When Amanda Wagoner-Meade became Senior Minister of First Christian Church of Louisville, KY in January 2022, the community of faith was in recovery from the worst days of the COVID-19 pandemic.

It had significant budget issues and a long list of maintenance tasks that needed to be completed. The latter couldn’t be addressed due to the former—and then the ceiling literally caved in.

With our loan services and capital campaign guidance, this congregation not only has a new roof, it also has more tools and confidence to face future challenges.

Under one roof

First Christian Church (FCC) of Louisville was originally located in the downtown core, but its current place of worship dates to 1975.

As the structure aged, the faith community delayed maintenance.

“This is just what we do as churches—we wait,” Amanda explains. “We assume when it’s time, we’ll have what we need. Sometimes we do, sometimes we don’t.”

FCC Louisville’s ceiling would leak water into the sanctuary, atrium, choir room, and chapel every time it rained. Amanda began to speak with our Senior Director of Services Rev. Richard Williams about getting support from the denomination to repair the damage, but was hesitant due to FCC’s deficit. Worshipers were already gathering in the gym due to the sanctuary’s broken HVAC, and she couldn’t see how it was possible for them to raise funds to fix the roof on top of that.

That all changed when one Sunday Amanda walked into the atrium and part of the ceiling was on the floor.

“My conversations with Richard were dragging along because I wanted to take the time to empower my admin finance team,” she clarifies. “So things were going very, very slow, and then they went very, very fast.”

Amanda and her team were already applying for a loan from Disciples Church Extension Fund (DCEF) to replace the roof, but after reviewing their finances, Rev. Williams suggested they conduct a DCEF-led capital fundraising campaign (CFC) as well.

“I felt anxious because I just didn’t understand how it was going to work. I had been a member of a congregation that had conducted a capital campaign before, but it was on its third cycle of a multi-million-dollar one. I had never been the primary pastor of a congregation that was starting its own fundraising campaign from the beginning,” she recalls. “Whenever I would talk to Richard, he would assure me saying, ‘This is going to work. We’re not going to ask anything of you that can’t be done.’ At some point I realized that I had to let go and have faith that it would be the way God’s Spirit is supposed to move through us.”

In May, First Christian took out the loan and replaced their entire roof. Meanwhile, volunteers were divided up into teams for the CFC, the goal of which was to raise $200,000 to cover the cost of the roof replacement. Amanda joined the prayer and worship team, responsible for asking congregants, staff, and others affected by FCC’s presence in the neighborhood to write a devotion.

“For the very first time in 20 years of ministry, every single person we approached said ‘yes’ immediately,” she says. “One of the biggest gifts that came out of this was that everybody wanted to tell good stories about this place. They wanted to share how meaningful this congregation is.”

A love that restores

As the campaign’s prayer and worship team collected devotions, they began to see that the church was valued for the kind of care and community that it offers, as well as for inviting everyone to come as they are to the open table, even if that’s not entirely full of faith. While stories came from some of FCC’s oldest members, the ones that came from some of its youngest were the most poignant for Amanda. When she took over from the congregation’s longtime pastor, it was important for her that families had access to Children Worship & Wonder.

“I really want congregations to not only embrace kids but encourage them to be themselves in worship. I assume all baby noises and shouts are just kiddos ‘amen-ing’ whatever I’m saying, so we should be thrilled,” she laughs.

To that end, FCC provides a table in the front of its sanctuary’s pews, where children are welcome to sit and do crafts. Every week, they lead FCC’s children’s blessing (instead of a children’s moment) and sometimes they even join adults in saying the words of institution.

While Amanda describes this relatively recent development as a learning curve for FCC, she knew it could be done because the faith community was already committed to serving children across the city. By partnering with the local Build-A-Bed organization at Christmas, the congregation assembles beds for kids who don’t have anywhere to sleep. The children of FCC get in on the action too, learning how to safely use a drill during construction.

“When I went the first year, I brought my daughter, who would have been eight at the time,” Amanda remembers. “She loved being empowered.”

Building the future of FCC Louisville

On June 8, the congregation launched its campaign.

Members of the CFC team created a visual that tracked the amount of giving pledges each week. While the congregation watched the numbers climb, energy and excitement grew as they realized that there was such a large buy-in from the community. By June 29, the church had raised $209,000.

“FCC Louisville is poised for a dynamic move in its ministry journey. The capital campaign simply served as the catalyst to generate momentum for that move. FCC’s future is greater than raising funds, it’s rooted in creating radical welcome,” Rev. Williams points out. “All its incredible leadership needed was the faith to walk on water. DCEF believes that true partnership is more than financial, but spiritual as well.”

When she ran into Rev. Williams a month later at General Assembly, Amanda admitted that he was right. Not only had FCC met its fundraising goal, but it had exceeded it by $9,000.

“Richard did such a good job of theologically grounding the campaign,” Amanda adds. “Ministry in 2025 is hard and has been hard for the past five years, so having DCEF bring hope into circumstances that feel overwhelming, to walk with us as we do something so extraordinary, feels like a real partnership.”

Today, the congregation is making payments on its loan—and is more proactive about addressing building issues.

“Being able to do something so big together showed what we’re capable of. The whole time I’ve been here, I’ve worked with laity who are thoughtful, committed, and have taken on some heavy, serious challenges with such grace and love for their congregation and this community,” she concludes. “And we’re grateful that it doesn’t leak when it rains anymore!”

DCEF provides the know-how your faith community needs to execute a successful capital fundraising campaign. Contact your regional Building and Capital Services Advisor today to get started.