{"id":6774,"date":"2026-01-26T13:21:54","date_gmt":"2026-01-26T18:21:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/disciplescef.org\/blog\/?p=6774"},"modified":"2026-01-29T12:16:37","modified_gmt":"2026-01-29T17:16:37","slug":"ky-church-exceeds-fundraising-goal-dcef-partnership","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/disciplescef.org\/blog\/ky-church-exceeds-fundraising-goal-dcef-partnership\/","title":{"rendered":"Kentucky church exceeds fundraising goals through DCEF partnership"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

\u201cAlmost every church that I\u2019ve served has considered themselves welcoming and hospitable, and that\u2019s just not the case,\u201d reveals Rev. Lee Huckleberry. \u201cBut here it\u2019s the real deal.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cHere\u201d is Jeffersontown Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)<\/a> in Jeffersontown, KY, where Rev. Lee is Senior Minister.<\/p>\n

Not only does his faith community support local nonprofit organizations and Disciples of Christ<\/a> general and regional ministries, it also opens its doors widely to visitors\u2014no matter their background or religious persuasion.<\/p>\n

But at the end of 2024, the leadership at Jeffersontown Christian Church realized that their congregation\u2019s core values hadn\u2019t been applied to their facility itself.<\/p>\n

With our capital fundraising campaign guidance<\/a> and renovation loans<\/a>, it is replacing key parts of its property infrastructure so that it can be a place of worship where church goers and strangers alike can celebrate, practice, and share the good news of Jesus Christ with others for many years to come.<\/p>\n

Open minds, open hearts, open table<\/h3>\n

Rev. Lee got his start with Jeffersontown Christian Church in 2020, when he was called as pastor. His first meeting with his colleagues took place in a parking lot.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cFor the first couple of years of my ministry, we were open for a while, then we closed, and we’d open, then we closed,\u201d he recalls. \u201cIt was to keep everybody safely together.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\"\"

Greg Whallin (L), Jeffersontown CC’s campaign chair, and Rev. Lee (R)<\/p><\/div>\n

Most worshipers are older adults, with 150 participating members and between 70 to 80 attendees on an average Sunday morning. But their age doesn\u2019t stop them from being active in Jeffersontown, a suburb of Louisville, KY.<\/p>\n

With Jeffersontown Area Ministries<\/a> only 100 yards from their church building, congregants collect items for the food pantry every week, in addition to providing donations and rental assistance.<\/p>\n

This generous spirit extends beyond their neighborhood too. Last summer, 60 volunteers from the church raised $6,000 and participated in a food packaging event for Love the Hungry<\/a>, a nonprofit that distributes meals to food insecure children and families around the world.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cOne of the things that I have emphasized in my pastorate is basic kindness,\u201d shares Rev. Lee. \u201cIn our current cultural framework, it seems like that can be hard to come by sometimes, but if we can just look out for one another, then people are going to notice that because it’s going to stand out.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

A time for everything<\/h3>\n

It is this value\u2014in addition to welcome, hospitality, inclusion, and love\u2014that the congregation recommitted to at the end of 2024 during a post-COVID discernment process to address membership and neighborhood needs.<\/p>\n

\"\"Because the faith community\u2019s roof had been replaced prior to Rev. Lee\u2019s arrival, the leadership team did not include the building as a need that required attention. But with almost three decades of experience under his belt, he knew that delayed facility maintenance could put them in a poor financial situation and created an unwelcoming atmosphere.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cBoth our main HVAC system and elevator are 20 to 25 years old. The heat went out on Thanksgiving Sunday, and the elevator would occasionally be on the fritz,\u201d sighs Rev. Lee. \u201cWe had an outdated sign even though we’re located on Taylorsville Road, a main thoroughfare of Louisville.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Once the church leaders and the board realized how inhospitable those aspects were to members and visitors, they decided that being proactive was a better course of action than dealing with more severe maintenance issues in the future.<\/p>\n

They settled on a project that would see to the replacement of the main HVAC system and upstairs carpet, elevator modernization, the installment of a new LED sign, and the sanctuary\u2019s walls being painted. It would cost $200,000, which the members considered raising themselves. It was a daunting prospect, but God had other plans.<\/p>\n

