Oak Park Baptist Church sits on Allison Lane in Jeffersonville, Indiana, just across the river from Louisville. The congregation describes itself as a family of people who have been redeemed by the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and it has organized everything it does around a single sentence: Loving Jesus, Loving People, and Helping People Love Jesus. That motto shows up in everything from the welcome card at the front door to the name of the mission-support fund that helps members go on trips.
From a 1954 Church Plant to a Four-Pillar Family
Oak Park began in 1954 as a church plant sponsored by Ninth and O Baptist Church. Walnut Street Baptist Church took over as the supporting congregation in 1956 and bought the land where the building still stands. The current structure was built in 1959, with an addition in 1980 and renovations in 2004. The congregation calls this a legacy of church planting and Spirit-given growth, and it continues that legacy by helping start new churches in Pittsburgh and Toronto.
Everything at Oak Park is sorted into four pillars: Worship, Community, Discipleship, and Mission. Worship is described as adoring God the Father through Jesus the Son by the Holy Spirit as prescribed in God's Word. Community means devoting themselves to the practice of God's Word in fellowship with one another. Discipleship seeks to equip the church through God's Word for Christ-like maturity and Spirit-empowered ministry. Mission is declaring the Gospel of Jesus by the Holy Spirit's power among all peoples for God's glory.
Beliefs and Distinctives
Oak Park subscribes to the Baptist Faith and Message 2000 and has published a supplemental statement on Marriage and Human Sexuality. On top of those doctrinal documents, the church has named six distinctives that shape its culture.
- Regenerate Church Membership. Only born-again believers are admitted into membership, both for the health of the body and for the integrity of Christ's name.
- Plurality of Elders. Biblically qualified men (from 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1) are appointed to the office of elder by the congregation, and the church is led by these pastors as a united body.
- Intentional Pastoral Care. Pastors commit to living transparently with the body and remaining accessible to the entire congregation.
- Biblical Sexuality. The church teaches that humanity was created as either male or female, that men and women are equal in dignity but distinct in role, and grounds this in passages like Genesis 1-2, Ephesians 5, and Colossians 3.
- Biblical Exposition. The Bible drives the preaching. Sermons move through books of the Bible verse by verse, with the main point of the message drawn from the main point of the text.
- Church Discipline. Following the pattern in Matthew 18, Galatians 6, and 1 Thessalonians 5, members found in unrepentant sin are lovingly pursued in a process the church describes as formative, corrective, and restorative.
A Sunday in Jeffersonville
Sunday mornings at Oak Park have two parts. Discipleship Classes start at 9:00 AM and run for an hour, with classes offered for preschoolers, children, students, and adults. Adult classes rotate quarterly through five tracks: Bible, Theology and History, Christian Disciplines, Relationships, and Leadership. The men's class uses the Bible Studies for Life curriculum, and the women's class uses the Explore the Bible series.
The Worship Gathering begins at 10:30 AM and usually runs 75 to 90 minutes. The order includes reading the Word, preaching the Word, singing the Word, praying the Word, giving, and observing Communion and Baptism as set out in Acts 2:42. The music is deliberately mixed to reflect the different ages and backgrounds in the room. Songs are chosen to be gospel-centered and theologically rich while still singable, drawn from a range of styles old and new. The church points listeners to ministries like Sovereign Grace Music, Keith and Kristyn Getty, and Matt Boswell as a guide to the breadth of the music, and posts the weekly set list on Spotify.
Children from birth through Pre-K are cared for free of charge during both the Discipleship hour and the Worship Gathering. Visitors can stop at the Welcome Center just inside the main entrance for directions and a welcoming gift. Guest parking sits immediately beyond the overhang at the main entrance.
Rooted and theDispersion: Wednesday Nights
Midweek ministry at Oak Park follows the Greater Clark County Schools calendar, running through the Fall and Spring semesters.
