There’s something unique happening on 2nd Street here in Owensboro. A local church is taking the gospel to the people in unconventional ways. Matthew’s Table, founded in 2017, is a diverse body of believers set out to “Sow, Grow, and Go.”
“As a church, we have a vision to sow in the word, grow in Christ, and go out into our communities. As a result, loving the unlovable and reaching the unreachable,” said Nick Martin, a pastor at Matthew’s Table.
Matthew’s Table meets bi-weekly at the Senior Community Center of Owensboro-Daviess County, formerly known as the Munday Activity Center, for worship and bible study.
On the fifth of August, the church took their services outdoors near the Cadillac Motel, opting to take the “church out of the building” and serve the needs of the surrounding neighborhood.
Following worship, the church provided free lunch, haircuts, school supplies and flip flops for area kids and families. An estimated 200 needs were met after the Back-to-School missional event.
“Our goal is to gain trust, build friendships, invest and develop relationships with the surrounding community, ultimately leading them to Christ. The vast majority of the folks who make up Matthew’s Table once frequented places just like the Cadillac,” said Pastor Roger Chilton about the location choice for this outreach.
Over the past year, Matthew’s Table has hosted a missional community event roughly once a month. Two of the most enduring outreaches established by the church have been the Bus Pass Ministry and Community Meal Night.
Every Saturday morning, in front of the Senior Community Center of Owensboro-Daviess County, an average of 200 free bus passes are handed out to anyone in need. In addition to free passes, hygiene items, socks, snacks, and bottled water are available.
A free community meal is prepared on Wednesday nights once a month, and it’s not out of the ordinary for the church to serve as many as 300 guests — especially during the winter months.
“Often this may be a way for us to connect with the community through the fellowship of a hot meal,” Pastor Steven Kidd noted. “We’ve served everyone from the addicted to the homeless through this outreach.”
“We want to be a church that invests here at home, right back into our city,” said Martin when asked why missional work was a community emphasis.
“If the community could work as a team, and unify to help our city for the sake of the gospel, it would be awesome! Given we may very well be the poorest church in town, we give routinely with limited resources. We want to reach the broken here in Daviess County,” added Chilton.
