up and sent members out to support the planting of seven churches since 2014. Planting another church continues Immanuel’s desire to be a church-planting church.

In 2020, Immanuel moved to one service as part of our Forward-As-One initiative. This initiative to move to one service was designed to accomplish several goals, such as fostering “deeper relationships,” but also to facilitate more church planting. In that document, we stated:

Moving forward, the plan is to deal with future growth by planting even more churches. How fast do we need to plan for this growth? If Immanuel grows by 1% a year, we will outgrow our current facility by the 2050s. If by 3%, we will have enough room until 2032. If 5%, we will be out of space by 2026. Thus, in light of our prayer to grow and our desire to see the Lord add more and more of His people to us, we have formulated a plan that enables us to plant another church by 2026. If—in God’s good providence—we return to growing at 10% (a rate we have not seen in years), we would send out an existing elder as early as 2023.

We are planting a church because God has heard our prayer and grown our numbers. It would be wrong to say we are not motivated by mission, or that we are only trying to free up space at Immanuel. Freeing up more space at Immanuel is missional; it allows Immanuel to show hospitality, share the gospel, and demonstrate the love of Christ to hundreds of people who have not yet heard it. Those who join the church plant are people who have benefited deeply from the ministry at Immanuel, who love Immanuel, and who are leaving so that someone else can sit in their seats and be blessed as they have been, while Immanuel continues its mission.

Furthermore, those who join the church plant are seeking, with the Lord’s help, to plant a biblical church just like Immanuel to multiply the gospel witness in this city. At the same time, we are planting to meet a growing spiritual need in Louisville.

The population of Louisville continues to grow steadily, while the number of churches—including the number of Baptist churches—is in decline. To continue our gospel witness in Louisville, more churches are needed here. While it may not be wrong to argue that the needs in another country or another city are greater than the needs in Louisville, this does not negate the fact that more churches are needed in Louisville.

Seventy-five percent of Kentucky Baptist Convention churches are plateaued or in decline in numeric membership. As of July 2026, a KBC leader told us directly that there are approximately 2,300 Southern Baptist-affiliated churches in Kentucky. The total number of Baptist churches has shrunk by 6% in Louisville and 4% in Kentucky over the last 15 years. The rate of new churches planted is not keeping up with this decline. It is estimated that 600 of these churches (40%) are in active decline or nearing closure. The Louisville Regional Baptist Association has shrunk by over 6% in the last 5 years (from 160 to 150 churches). Meanwhile, the population of Louisville is growing by 1% per year.

We have met, and will continue to be in contact, with leadership from the Kentucky Baptist Convention and the Louisville Regional Baptist Association regarding church planting and church re-planting. These regional leaders have provided demographic information to highlight specific areas in the city based on population growth and church decline that need more churches. In addition, we have compiled demographic information on the membership of Immanuel and plotted this on a map of Louisville.

At this point, we have not narrowed in on a specific street or neighborhood. The precise location will largely be determined by finding a suitable meeting place. That being said, looking at all the information regarding need and opportunity, we are looking for locations within Louisville east of I-65.

Churches plant churches, and so Immanuel Baptist Church is planting this church. Pastor Jonny Atkinson has been chosen—after making his desire known and being vetted by a subcommittee of the elders—to lead this church plant under the mentorship of Andy Morris, our missions pastor.

We are working toward planting a church in the summer of 2027. Immanuel has a 12-month residency program designed to benefit the church planter, giving time and oversight to develop a core team, develop foundational doctrines, fundraise, develop a budget, and learn from the staff pastors at Immanuel. Jonny will complete this residency in May 2027. Lord willing, the new church will covenant together in June of 2027.

More important than a 12-month timeline will be completing certain goals and meeting certain targets, including preparing the core team to launch and securing a suitable meeting place.

The new church plant will be named Bright Hope Baptist Church (BHBC), inspired by the song Great is Thy Faithfulness, and the line “strength for today, and bright hope for tomorrow.” This song, based on Lamentations 3:23 and written by a Kentuckian, reminds us to hope in God’s faithfulness to his promises which he will one day complete.

Names take on the identity of the bearer. More important than the name will be the people, and their gospel witness, the name represents.

Bright Hope is a plant of Immanuel, and thus will in many ways be like—and seek to emulate—the biblical qualities of Immanuel. It will be Baptist, reformed, and congregational. The Word of God will be central and foundational to everything done at Bright Hope. Bright Hope will strive to cultivate a community of Christian love that is authentic, Spirit-filled, missional, prayerful, sacrificial, and servant-hearted.

