Our Story
1983-1990
October 16, 1983-Far Eastside Baptist Mission was formed under the leadership of Rev. Luther C. Hicks. Far Eastside was established to minister to
the spiritual needs of the congregation as well as to provide for the basic human needs of the congregation and community. Pastor Hicks died in July 1990.
1990-1993
October 28, 1990, Rev. Reginald B. Fletcher was called to Pastor at Far Eastside. The church was meeting at Beechwood Garden Center, 2915 Graham Street. Rev. Fletcher was installed as Pastor in February 1991 with a membership of 15 people. In January 1993 the church had to move out of the Beechwood Garden Center and relocated to 34th& Emerson where it shared a facility with two other churches. In May 1993 the church became registered with the state of Indiana and received its incorporation status and became Far Eastside Baptist Church.
1994-1999
In April 1994 the Women's Ministry, Sister's In Praise (S.I.P) was formed. In May 1994 the Lord blessed us to be able to purchase a one room building at 4934 E. 21st Street. As we moved into our new location our name changed to Living Word Baptist Church (I John 1:1- In the beginning was the Word and the Word was God and the Word became living flesh and dwelled among us). LWBC choir formed under the direction of musician Sylvia Hooks (five choir members) The membership had doubled in size and the Lord was allowing us to do great things in the community. Pastor Fletcher prayed mightily for men. He asked the Lord for five men that loved the Lord. In April of 1998 we purchased a house, which had fire damage, and the men came, we began tearing the house down and our Men’s’ Ministry- FBI-C (Faithful Brothers In Christ) took off.
2000-2005
In the summer of 2000, we purchased another house just north of the church and we began the process of rezoning the property and planning to build a new facility. We thank God that Otterbein United Methodist Church opened their doors for us to worship in their facility. This began our VBS partnership!! In January 2001 we hired a project manager and Pastor Fletcher became the general contractor for the church. September 9, 2001, we marched into our new church located at the old address and our membership continued to grow. In August of 2004 we purchased another house, which we have since converted into a youth annex and chapel. In July of 2005 we purchased a property north of the church for rental housing.
2006-2010
In June 2006 purchased a home to be used as a transitional housing unit. Our membership has continued to grow in number and ministry. History was made in March of 2006 when we ordained the first set of deacons; this was a spiritual and emotional time for all. Pastor Fletcher moved from being a bi-vocational Pastor and School Teacherl; which was an extension of the work God ordained to fulltime Pastoring and a plate full of new opportunities. In December 2009 we were blessed to assist the Baptist Center with Operation Christmas at Beechwood Gardens. September 27, 2010, LWBC Choir was in Verizon's How Sweet the Sound Competition (Chicago, IL) under the leadership of Director Donna Mathis. In May of 2010 the Food Pantry began outreach to the community one time per month under the leadership of Marvetta Grimes.
2011-2013
In January 2011- our Nusing Home Outreach began under the leadership of Sis. Wanda Cooper. In February 2012 we had our Super-Bowl Ministry Fair! Our marriage ministry and singles ministry began, and our Sunday School began to grow. We continued with Bible Study every Wednesday and a First Friday -Hour of Power Prayer & Fellowship. In 2012 Pastor Fletcher was elected as the first African American president of Crossroads Southern Baptist Convention. Our leadership team attended the Lifeway Black Church Retreat. We were blessed with 30 souls to join our membership in 2012; 10 baptisms. On December 16, 2012 4 deacons were ordained. In November 2013, 12 young ladies begin our Beautiful Feet Dance Ministry under the direction of LaQueda Finch.
2014 -2017
We thank God for the partnerships we are developing in our community. We thank God for grant funding from the Indianapolis Center for Congregations to upgrade our computers and media equipment.
2018-2022
COVID hit, we thank God that we continued to worship God with a praise team and only 20 people in the building. We utilized Facebook to stream our service live and did occasional fellowships in the parking lot.
2023- present
Groundbreaking and completion of Providence Place Apartments - 15 units for Veterans and low-income families. The Lord is growing us as we build partnerships and stand firm as we enlighten hearts and minds for the glory of God. We developed our Mental Wellness Hub from grant funding from the Indianapolis Center for Congregations.
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