Broadway Church History

Broadway United Methodist Church had its beginning in a neighborhood Sunday School which was organized in 1907, in a store building known then as Ed Jones Store. It was decided by the group attending this Sunday School to organize and build a church. The Church was organized in 1908, under the leadership of Reverend D.S. Bowles.

During May 1909, 45 members were received into the congregation. A church building was planned and erected at the corner of Laurel and Broadway, in case anyone is uncertain of the original location,it is now occupied by a car lot, the one at the corner of Broadway and the By-Pass. This may also help explain to the unknowing why you attend a church named Broadway that is located on Melrose Street.

Worship services were held in this building on the corner of Laurel Avenue and Broadway for about 50 years, until the congregation decided to launch another building program. Ground was broken on December 14, 1953, on land adjacent to the original building, for construction of a basement to be the beginning of the new church building. Worship services were conducted in the new basement, with Sunday School classes meeting in the original building and a nearby home. The commercial growth of this area of Bowling Green,
particularly along Laurel Avenue, soon to be known as "the By-Pass," made it extremely difficult, or impossible to obtain enough space to grow as the congregation would
like.

At an official Board meeting held in November 1958 with Reverend E. S. Denton as pastor, it was decided that the Broadway property should by sold and a new location obtained;
a location that would accommodate an expanding congregation. After sale of the Broadway property, worship services were continued in the basement, later moving to T.C. Cherry School, and to what was then -- Bowling Green High School, presently Bowling Green Junior High School.

The new location was to be on 4.25 acres on Elizabeth Avenue, part of what was known as the Lazarus Farm. On May 8, 1959, David S. Almand was awarded the contract for the first unit of the present building with Joseph Wilk selected as the architect. The cornerstone - laying ceremonies and dedication services were followed by open house on December 13, 1959 for this section. Broadway's own Walter McChesney served as builder for the project. Open house for two additional units was held in April 1964, in time to host the Louisville Annual Conference.

Due to the rapid growth of the church in the late 1990's, an addition and renovation was made of the sanctuary. This addition created a Welcome Center, an entrance from Melrose Street and additional parking. We have just completed a new building expansion that includes:

• 20 new classrooms and children's ministry space
• A multipurpose area for worship, fellowship, and recreation
• New office spaces
• A new conference room
• A remodeled choir room
• A new kitchen
• Additional parking

In it's long history, Broadway United Methodist Church has a rich heritage of dedicated Christians willing to serve their church. Our hope is that the future will be served by people
motivated by a similar dedication.

For information on the history of the United Methodist church please see: History of Church (official UMC site)