Broadmoor United Methodist Church has gathered in southeast Baton Rouge for more than six decades at 10230 Mollylea Drive. The congregation is known for its two Sunday services, its music ministry of choirs, handbells, brass, and a praise band, and Red Stick Together, a free Tuesday evening community meal.
A Tent on the Corner of Mollylea and Sharp
The story of Broadmoor begins eighteen months before its first building went up, when a Board of Missions and Church Extension District bought four lots at the corner of Mollylea Drive and Sharp Road to establish a faith community. On a hot June day in 1955, a tent was set up on those lots with a simple sign: "The Future Home of Broadmoor Methodist Church."
Over the following decades, the neighborhoods around the campus grew and became more diverse, and Broadmoor opened its doors wider in response. The congregation describes itself as a place that "quickly feels like home," and Broadmoor's own story frames the journey in terms of relationships, hospitality, and a desire to extend the lineage of the congregation into the future with passionate worship, dedicated community service, and an embrace of all people.
Two Sunday Services, One Family
Sunday at Broadmoor centers on two in-person services, both available by livestream on the church's YouTube channel and Facebook.
At 9:00 a.m., the Sanctuary fills for a traditional service featuring traditional hymns and gospel songs, led by worship leader Dr. David Shaler, with one of the church's pastors preaching.
At 11:00 a.m., the Casual Worship Center hosts a contemporary service with modern music led by a praise team under worship leader Issy Mathes, with one of the pastors bringing the message.
The campus can be entered from either Sharp Road or Mollylea Drive. Guest parking spaces are marked in front of the Sanctuary and the Casual Worship Center, and "Baby Zone" spaces sit in front of the Casual Worship Center and near the Children's Ministries Building for families with small children. A Connection Café is open on Sunday mornings from 9:00 a.m. to noon for questions, coffee, and a place to linger between services.
From Chancel Choir to Praise Band
Music has long been one of Broadmoor's signatures. The music ministry gathers singers and instrumentalists of every age and skill level.
The Chancel Choir rehearses on Thursdays at 7:00 p.m. in the Sanctuary and sings for the 11:00 a.m. Sanctuary service each Sunday, presenting a Christmas and a Lenten concert each year.
The Chancel Ringers, a handbell ensemble for senior high, college, and adult ringers, rehearses on Wednesdays at 5:00 p.m. in the Sanctuary from September through May.
The Contemporary Service Band rehearses on Sundays at 8:30 a.m. in the Casual Worship Center and leads worship at the 11:00 a.m. contemporary service, with auditions always open.
Three smaller ensembles round out the program. A Men's Ensemble sings traditional hymns, gospel, and spiritual arrangements by invitation. The Broadmoor Brass plays in worship, for special programs, and as an outreach ministry. The King's Pipes, a flute choir of experienced flutists, plays in worship and at other church and community events. Childcare is available for any rehearsal time with advance notice.
Broadmoor Kidz and BUMY
Children and youth have a clear place in the life of the church.
Broadmoor Kidz serves kindergarten through fifth grade every Sunday morning. Bmoor Kidz Sunday School meets at 10:00 a.m. in The Studio, located off the main lobby of the Casual Worship Center. During the 11:00 a.m. contemporary service, Kidz Breakout, a children's church, gathers children in The Studio after they are brought over during worship. The nursery, for infants through pre-kindergarten, is open every Sunday from 8:45 a.m. to noon in Room 106 of the Children's Ministries Building. Parents walk their children to both activities.
The church also runs a daycare and preschool on the same campus, a program that focuses on a child's positive self-image, social adjustment, listening and responding skills, and language development, along with enrichment in science, math, music, and physical development.
BUMY, the Broadmoor United Methodist Youth Ministry, gathers sixth through twelfth graders as one big group. The ministry describes its culture as a family: eating together, playing together, laughing together, arguing together, crying together, and traveling together. The goal is to help middle and high schoolers navigate what it means to follow Christ in the midst of a chaotic world.
Seven Sunday School Classes for Adults
Adult formation happens in seven Sunday School classes that meet at 10:00 a.m. in the Adult Building, each with its own personality.
The Explorers class in Room 203 studies the Bible as a tool for examining how God calls people to live, with rotating teachers and lively discussion. The Friendship class in Room 103 is a Bible study group of working and retired people in their 60s and 70s that takes on faith-in-life topics and participates in mission projects. The Gumbo class in Room 105 has been stirring adults from different spiritual backgrounds together since 1983 and supports mission projects alongside its Bible studies.