No equal gifts, but equal sacrifice<\/h3>\n

Last spring, our ministry guided First Christian Church of Louisville<\/a> through a capital fundraising campaign to raise money for a new roof. \u00a0Senior Minister Rev. Amanda Wagoner-Meade discussed this experience with Rev. Lee and recommended he work with us to accomplish their goal.<\/p>\n

Rev. Lee has a number of colleagues that have worked with Disciples Church Extension Fund<\/a> in the past, including Rev. Megan Huston at First Christian Church in Bowling Green, KY<\/a>, so he didn\u2019t hesitate to contact us for help.<\/p>\n

When Senior Director of Services Rev. Richard Williams suggested that the church borrow from us and conduct the capital fundraising campaign to pay that loan<\/a> off, Rev. Lee had his doubts. Raising money for maintenance needs sounded like a boring mission and given the state of the economy, would potential donors even make a gift?<\/p>\n

Rev. Richard reassured him by helping Rev. Lee to reframe his view that the fundraising campaign was not just about repairing an old building\u2014it was about renewing the faith community\u2019s mission in this place and recommitting it to be a witness for Christ.<\/p>\n

So, Jeffersontown\u2019s Senior Minister got to work. As \u201cchief encourager,\u201d he assembled a campaign team who used Ecclesiastes 3 to devise a theme for the campaign\u2014 \u201cFor Everything a Season\u201d\u2014to reflect the church\u2019s dedication to inclusion. He also put together a prayer and spirituality team that produced a devotional booklet wherein contributors shared vulnerable, moving stories of the church.<\/p>\n

On a Saturday morning in early October, Rev. Richard traveled to Kentucky to conduct leadership training, reminding the teams that what they were doing now was for future generations to enjoy.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cWe got the most out of our teams\u2019 gifts and I don’t know if that would have happened without DCEF\u2019s involvement,\u201d admits Rev. Lee.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\"\"

Carrie Vittitoe, the campaign’s communications coordinator, stands in front of the fundraising tree with Rev. Lee<\/p><\/div>\n

Over the first four Sundays in November, the congregation conducted its campaign.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cWe had this image of a tree up on the wall and we added leaves to it as a barometer of how much money we were raising,\u201d remembers Rev. Lee. \u201cOn the fourth week, we were close to $200,000, and this young man came up to me. He asked, \u2018We’ve raised that much?\u2019 He was dumbfounded and proud at the same time.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

