An Old Louisville Congregation Rooted in the Word
Third Avenue Baptist Church gathers each Sunday at 1726 South 3rd Street in the heart of Old Louisville, one of the largest historic preservation districts of Victorian architecture in the United States. The neighborhood, framed by the University of Louisville to the north and Spalding University to the south, gives the church a steady rhythm of college students, longtime residents, and young families. Within walking distance of duPont Manual High School, Cochran Elementary, and Noe Middle School, the congregation has woven itself into the daily life of the surrounding community, serving nearby schools through reading programs, homework help, and athletics while also partnering with the Old Louisville Neighborhood Council to advocate for the historic streetscape.
The church's identity centers on seven stated priorities that shape everything from Sunday gatherings to global mission trips: a clear gospel, faithful preaching, deep discipleship, passionate worship, bold prayer, constant evangelism, and urgent mission. Members summarize this vision with the conviction that loving God well means loving their neighbors well, both across the street and across the oceans.
What a Sunday Looks Like
Sunday School classes for every age begin at 9:30 AM and run until 10:25 AM. Adults can choose from several teaching styles. Line by Line walks through a book of the Bible in a lecture format, while Inductive uses guided discussion over the same kind of material. A Topical class takes up subjects of particular interest to the congregation, such as biblical sexuality or systematic theology. A rotating Third in Four Membership Class introduces newcomers to the church's history, statement of faith, covenant, and elders' vision in a four-week format. Youth from seventh grade up and children from age two through fifth grade gather in their own classes during the same hour, with the children's program built around the Gospel Project curriculum.
The Sunday Morning Worship service starts at 10:45 AM and is followed by a Sunday Evening Worship service at 5:00 PM. The building sits at the corner of South 3rd Street, and when the main lot fills up, drivers are pointed to duPont Manual High School's parking lot about a three-minute walk away, with entrances on both 2nd Street and Cardinal Boulevard. First-time guests who fill out a Connect Card are reached out to shortly after their visit, and visitors who want a low-pressure introduction can begin with the Third in Four class.
Children and Youth at Third Avenue
The children's ministry, called 3ABC Kids, cares for children from birth through fifth grade and is overseen by Erin Robertson. Nursery care is provided during all three Sunday services, and volunteers are trained and vetted members of the church. During Sunday School, children from toddlers through fifth grade are divided into age-designated classrooms and taught Word-centered lessons from Truth:78 by a consistent team of teachers. During the 10:45 AM service, an optional Gospel Project offering is available for junior kindergarten through second grade, with children in junior kindergarten and kindergarten able to attend the whole service while older children join for the sermon portion only. Third graders and above are expected to remain with their families in the main hall.
For nursing mothers and families with young children, a private room on the lower level (B05) offers a live feed of the service, allowing little ones the freedom to move and make noise as needed. The 3ABC Kids check-in desk, located in the Nursery Wing, handles registration for visitors and recurring sign-in for returning families through a self-guided station using a phone number.
The youth ministry, 3ABC Youth, is led by Jacob Southerland and serves students in sixth through twelfth grade. Sunday mornings from 9:30 to 10:25 AM feature a youth-specific Sunday School class. On Wednesday nights from 7:00 to 9:00 PM, students gather for Youth Group, a ministry whose stated goal is straightforward: to have fun and to take each student seriously by teaching them the Bible. Wednesday nights pause only for members' meetings. Throughout the year, retreats and special events supplement the weekly schedule.
Across Campus: A College Ministry Next Door
Just down the road from the University of Louisville, Across Campus is a ministry of Third Avenue that exists to reach students and build them up as faithful representatives of Christ on campus, in the church, the workplace, and around the world. The staff includes Regional Director Isaac Stiles, Women's Director Stephanie Stiles, and a team of campus staff that includes Julianne English, Ethan English, Jake Banta, Tarry Dunn, Ross Boultinghouse, Timothy Seminoff, and Brooke Gilbert, with Courtney Allan handling accounting. Jake Banta's own journey illustrates the ministry's heart: he encountered the gospel seriously in middle school, joined Third Avenue at the end of his freshman year at the University of Louisville, and after graduating in 2024 joined the Across Campus staff to see students come to faith and grow as disciples of Christ.
