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Photo By: Laura Eastes
• News-Graphic
Georgetown resident Ken Holden, a
former pastor at Georgetown Baptist
Church, stands in front of his new
home, John L. Hill Chapel. Holden is
the executive director for the
Marshall Center for Christian Ministry.
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Ken Holden
Baptist minister moves into new but familiar territory on campus.
By Laura Eastes
Georgetown News-Graphic
Used with Permission
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After 27 years as a Baptist preacher and 14 of those years behind the pulpit each Sunday at Georgetown Baptist Church, Ken Holden decided it was time for a fresh challenge.
The Georgetown resident didn't go far from Georgetown Baptist Church, which he still attends regularly with his wife, Beth Holden. He moved a block down the street and remains as committed to his Christian duties as ever.
Holden became the first executive director of the Georgetown College Marshall Center for Christian Ministry in April 2008.
"I already had a great familiarity, appreciation and love for the college," said Holden. "I had been a 14-year neighbor to the college. That part has worked out great. I didn't have to move."
The Marshall Center was established on campus in 1997 and was overseen by Bill and Alice Marshall, college alumni of 1957 and for whom the center was named.
The Marshall Center meshed with the college campus well, finding a home next to the religious life office and campus minister's office in the John L. Hill Chapel. With a strong Christian presence already on the campus founded by a Baptist preacher, the Marshall Center was created to strengthen the college's Christian mission.
That is the quick explanation for what the center does, Holden says.
"That is the bottom line but we do it by all kinds of innovative ministry opportunities for people on campus or people in the churches," said Holden. "We don't make this a Christian campus, we hopefully make it a better or more brighter, vibrant Christian campus. We add to the college, add to the experience of college."
The Marshall Center plays many roles at the college, he said.
The most visible is the Baccalaureate service, the night before commencement. The Bible distributed to each college graduate that evening is an initiative of the Marshall Center.
Recently, Holden was asked to begin a program for members of the football team to become more involved in community service. For the second year, on Gridiron Community Service Day football players went out to do various tasks for the community, such as clearing concrete debris from the basement of Ward Hall.
For Holden, the best part of the community service day was working with students.
"I love to create that sense of trust or camaraderie on the campus," said Holden. "I like to think students could then come by and talk if they wanted to."
Part of the Marshall Center's mission is connect students with missionary opportunities. Bill and Alice Marshall both served as missionaries and wanted to expose students to the experience.
An ongoing partnership with the Baptist Academy in Temuco, Chile, is one such program. Each May, a group of 12 students, faculty and staff travel to Chile and are met by missionaries. They observe the work of the Chilean Baptist preachers for a month.
Typically, in the fall a group from the Baptist Academy in Chile visits Georgetown. Holden organizes activities and events around their arrival.
The Marshall Center also oversees a minister study leave program at Regents Park College in the United Kingdom. For one month, ministers are offered a time of renewal both professionally and spiritually. The opportunity is open to any spiritual leader, and the program offers Holden a chance to connect with religious leaders around the state and region.
"It's really unique," said Holden. "It's kind of a hybrid. Very few schools have something like this."
Holden's work at the Marshall Center is very different from his days at Georgetown Baptist Church.
"I never wake up and not want to come to work," said Holden, who served on the center's board before becoming director. "I wake up and think what to do first."
There are times when he misses the pastoral field and the teaching aspects of ministry. He still remains involved with Georgetown Baptist Church.
"It is kind of neat that you can go back to your church and not be a problem," said Holden. "The pastor now, he graduated from high school with my daughter. I say, 'Gee whiz ... they got a younger model.' I have known him since he was in high school; we have a great relationship."
He says it's nice to have Sundays off now. The "day off" gives him and his wife more time to travel to see their two adult children and three grandchildren.
Holden, originally from Spartanburg, S.C., has called Kentucky home since arriving in Louisville in the early 1980s to attend the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. His ministry has called him to Flat Woods, Georgetown and now, the college.
"Once I got to Kentucky, I never left," Holden said with a laugh. "We've been here 32 years. I love Georgetown, the church and the campus are both so special to me.
There might come a day where I go back to the pastoral, but right now I really want to see the Marshall Center work and sustain itself so I can see it keeps going."
From Benjamin S. Rossi at the GNG Copy Desk — News tips, obits and calendar items
Benjamin S. Rossi
Georgetown Newspapers, Inc.
Georgetown News-Graphic
1481 Cherry Blossom Way
Georgetown, Ky. 40324
Office: 502.863.1111 ext. 29
Fax: 502.863.6296
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