Rooted is the children's ministry for kids ages four through fifth grade, meeting Wednesday nights from 6:30 to 8:00 PM. Four- and five-year-old preschoolers join the same hour for music, games, Bible lessons, and snacks. All volunteers have passed a national background check and are trained in child protection policies, and a check-in system with minimum points of entry keeps the children's wing secure.
theDispersion is the student ministry for sixth through twelfth graders, also meeting Wednesday nights from 6:30 to 8:00 PM in theLOFT, the student ministry's multi-purpose room. The hour includes a short game time in the gym, a worship service led by a student band, a twenty-five minute message from God's Word, and small-group discussion split by age and gender. Open gym runs from 5:30 to 6:30 PM. The church describes this weekly gathering as its greatest outreach to the surrounding community.
Preschool, Kids, and Students
The Preschool Ministry covers children from birth through Pre-K and includes three pieces: Sunday School during the 9:00 AM Discipleship hour, Extended Care during the 10:30 AM Worship Gathering, and the preschool track of Rooted on Wednesday nights. Associate Pastor Dalton Mitchell oversees the Preschool and Kids ministries, with Beth Sumners leading the Preschool team and Mandy O'Brien leading the Kids team.
The Kids Ministry walks grade-schoolers K through 5th on a three-year chronological journey through the entire Bible during the 9:00 AM Discipleship hour. On purpose, Oak Park does not pull grade-schoolers out of the Worship Gathering into a separate children's program. The church wants families in the room together and provides Kids Worship Guides at the library next to the Welcome Center so parents can teach their children how to participate in the service.
The Student Ministry gathers sixth through twelfth graders for theDispersion on Wednesday nights, for Sunday Discipleship Classes at 9:00 AM, and for quarterly retreats, summer camp, service projects, and fellowships. Parenting classes and recommended books are offered to help parents shepherd their teens at home.
Men, Women, and Community Groups
Men's ministry at Oak Park is led by Kirby O'Brien and centers on quarterly gatherings built around Scripture, prayer, and fellowship. Past events have included a corn hole tournament with a cookout and a men's campout at a local state park, organized around the idea that iron sharpens iron.
Women's ministry is designed to connect women of all ages through the study and application of Scripture, discipleship, prayer, and service. Allison Preston oversees discipleship dinner groups, midweek Bible studies on Wednesday nights during the semester, and an annual Women's Retreat each fall.
Community Groups are the primary circles of belonging at Oak Park. Modeled on Acts 2:42, they meet in homes across Southern Indiana on different days and times for fellowship, prayer, and the practice of God's Word. Anyone interested can ask a pastor for help finding a group that fits.
Mission at Home and Around the World
Oak Park's mission work is organized locally, domestically, and globally. Locally, the church partners with Re:Center Ministries (founded in 1881 to serve the homeless and hurting of greater Louisville), Choices Life Resource Center (a Christ-centered pregnancy care center offering testing, ultrasound, counseling, parenting education, and STI testing), the Clark County Jail through once-a-month team visits, and Jeffersonville High School football. Wednesday-night Rooted and theDispersion are also described as mission, opening the building to neighbors in the community.
Domestically, the church partners with the North American Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention to plant new churches and help revitalize existing ones, including a church plant in Pittsburgh called The Church at Mon River.
Globally, Oak Park partners with the International Mission Board. The church sent out missionary Liz Hershey in August 2022 to serve among an unreached Muslim people group in the North Africa-Middle East region, and supports a church-plant partnership with Emmanuel Baptist Church East in Toronto, a multicultural Hispanic church led by Pastor J.D. Fasolino that draws people from 20 different Spanish-speaking countries. The church has an Antioch Fund members can apply to for mission-trip financial support.
Becoming a Member
Membership at Oak Park is treated as a covenant commitment, not a roster entry. People interested in joining sign up for Discovering Oak Park, a quarterly class that covers beliefs, distinctives, and ministry connections. After the class, candidates meet with one of the elders for an interview and share their testimony before being presented to the congregation for affirmation.
Sermons, the App, and the Home Devotional Guide
Sermons are recorded each week and made available on the church's YouTube channel, on Apple Podcasts, on Spotify, and through the Church Center app. The Church Center app also handles online giving, an online directory, child check-in, event info, and registrations. Each Monday morning, the church releases a five-day Home Devotional Guide built around the previous Sunday's sermon, with sections to Read, Ask, Sing, and Pray, designed to be used privately, as a family, or in a community group. A 2026 community Bible Reading Plan is also available, paced at five days a week to make it sustainable across the year.