Pastoral Leadership and Elders
Greg Gilbert has served as Senior Pastor since 2010. A Yale graduate who grew up in a Christian home and was baptized at age nine, Gilbert came to Louisville after seminary and has shaped the congregation's emphasis on expository preaching and gospel clarity. He is joined on the pastoral team by Brandon Shafer, Associate Pastor for Discipleship, who joined the staff in August 2018 after time in Oklahoma, seminary at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and ministry with refugees in Greece. Mike Carnicella, Associate Pastor for Administration, has been at Third Avenue since 2010 and has served in a progression of roles from Pastoral Assistant to his current position. Justin Woods joined the pastoral staff in 2023 as Associate Pastor for Counseling after fourteen years as a public school teacher and a season of serving as an elder.
The elders who share governance of the church include Alex Duke, a Louisville native who also serves as the managing editor for 9Marks and holds an M.Div. from Southern Seminary; Ryan Robertson, who is completing a Doctor of Missiology at Southern Seminary and serves as president of the missions agency Reaching & Teaching; Sam Crosby, who moved to the city in 2004 for seminary and returned in 2019; Edward Heinze, an M.Div. graduate of Southern Seminary now serving in institutional advancement there; Joel Lind, who joined the church in 2010 after two years in Asia; Mark Jordan, a University of Kentucky graduate and trustee of Southern Seminary; Chris Gehman, a Cedarville and Southern Seminary alumnus; Nathan Whitmore, a Wheaton graduate and Louisville physician; Mack Stiles, the longtime church planter who returned from Erbil Baptist Church in northern Iraq in 2020; John Lovett, a Louisville attorney; Warren Mays, a retired Deputy U.S. Marshal and former church planter in Edinburgh; and Jeff Norton, a retired commercial banker.
Counseling, Discipleship, and Training
Justin Woods leads the counseling ministry of the church, and Mary Woods serves as Women's Counselor. Discipleship also takes shape through Home Groups that meet during the week and through a Home Group Leader Training program lasting three months. The pastoral internship runs four months and is designed for men who sense a call to vocational ministry, whether as missionaries or as a future elder at Third Avenue.
Two long-form training opportunities shape the church's wider ministry. The Preaching Colloquium is a structured program for men preparing to proclaim the gospel wherever God leads. The Ecclesiology Seminar is a fifteen-week course built on the conviction that God's Word shapes and orders God's household, and every member is encouraged to apply. The Simeon Trust Workshops offer additional instruction in biblical preaching.
Local Outreach in Old Louisville
The Mercy ministry mobilizes church members to serve the vulnerable and marginalized in the city, motivated by the belief that all people are made in the image of God. Members serve alongside the Old Louisville Neighborhood Council, advocating for the historic architecture and streetscapes that make the neighborhood distinctive. They support neighborhood schools through reading programs, homework help, and athletics, and they encourage members to bring creative ideas for serving neighbors. Across Campus extends the local outreach footprint by engaging the thousands of students who attend the nearby universities.
Global Mission and Church Planting
Third Avenue identifies itself as a missionary-sending church, and global partnerships reach into East Asia, South East Asia, and Central Asia. Members support long-term missionaries, send short-term teams multiple times a year, and regularly commission new families who are relocating overseas to take the gospel to the nations.
The church also invests in church planting and revitalization in the United States. In Richmond, Virginia, members of Third Avenue have relocated to help launch a new work, with the Smethurst family serving on the launch team. In the suburbs of Washington, D.C., the church has partnered in a revitalization effort. In Twin Falls, Idaho, the church supports the Scotts in their planting initiative, and members are invited to pray, give, visit, or even relocate to join any of these teams.
Beliefs, Covenant, and Constitution
The congregation holds to a Statement of Faith summarized directly from Scripture and articulates what the Bible teaches about God, the Bible, sin, the church, and related doctrines. The Church Covenant is a set of mutual promises among members, committing each one to the good of the body even as the body commits to their good. The Constitution sets out the procedures by which the church elects leaders, receives members, removes members, and orders its life together. All three documents are available as PDFs, and prospective members are walked through them during the Third in Four class.
Sermons and Giving
Sermons are recorded each week and made available through a sermon archive, with the current series working through Genesis under Greg Gilbert's preaching. The archive is also distributed as a podcast through Libsyn. Giving is available through PushPay, where members and visitors can give online. A Connect Card lets newcomers share their information so the church can follow up.
Getting Connected
Visitors are welcomed at 1726 South 3rd Street, with Sunday School at 9:30 AM, Morning Worship at 10:45 AM, and Evening Worship at 5:00 PM. The church office can be reached at 502-634-3673 or info@thirdavenue.org. Newcomers who want to learn more can fill out a Connect Card or sign up for the Third in Four Membership Class to walk through the church's history, beliefs, and vision.