THE CHURCH
Lebanon Baptist Church in Lebanon, Kentucky
THE CHALLENGE
Find an unconventional way to reach out to people.
ONE BIG IDEA
Hold churchwide baking parties, then deliver the baked goods to neighbors in need.
When the members of Lebanon Baptist Church in Lebanon, Kentucky, want to bless their neighbors, they often turn to food. Last Thanksgiving, church members walked the neighborhoods around the church to deliver pumpkin pies, no strings attached. And just a few months ago, they gave freshly baked cookies to the local hospital, area health clinics and a retirement home.
But the treats didn’t come prepackaged from a store. Lebanon Baptist used this outreach opportunity to deepen relationships between the church and the community—and within the church walls too. They hosted baking parties in private homes or at the church kitchen, gathering small groups of people from various backgrounds who didn’t necessarily spend time together to bake the treats. The goodies were then boxed up and loaded in the church van.
Last November’s outreach distributed more than 175 pies to neighbors right before Thanksgiving.
“It has opened doors to conversation and prayer,” says Lead Pastor Craig Dunbar of this unique outreach, adding that the delivery people always introduce themselves as members of Lebanon Baptist and offer the food as a blessing.
This sort of outreach is fairly new to the church, but it’s not new to Dunbar, who has been feeding people on his own since he came to Christ a decade ago. Dunbar, a former addict, got clean in 2015. As someone who has lived on the fringes, he always has had a heart for those who are down-and-out. He once bought a hot dog cart and used it to feed people without homes.
Dunbar has spent time in the rougher neighborhoods of Louisville, Kentucky, and even as far away as Alaska, doing street ministry, offering prayer and connecting people in crisis to resources. Many churches would call him asking for street ministry advice.
“We took what resources we had and what we knew of, and we loved on [those in need] with the love of Christ,” he explains.
After a year in Alaska, as an interim and then associate pastor, Dunbar received a call from Lebanon Baptist—and his native Kentucky. He accepted the lead pastor position, while noting that his T-shirt, jeans and Converse All Stars with bright laces were a far cry from the older church’s suit-and-tie history.
“They were used to very traditional views of doing church,” he notes. “I’m church unplugged.
“Historically, [church members] really have never done [church like] that,” he adds, “so it was uncomfortable for them, but they have caught on to the vision and slowly come on board.”
When Dunbar arrived in February 2024, the church sat at about 30 attendees on a typical Sunday, mostly elderly folks. Now, a little more than a year later at the time of writing, more families have joined and attendance is approaching 100.
In addition to baking and delivering pies and cookies, the church also has baked and delivered bread, picked up trash around town, handed out grocery store gift cards, and fed people without homes and those who are hungry every Wednesday night.
“Outreach is so important,” Dunbar underscores. “Churches seem to have an expectation that people need to come to us when, in reality, Jesus said to go and make disciples. We need to change that paradigm.”
He notes that the baked goods outreaches in particular give people from the church an opportunity to pray for their neighbors on their doorstep, and to share the love of Christ in a practical way. Many of the church members have never done that before.
Located in central Kentucky, 63 miles southeast of Louisville, Lebanon is known for its bourbon distilleries and its Ham Days Festival and Tractor Show. In the past year, the community has taken notice of Lebanon Baptist and has been welcoming of the church’s renewed presence.
“When you do things, people notice,” Dunbar observes. “And who doesn’t like a pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving?”