The Lagniappe class in Room 104 reads the Bible and contemporary issues through different perspectives. The New Horizons class in Room 204 is a close-knit group of single and married adults in their mid-40s to late 50s, with children ranging from middle school to post-college age, that enjoys monthly supper clubs, fellowship times, annual trips, and outreach involvement. The Seekers class in Room 201 focuses on faith-in-life issues and the practical application of the Christian ethic through Bible study, discussions, and presentations. Serendipity in Room 202 is a class of married and single people aged fifty and up that studies books of the Bible alongside modern Christian authors such as Adam Hamilton and Ray van der Laan, and is active in church missions including Habitat for Humanity, Open Air Ministries, Emmaus, and BUMC.
Red Stick Together: A Tuesday Table for the Neighborhood
Outreach is woven into the identity of the church, and the most visible expression is Red Stick Together, a food ministry that began on December 22, 2019.
The idea grew out of the Dinner Church model, gathering neighbors around a table the way Jesus and the early Christian community did. The first meals were served on Wednesday nights with live music, conversation, and a message of hope. When the pandemic shut down indoor gatherings, Red Stick Together pivoted to to-go meals three nights a week, and over the course of about two years, the ministry shared more than 65,000 meals with anyone who came by.
Today, Red Stick Together serves a free, hot, dine-in meal every Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. in the Casual Worship Center, prepared and served by a team of volunteers who treat the table as a place of fellowship and connection. Contributions to the meal ministry can be made online.
Beyond the table, Broadmoor supports several other partnerships. Southeast Ministries, a non-profit charitable organization that started at Broadmoor, is now located next door at 476 Sharp Road and provides food to qualifying clients in Baton Rouge, staffed by volunteers from 19 churches. Volunteers serve at Broadmoor Elementary as Reading Friends, Math Friends, and Library Friends. The church also partners with the United Methodist Church to build a Habitat for Humanity house in Baton Rouge each year, contributing financial gifts and volunteers.
What Broadmoor Believes
Broadmoor identifies as part of the United Methodist Church, the second largest Protestant denomination in America, and frames its mission as "meeting people where they are and helping them take their next step toward a Christ-centered life."
The congregation shares a common heritage with other Christians, holding to the historic essentials of the Christian faith, and reads the Bible as divinely inspired while also recognizing that the scriptures were written by people who heard God in the light of their own cultural and historical circumstances. Following John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, Broadmoor embraces the approach of "in essentials, unity; in nonessentials, liberty; in all things, charity."
The goal of the Christian life, the church teaches, is to love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself. Methodism's reputation as "reasonable enthusiasts," both emotionally and intellectually engaged, shapes the rhythm of life at Broadmoor: passionate worship, relevant preaching, small groups for accountability, and service to those in need. The United Methodist Church ordains women and men to every level of leadership, and Broadmoor reflects that value in its own fellowship.
Becoming Part of Broadmoor
The path to membership runs through the church office, where Amber McCann coordinates the process. A new member form is available to begin the conversation. Becoming a member includes a commitment to support the church financially, though the church does not dictate a specific amount. The expectation is that each member grows more generous over time as an expression of trust in God.
Giving is offered in several forms. Online giving is processed through Church Center, which is backed by Stripe, with the option to "cover the fees" so that Broadmoor receives 100% of the gift. Cash and checks can be placed in offering envelopes on Sunday mornings or mailed to the church. Recurring gifts can be set up as automatic drafts from a checking account through the Finance Office, and appreciated stock and other securities are also accepted.
Members and regular attenders find a wide circle of ways to serve. The children's ministry welcomes volunteers for Kidz Worship, the nursery, and special events. The youth ministry takes on volunteers for special youth events. Evangelism roles include ushers, greeters, and refreshment preparation in the Connection Café. Congregational Care is one of the broadest categories, with opportunities to visit homebound members, deliver flowers to those in the hospital, prepare bereavement meals, serve communion to homebound members, quilt a baptism blanket, or drive members to doctor's appointments.
A 9-hole disc golf course on the west side of the campus, called "The Outback," is free and open to the public, with a course map available from the church office. Weddings and funerals are held on the campus as well, with a wedding coordinator and a printed funeral policy guiding each family through the process.
For more than sixty years, Broadmoor has called southeast Baton Rouge home, and the congregation continues to gather at the same corner of Mollylea Drive and Sharp Road where the first tent went up in 1955, sustained by two Sunday services, a deep well of music, a children's preschool, a Tuesday night table, and the steady work of many hands.