Rooted on the West Side of Indianapolis
On a quiet stretch of South Lynhurst Drive on Indianapolis's west side, Lynhurst Baptist Church has been part of the neighborhood for generations. The building still opens its front door to people who need food, the lower-level kitchen still hums on Wednesday evenings, and the parking lot fills weekly with cars bringing both longtime members and neighbors who are simply hungry. Lead Pastor Ben Wakefield describes the church's calling with a line that has become a quiet motto: God loves us where we are, and God loves us too much to leave us there.
What sets Lynhurst Baptist apart is the way an ordinary week is built around neighbors in practical need. A free drive-thru meal on Wednesday evenings, a Christ-centered recovery program that runs multiple times a week, a monthly food pantry where families load groceries into trunks without paperwork or identification, and a children's ministry run by a dedicated Children's Pastor all flow from the same conviction: the Christian life is learned together, not figured out alone.
A Sunday That Centers Worship
Worship happens on Sunday mornings at 10:30 am at 1250 S. Lynhurst Dr. The hour gathers the church to pray, listen to Scripture, and be formed together as a community. The tone the church describes is unhurried. Members are invited to come as they are, whether they have been part of a church for years, are exploring faith for the first time, or are returning to faith after time away. There is room for honest questions and a posture of humility rather than pressure or performance.
Wednesday Nights That Feed Body and Soul
Wednesday is the busiest day at Lynhurst Baptist, and the rhythm is simple. From 5:00 to 6:00 pm, volunteers assemble and hand out free drive-thru meals in the church's parking lot. Plates of hot food, fresh produce, and extras go to anyone who pulls up. No ID. No requirements. No questions asked. The meal runs every Wednesday and regularly serves neighbors from across the west side.
Directly after the meal, from 6:30 to 8:30 pm, the church opens the building for Celebrate Recovery, a Christ-centered twelve-step program for anyone struggling with hurts, habits, or hang-ups. Celebrate Recovery is led at Lynhurst Baptist by Assistant Pastor Eric Phillippe together with Children's Pastor Veronica Phillippe, who serve as the program's leaders. The Wednesday gathering is the flagship, but additional Celebrate Recovery meetings are also held throughout the week, including Tuesday at 11:00 am, Friday at 7:00 pm, and Saturday at 7:00 pm, so participants can find a time that fits their schedule.
The pattern, food first and recovery second, is intentional. People often arrive hungry and leave carrying both a meal and an open door.
A Monthly Food Pantry Without the Paperwork
Once a month, the church hosts a drive-thru food pantry on Saturday mornings from 8:00 to 10:00 am. Volunteers load groceries directly into car trunks. No ID is required and there are no requirements to receive. Recent distributions have included bananas, garden tomatoes, and a mix of produce and shelf staples alongside the prepared food saved from the Wednesday meal.
In Pastor Ben's words from a recent reflection, the morning he showed up with a hot coffee in a red gas-station cup, met a man who needed food on the front steps, and ended up unloading hundreds of pounds of donations in a hot basement kitchen alongside neighbors and volunteers, is a fair summary of how food ministry actually looks week to week at Lynhurst Baptist. By the time he thought about it again, his coffee had gone cold.
Celebrate Recovery as a Pillar of Ministry
Celebrate Recovery is the longest-running weekly outreach at the church besides Sunday worship. Its stated purpose is to find God's healing power through the Eight Recovery Principles found in the Beatitudes and the Christ-centered Twelve Steps. The program welcomes anyone who has ever struggled. As the church notes plainly: everyone has at least one hurt, habit, or hang-up, and if a person feels they don't, the first step in recovery is to step out of denial.
Both Eric and Veronica Phillippe lead the ministry together, blending pastoral care with the practical rhythms of a twelve-step meeting. The program is intentionally open and faith-based rather than clinical, and it has become a doorway into the rest of the church for many who first arrive on a Wednesday evening.
Children and the Next Generation
Veronica Phillippe serves as Children's Pastor, responsible for shaping how the youngest members of the church are discipled. Children are welcomed into the life of the church rather than separated from it, and the church's posture is family-friendly and unhurried. Parents are encouraged to bring their kids as they are, trusting that formation happens across generations together.
Three Doors for Three Journeys
Lynhurst Baptist organizes much of its ongoing connection into three online groups that anyone can join. Each one gathers around a different rhythm of church life:
- Worship & Community Life, a space to share Sunday reflections, prayer requests, and community moments.
- Recovery & Support Hub, a place for those connected to Celebrate Recovery or walking through personal struggles to find encouragement.
- Spiritual Growth Journey, a slower lane for those wanting to dig into spiritual formation, contemplative practices, and the church's written reflections.
The groups are open, online, and welcoming, so members and seekers can keep in touch between Sundays.
A Quiet Practice of Contemplative Prayer
Alongside its louder Wednesday rhythm, the church offers a slower practice through occasional Contemplative Prayer Retreat Days held at CoHatch on Central Avenue. Recent retreats have run Saturday mornings from 10:00 am to noon and were designed to give participants extended space to slow down, be present, and learn contemplative practices rooted in Christian tradition. These retreats are an extension of the church's stated belief that spiritual formation happens slowly through attentiveness, trust, and practice rather than pressure or performance.
The Team
Lynhurst Baptist is a small staff serving a wide community.
- Ben Wakefield serves as Lead Pastor, preaching on Sundays and writing the church's blog reflections under the heading Noticing Grace.
- Eric Phillippe serves as Assistant Pastor and co-leads Celebrate Recovery.
- Veronica Phillippe serves as Children's Pastor and co-leads Celebrate Recovery alongside her husband Eric.
The three pastors are supported by Phyllis Newman, who serves as the church secretary and keeps the building's front desk and communications running week to week.
What Lynhurst Baptist Believes
The church's statement of belief is short and pastoral. Four commitments shape its identity:
- God's grace is at work in people before they recognize it.
- Faith grows through worship, prayer, Scripture, and relationships.
- The church is called to be present with people in real life, not just speak about faith.
- Following Jesus shapes how people love, serve, forgive, and seek justice.
The church also values thoughtful faith and honest questions, welcoming people who are exploring or returning to faith. Worship is described as a place to pray, listen, and be formed. Service is described as feeding neighbors and walking alongside them. Recovery, spiritual direction, and prayer are described as long, slow practices rather than quick fixes.
Getting Involved
There are three main ways to plug in at Lynhurst Baptist. Volunteering helps with food programs and outreach. Joining a group opens the door to Bible study, the Recovery program, or a serving team. Giving supports both the ongoing ministries and the community food and recovery work, with online donations available in one-time, weekly, monthly, or yearly options.
For first-time visitors, the church keeps things simple. Sunday worship is at 10:30 am. The Wednesday Night Meal runs from 5:00 to 6:00 pm and is the easiest way to meet the church without an appointment. Celebrate Recovery follows the meal on Wednesday evenings and is open to anyone.
Staying Connected Online
Worship services, reflections, and event information are shared through the church's social media pages and blog. The Noticing Grace blog, written by Lead Pastor Ben Wakefield, offers weekly written reflections on faith, formation, and everyday life as invitations to slow down and pay attention. A video gallery on the church's home page carries recent worship and ministry content for those who want to follow along between visits.
Across all of it, the church keeps returning to its simplest invitation: there is space here to worship, to serve, to rest, and to listen for what God may be doing in your life, whether you walk through the door on a Sunday morning or pull up in your car on a Wednesday evening with an empty trunk and a full week behind you.