THE CHURCH
Shelbyville First Baptist in Shelbyville, Kentucky
THE CHALLENGE
Create a unique family-oriented Christmas event.
ONE BIG IDEA
Combine miniature golf and the Christmas story.
Senior Pastor Dan Reid of Shelbyville First Baptist in Shelbyville, Kentucky, was brainstorming ideas for a Christmas outreach with Chad Lynn, children’s pastor at the church. Enter longtime church member Tiffanie Mueller. She pitched an idea for creating a Christmas-themed golf course at the church. The pastors thought that was a fun idea and decided to give it a try.
Tiffanie enlisted her engineer-minded husband, Matt, to develop a nine-hole layout for the church gym. They pulled it all together in about a month with the help of dozens of church members. Sunday school classes and other groups “adopted” a hole and decorated it for Christmas, and with average Sunday attendance at around 260 at the church, there was a good pool of potential volunteers to staff the event.
“Several people commented how they appreciated opportunities to serve,” says Tiffanie.
The church promoted the golf night during the town’s annual Christmas parade by handing out postcards that announced the free event on the front and featured a golf scorecard on the back.
Reid shares, “There’s nothing like Putt-Putt in this area, and people were really intrigued.”
A variety of activities kept the 400 or so visitors that came busy before and after their trek through the course. Hot chocolate and other refreshments were donated, and two holiday-themed photo stations were available. Kids could do simple crafts, and then sit down in the story corner with Reid and his wife, Angie, to hear the Christmas story.
The excitement from the volunteers and community participants was palpable. Shelbyville resident Courtney Bailey says, “Our kids loved all the themes of each hole, and they had a blast playing golf. They loved the snacks and enjoyed hearing the Christmas story.”
Planning is underway for Christmas 2025.
“We purchased adjustable putters, silicone surface holes, PVC pipe and other items we can reuse,” says Matt. Tiffanie dyed the donated golf balls to add some color. Total cost for the essential materials was less than $1,000.
While they haven’t noticed any newcomers to the church as a direct result of the event, Reid and the Muellers agree that mini golf started conversations and opened connections with people in the community.