As of today, the faith community has raised $225,387 and received bids on all the building projects that need to be completed, except for the carpet. This year Jeffersontown Christian Church will begin renovating its building, most likely starting with the HVAC.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cTo not only meet our goal, but to exceed it, has just created a lot of positive momentum,\u201d concludes Rev. Lee. \u201cWhat our team will be talking about next is how we keep it going.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Is your congregation, camp, seminary, or region considering addressing delayed facility maintenance needs? Your regional Building and Capital Services Advisor can <\/em>help<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cAlmost every church that I\u2019ve served has considered themselves welcoming and hospitable, and that\u2019s just not the case,\u201d reveals Rev. Lee Huckleberry. \u201cBut here it\u2019s the real deal.\u201d \u201cHere\u201d is Jeffersontown Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Jeffersontown, KY, where Rev. Lee is Senior Minister. Not only does his faith community support local nonprofit organizations […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":6775,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,5],"tags":[10,33,55,192,28,211],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\nKY church exceeds fundraising goal through DCEF partnership<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Jeffersontown Christian Church in Jeffersontown, KY thought it was a welcoming congregation, until it realized its facility needed updates.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/disciplescef.org\/blog\/ky-church-exceeds-fundraising-goal-dcef-partnership\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"KY church exceeds fundraising goal through DCEF partnership\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Jeffersontown Christian Church in Jeffersontown, KY thought it was a welcoming congregation, until it realized its facility needed updates.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/disciplescef.org\/blog\/ky-church-exceeds-fundraising-goal-dcef-partnership\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Disciples Church Extension Fund\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-01-26T18:21:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-01-29T17:16:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/disciplescef.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Jeffersontown-featured-image_png-1024x575.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"575\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Nadine Compton\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Nadine Compton\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/disciplescef.org\/blog\/ky-church-exceeds-fundraising-goal-dcef-partnership\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/disciplescef.org\/blog\/ky-church-exceeds-fundraising-goal-dcef-partnership\/\",\"name\":\"KY church exceeds fundraising goal through DCEF partnership\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/disciplescef.org\/blog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-01-26T18:21:54+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-01-29T17:16:37+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/disciplescef.org\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/261addc56a3c765121fb87edb1633629\"},\"description\":\"Jeffersontown Christian Church in Jeffersontown, KY thought it was a welcoming congregation, until it realized its facility needed updates.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/disciplescef.org\/blog\/ky-church-exceeds-fundraising-goal-dcef-partnership\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/disciplescef.org\/blog\/ky-church-exceeds-fundraising-goal-dcef-partnership\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/disciplescef.org\/blog\/ky-church-exceeds-fundraising-goal-dcef-partnership\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Blog\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/disciplescef.org\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Kentucky church exceeds fundraising goals through DCEF partnership\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/disciplescef.org\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/disciplescef.org\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Disciples Church Extension Fund\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/disciplescef.org\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/disciplescef.org\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/261addc56a3c765121fb87edb1633629\",\"name\":\"Nadine Compton\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/disciplescef.org\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/08d547ddc2a267b7c2ec16ba1b3e176c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/08d547ddc2a267b7c2ec16ba1b3e176c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Nadine Compton\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/disciplescef.org\/blog\/author\/nadine-compton\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"KY church exceeds fundraising goal through DCEF partnership","description":"Jeffersontown Christian Church in Jeffersontown, KY thought it was a welcoming congregation, until it realized its facility needed updates.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/disciplescef.org\/blog\/ky-church-exceeds-fundraising-goal-dcef-partnership\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"KY church exceeds fundraising goal through DCEF partnership","og_description":"Jeffersontown Christian Church in Jeffersontown, KY thought it was a welcoming congregation, until it realized its facility needed updates.","og_url":"https:\/\/disciplescef.org\/blog\/ky-church-exceeds-fundraising-goal-dcef-partnership\/","og_site_name":"Disciples Church Extension Fund","article_published_time":"2026-01-26T18:21:54+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-01-29T17:16:37+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1024,"height":575,"url":"https:\/\/disciplescef.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Jeffersontown-featured-image_png-1024x575.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Nadine Compton","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Nadine Compton","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/disciplescef.org\/blog\/ky-church-exceeds-fundraising-goal-dcef-partnership\/","url":"https:\/\/disciplescef.org\/blog\/ky-church-exceeds-fundraising-goal-dcef-partnership\/","name":"KY church exceeds fundraising goal through DCEF partnership","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/disciplescef.org\/blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2026-01-26T18:21:54+00:00","dateModified":"2026-01-29T17:16:37+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/disciplescef.org\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/261addc56a3c765121fb87edb1633629"},"description":"Jeffersontown Christian Church in Jeffersontown, KY thought it was a welcoming congregation, until it realized its facility needed updates.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/disciplescef.org\/blog\/ky-church-exceeds-fundraising-goal-dcef-partnership\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/disciplescef.org\/blog\/ky-church-exceeds-fundraising-goal-dcef-partnership\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/disciplescef.org\/blog\/ky-church-exceeds-fundraising-goal-dcef-partnership\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Blog","item":"https:\/\/disciplescef.org\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Kentucky church exceeds fundraising goals through DCEF partnership"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/disciplescef.org\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/disciplescef.org\/blog\/","name":"Disciples Church Extension Fund","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/disciplescef.org\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/disciplescef.org\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/261addc56a3c765121fb87edb1633629","name":"Nadine Compton","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/disciplescef.org\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/08d547ddc2a267b7c2ec16ba1b3e176c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/08d547ddc2a267b7c2ec16ba1b3e176c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Nadine Compton"},"url":"https:\/\/disciplescef.org\/blog\/author\/nadine-compton\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/disciplescef.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6774"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/disciplescef.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/disciplescef.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disciplescef.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disciplescef.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6774"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/disciplescef.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6774\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6789,"href":"https:\/\/disciplescef.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6774\/revisions\/6789"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disciplescef.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6775"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/disciplescef.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6774"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disciplescef.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6774"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disciplescef.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6774"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}