For more than 40 years, Southeast Christian Church operated from a single location, serving members from near and far. When members and attendees wanted to attend service or participate in a special event, they all did the same thing, they drove to church. With trends in church movement changing, church expansion is also. Now the church is coming to the people.

When Senior Minister Dave Stone took over the reins in 2006, he had a vision to expand the church, but in a different way. Church trends revealed the need to keep people connected in their community and so the mission began to expand the church in key areas where expansion seemed beneficial. Since this mission began, satellite campuses have opened up in Southern Indiana and in Crestwood. Their newest location on St. Andrews Church Road in Southwest Louisville opened its doors October 26, with more than 2,000 people in attendance to mark the expansion of its fourth location in eight years.

The search for a new campus site began in the fall of 2011, and in 2012, plans were announced to build a 53,000 square foot campus near Dixie Highway. Details of the new campus included 1,100 seats, eight preschool classrooms, a student space for high school juniors and seniors and a full-service cafe. Attendees will view HD video broadcast formats of the sermons from the main Blankenbaker Campus from high-definition screens, with live worship and staff participation on-site weekly.

Southeast Christian Church will work together with Christian Academy of Louisville's southwest campus, which is built adjacent to the school and connects through a door near the preschool classrooms. They will share resources like the gym and the preschool classrooms. Former high school minister James Hauser will serve as the Southwest Campus Pastor.

After eight years working with young adults, Hauser felt like he wasn't as effective as he used to be and felt he related more to the parents than he did the students. He always knew his intentions were to lead a church in some way and began searching for opportunities. So, the decision to take the position seemed natural, especially after spending time getting to know the people in the community along Dixie Highway.

Hauser and his team have spent time in that community getting to know the needs of its people and recruiting volunteers. Hauser's goal is to create a place of worship where people will find Jesus and feel at home.

"I long for people to really connect with the church as a body, but also with Jesus, and I realize that if nobody connects with the one or two people that walk in and quietly walk out, the chances of us being able to really introduce them to Jesus are slim," said Pastor Hauser.

Services at the Southwest Campus are at 9:15 and 11 a.m. every Sunday at 8301 St. Andrews Church Road.

Louisville Switching welcomes the new Southwest Campus of Southeast Christian Church to the community, which is four miles from our Riverport headquarters. We invite anybody without a church home to give it a try.