Maize Road Celebrates Sixty Years of Ministry in a Diverse Community

Maize Road Baptist Church celebrated its sixtieth anniversary in early June. This northeast Columbus church is thankful for its past but sees its future developing through reaching the nations in its own backyard.

Over the past sixty years, the church has seen its demographic change. “We are an urban church at this point. We are multicultural,” said Pastor Shawn Hensley. “Today we have four churches with three languages representing fifteen nations that meet in our building each Sunday.” 

The four church congregations worshiping at Maize Road include the current Maize Road congregation, an El Salvadorian congregation, a Congolese gathering, as well as a multicultural church. “We are certainly now a community-focused church,” Hensley remarked. 

The hardships of the Covid pandemic hit Maize Road hard. “We had 150 to 160 people before Covid,” said Hensley. “Post Covid, only 35 came back.” Hensley and the church had a decision to make--move away, change the outreach strategy, or let the church close.

Hensley grew up at Maize Road and served as youth pastor from 2004 until October 2019 when he was called as pastor. “I have a heart for reaching the urban areas of Ohio,” he said. “I thrive in the urban community.”

I have a heart for reaching the urban areas of Ohio.

Maize Road is reshaping itself as it reaches out to its changing community. “We are a completely different church. Our outward approach has changed everything.”

The outward approach includes a Food Bank that distributed 25,000 pounds of food to eight different nationalities in 2022, and a Free Store that gives away clothes and household items. The church also has a Community Ambassador who studies the cultures of new people groups coming to the church so culturally appropriate food items are available in the Food Bank.

The church recently completed a $325,000 renovation on the facility. “For us, every single day we find a way to maximize our space,” Hensley said. In addition to the four congregations meeting in the building, Maize Road also sponsors a Nepali after-school program and a summer program in the building.

Acquiring an additional building as well as paying off the debt for the renovation is the goal for the next three years. They are also hoping to start satellite language churches to benefit non-English speakers who currently attend Maize Road. “They record the service on a phone and then go home and use Google Translate to understand the message.”

In celebration of the sixtieth anniversary of Maize Road, four-hundred people from all four churches worshiped together in one service with translation into two different languages. Dr. Jeremy Westbrook, executive director-treasurer of the State Convention of Baptists in Ohio, preached the celebration message which was also translated into two languages. 

“I’ve never done anything like that,” said Hensley. “Translating in multiple languages at the same time looked good on paper, but I wasn’t sure how it would turn out.” The translation worked well, and the Spirit moved during the service and the international meal served on the grounds. “Everyone commented on how they felt the Spirit moving. Outside everyone was of one Spirit. It was energizing.”

I’ve never done anything like that.

As Maize Road moves forward to reach its community, Hensley sees the church as vibrant and active at sixty years old. His church also looks different than it did in 1962. “That is why we changed the way we do things. You start to look like the community you are serving. Look around. We are all getting a glimpse of heaven.”