Bright Hope Baptist Church will be part of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), partnering via the Cooperative Program with similar churches.

Immanuel formally partners with other churches and her plants via the Immanuel Network. Bright Hope Baptist Church will be a part of the Immanuel Network from her inception. We will also be the first partner church of Immanuel in the same city. This proximity opens many opportunities for Immanuel and Bright Hope to maintain local church autonomy while also regularly partnering and collaborating for mission, and mutual edification.

Baptists (rightly) celebrate their local church autonomy. However, local church autonomy is often prized so much to the neglect of local church partnerships. Local church partnerships are demonstrated and modelled all over the New Testament.

A church is for Christians. Christians should consider joining this church plant! Bright Hope is expecting that the majority of her members will come from the sending church, Immanuel Baptist, but other local Christians in Louisville are welcome to join.

Immanuel desires all her members to make a prayerful, sacrificial, and intentional decision to stay at Immanuel or go out with Bright Hope. We desire both churches to thrive, and there will be needs at both churches. We want each member to prayerfully consider how and where they can serve the local church.

If you are not a member of Immanuel but would like to learn more about Bright Hope, you can contact Jonny at jatkinson@immanuelky.org.

As noted above, the timing of the church plant has largely been dictated by the capacity of Immanuel’s building. Thus, this particular plant is slightly different in that Immanuel desires to send a sizable group to start a new church within the city—both to start Bright Hope with a solid base and to provide Immanuel with more opportunity to reach more people in Louisville.

If 15% of our current 675+ membership (658 active members + 67 in the membership process = 725 total) were to go, that would be roughly 101 members, leaving Immanuel around 575–600 members strong.

Yes. A plurality of elders is a healthy biblical model, supported by lead-servants—the deacons. Ideally, as soon as possible, multiple qualified elders and deacons will be installed to serve at Bright Hope. Being a congregational church, elders and deacons will be recommended by the church members, vetted by the church leadership, and voted on by the church members.

Bright Hope will have a kids and youth ministry from the beginning.

Bright Hope will prioritize having a biblical weekly gathering of the saints with biblical worship, preaching, prayer, and celebrating the Lord’s Supper. Bright Hope will strive to cultivate a community of Christians who are equipped to minister to one another (Ephesians 4:12), with or without formal programs.

One of the reasons Bright Hope will exist is to disciple her members, and where ministry programs can be helpful to that end, Bright Hope desires to have these. To be realistic... the current core team is outnumbered 3–1 by kids. Thus, from the beginning, Bright Hope will seek to have a weekly gathering that is hospitable to families, having necessary facilities such as a cry room, nursing mothers room, a nursery, etc.

In caring for our needs and supporting the generational ministry of Titus 2 (older women teaching younger women, older men training up younger men) at Bright Hope, we will add children’s, youth, men’s, and women’s ministry as soon as we are able.

Bright Hope Baptist Church desires to be a missional church—raising up, sending, and supporting missionaries. While true, Bright Hope will be a new church with fewer resources and no track record of sending; it will be composed of many people who have learned how to send and support well for many years as part of Immanuel. If you are desiring to be sent as a missionary, you should still consider joining Bright Hope, submitting to the church, and, Lord willing, being raised up and sent out.

It would be ideal for those joining the plant to desire to serve Bright Hope, living in Louisville for at least two years and contributing to her stability as a church.

If you’ve already prayerfully decided to join the church, you should let Pastor Jonny know. A Core Team is already forming, and it is helpful to know who and how many are planning to go—both for Bright Hope and Immanuel to plan.

If you are strongly interested, you should also let Jonny know so he can be aware, be praying, and keep you in the loop with updates as you solidify your decision.

If you are a member of Immanuel, the primary thing you can do to support Bright Hope is to give to Immanuel’s regular budget. For the 2026–2027 fiscal year, Immanuel has a line item set aside for the church plant. The church plant will have an active website by early 2027. In the future, there will be an option to give directly to the plant for its new members and supporters. There may also be one-off fundraising events.

Paul planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth (1 Corinthians 3). Without Jesus, we can do nothing (John 15). Prayer is absolutely essential for every church and every endeavor, and so it is vitally important for this church plant.

• Pray for unity in the body of Immanuel as Immanuel sends out members to plant Bright Hope.

• Pray we find a suitable meeting space in the location God has for us.

• Pray God raises up godly, humble leaders for Bright Hope.