Louisville / Kentucky / United States
The mininstry of Iroquois Presbyterian Church began in 1951 when a small group of people gathered to form a Mission Church in a rented facility. In the Spring of 1952, a request was granted by the Presbytery to organize the little mission into a church consisting of 49 members. In the classic spirit of true pioneers, this little flock trusted the task to which God had called them. Contracting with an architect to begin a building and relying on pastoral leadership from professors and students from the Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, the ministry had begun! By August 16, 1953, with 70 resident members, ground was broken on the Education Building. It took seven months to complete the project. However, it did not take long for the growing church to fill-up its facility with weekday Kindergarten, community activities, scout troops and meetings of various church organizations. Within three years the congregation had grown to 160 members. In May, 1956 a Capital Campaign began to build the Sanctuary. Ground was broken on July 7, 1958. On Sunday, March 22, 1959, the first servicve was held in the new Sanctuary. Throughout its history, Iroquois Presbyterian Church has had an interest in hands on mission work, education, quality worship. Mission work includes assisting at Wayside Christian Mission serving supper one night per month, participating in outreach to residents of Eastern Kentucky through SkyBound Ministries, hosting a Thanksgiving worship and dinner for senior residents of Iroquois Homes, supporting an AA group, and participating in several denomination mission offerings. Worship beyond Sunday includes special seasonal services: Christmas Eve, Ash Wednesday, Maundy Thursday. The strong fellowship and caring is demonstrated by a monthly Friendship Time after worship, numerous congregational meals, Care Teams headed by elders, summer picnic, periodic congregational fellowship events and a summer and two Yard Sales during the year. Proceeds from the Yard Sales are used for mission work. A monthly Second Sunday Fun Day is currently offered for children and a nursery is available during the Sunday worship hour. Iroquois Presbyterian Church began to decline in membership in 1993, as the area of South Louisville began to diversify and change. The loss of strong pastoral leadership continued the decline. However, the year 2000 revealed Gods marvelous work with an increase in worship attendance, baptisms and membership. To provide a more conducive plan for congregation and community, the open-rafter Fellowship Hall was renovated and dedicated Hartz Hall in the fall of 2000. Our sanctuary underwent renovation with new carpeting, and relocation of the choir and organ to the chancel from an older choir loft in the rear of the church. A new state of the art sound system was installed and new lighting have greatly enhanced our worship services. This project was completed with a dedication service in November 2003. Iroquois Presbyterian Church is well on its way to addressing new ministries to meet the needs of a new century!
