The Little Church On The Corner, Tyler Road Baptist Church, Celebrates 50 Years
June 2009
What began as a mission of Pleasantview Baptist Church, Derby, Kansas, in September of 1958 has stood strong on the same corner of Tyler Road and Kellogg for 50 years.
“We are in a great location,” states Bryan Jones, current pastor. “People know where to find us. We serve families all over west Wichita, Goddard and Maize.”
And as west Wichita grew, so did the little church on the corner. They started in the home of baseball player, Frank Minton in the Dell neighborhood. 16 members grew to 40 and soon it became evident that they needed a building.
After Frank’s career in minor league baseball, he opened his home to the new mission church that built its first main building in 1960 at the corner of Tyler Road and Kellogg. Minton served as the first pastor and later wrote about his baseball career in a book titled, “Baseball Sermons on the Mound.”
The first addition (auditorium) was added in 1963. The second addition, which is the present auditorium, was built in 1975. Educational facilities were added in 1982 with an expansion to those facilities in 1991.
Membership has grown to about 350. Many of the members have been around since the early years. Chris Shuman grew up at Tyler Road, as a child, a student, an adult and now he serves as the church’s Director of Worship and Music. “It’s a great place to call home. So many of the adults were mentors to me as a child and a youth. I want my kids to have that same experience,” Shuman says.
Tyler Road is heavily involved with Benton Elementary School. “The church just adopted us,” says Ann Welborn, principal at Benton. “Church members come by and read to the kids, they donate school supplies and they pray for us. We have a lot of kids that can’t afford backpacks and other necessary school items. It is great to say to a family – ‘don’t worry, it’s taken care of.’ Tyler Road has allowed us to reach out to these families in a special way.”
Tyler Road does weekly ministry at Lakewood Senior Living Center and provides transportation one day a week for residents at Maple Gardens to buy groceries. With other ministries that include Awana for kids, Student Ministry for youth, grocery relief programs, parenting and relationship courses, financial management classes and many more, Tyler Road Baptist Church is meeting the needs of its west side neighbors.
Tyler Road celebrated its 50th Anniversary Memorial Weekend
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