A North Columbus Baptist Church with a Fresh Start
On Karl Road north of Route 161, Karl Road Baptist Church gathers each Sunday morning with a clear purpose: to see God's Kingdom come in Columbus as it is in heaven. The congregation has called this stretch of the Northland neighborhood home for more than six decades and now welcomes worshipers at 10:30am in a 650-seat sanctuary completed in 1983. Under the leadership of Lead Pastor Nick Nye, the church lives out its mission in the phrase Together, Belonging, Becoming, and Building for the Glory of God, and in 2024 its Ministry Council voted to relaunch the whole congregation around that renewed mission, vision, and name.
A Story that Begins in 1870
The roots of Karl Road Baptist Church reach back to a Sunday School started in 1870 by Mrs. William Fields and Mrs. Able Hildreth of the First Baptist Church of Columbus. Mrs. Hildreth offered a lot for a building, and a decade later Mrs. Alderson opened her home for what would become a formal church in the Village of Linden Heights. In 1906 the First Baptist Church of Linden Heights was recognized and built at the corner of Aberdeen and Greenwich. After a 1931 merger with Hildreth Baptist Church, the body took the name Linden Baptist Church in 1945 to simplify its identity in the community.
In 1961 the congregation voted to launch a satellite on Karl Road near Route 161. The cornerstone for the first building on the 8.5-acre property was laid in October 1962, and the building was dedicated in 1963. Under Pastor William J. Bowser the Linden property was sold and the church moved into Northland High School for Sunday gatherings before settling at its current address. The present worship complex, a 650-seat sanctuary with a connecting lobby, offices, education wing, and fellowship hall, was completed in 1983 and dedicated on Easter Sunday of that year. In 1995 the Schlatter wing was added and dedicated in memory of Dr. William and Josephine Schlatter.
Relaunched for the Next Generation
The most recent chapter began in 2022 when the congregation called Josh Foor as pastor with a desire to reach the next generation. After a prayer-filled retreat, the Ministry Council voted in 2024 to relaunch the church with a new mission, vision, and name, centering the next steps on a single calling: to see God's Kingdom come in Columbus as it is in heaven, done Together, Belonging, Becoming, and Building for the Glory of God. The way KRBC talks about that calling is the threefold rhythm of Be with Jesus, Become like Jesus, and Do what Jesus did.
Sundays at 10:30
Sunday morning is the weekly center of life at KRBC. Worship begins at 10:30am in the sanctuary, and for visitors who want to settle in earlier, adult Bible classes and a Sunday morning community group meet at 9am. People who cannot be there in person can join the livestreamed gathering at 10:30am on YouTube or watch the most recent sermon any day of the week. A teaching archive from Lead Pastor Nick Nye, including recent series like Rebels' Grace: Jonah 3, lives on the church's YouTube channel.
Kids' Church and Youth
KRBC places a strong emphasis on children and students. Kid's Church exists to show kids Jesus so that they grow up knowing his love and becoming like him. Every Sunday the children's team provides a kid-friendly, safe environment where children learn about Jesus from the Bible, feel seen, and have fun. On a first visit the family meets at the kids' check-in station in the lobby so only the parents can check the children out. Families with children four and under are walked to their classroom; children in kindergarten through fifth grade join their parents in the gathering for worship and are then dismissed to their classroom before the teaching time.
Students in middle school and high school are led by Interim Middle School/High School Youth Director James Minter, who keeps the youth ministry moving while the church prays about the next permanent hire.
Worship and Prayer Across the Month
Prayer is a steady rhythm at KRBC. The church maintains a private Prayer Room that anyone can book for a dedicated time of seeking God, coordinated through Director of Community Life Marcy Gauch. A 24-hour Prayer Watch falls on the third Monday of every month, giving the congregation a set time to carry one another and the city in intercession. A monthly Prayer & Worship Night takes place on the third Sunday of each month at 6pm in the chapel, with childcare available on request.
Worship arts are led by Ryan Marsh, the full-time director of worship and communications who was called in 2023. Sermons and music are broadcast through the church's YouTube channel for anyone across Columbus or beyond.
Plan a Visit
First-time guests will find the main entrance and parking on the south side of the building, in the largest lot on the property. Inside the lobby the Welcome Center sits directly ahead; greeters there can answer questions and help a family get oriented. The church's welcome culture is summed up in a simple invitation: come as you are. Jeans and a t-shirt are just as acceptable as a suit or dress, and the sanctuary reflects that mix on any given Sunday.
Those who want to get more connected can fill out a digital Connect Form that helps the staff welcome and follow up, and a calendar of upcoming events lives at the church's Church Center site.
What KRBC Believes
Karl Road Baptist Church teaches classical Baptist convictions in plain language. There is one living and true God who exists eternally in three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man, lived a sinless life, died on the cross for human sin, was raised from the dead, and now intercedes at the Father's right hand. The Holy Spirit draws people to Christ, indwells them from conversion, and empowers them with spiritual gifts for service. The Bible, the sixty-six canonical books of the Old and New Testaments, is the supreme and final authority for faith and practice. All human beings are created in God's image and have become spiritually dead through sin, but salvation is a free gift of grace received through faith in Jesus Christ alone.
The church teaches two ordinances: baptism by immersion of those who have personally trusted Christ as Savior and Lord, and the Lord's Supper as a memorial meal open to all who are part of the spiritual body of Christ. As Baptists, the congregation affirms the priesthood of all believers, soul competency in interpreting Scripture under the Holy Spirit, religious freedom, and the separation of church and state. Personal disciplines of Sunday worship attendance, devotional study and prayer, tithing, community, and witnessing and compassion are held up as faithful habits of every believer. The church also affirms the sanctity of human life from the womb and the biblical standard of marriage as the union of one man and one woman.
Getting to Karl Road
Karl Road Baptist Church sits at 5750 Karl Road in Columbus, Ohio 43229, with the main entrance and parking on the south side. General questions go to hello@karlroadbaptist.org, the lead pastor is reachable at nick@karlroadbaptist.org, and the church office can be reached at (614) 885-3929. Giving is available online through the church's giving page, and a quarterly prayer watch and monthly prayer and worship night keep the doors open for anyone who wants to seek God together.