1887-2023
Judson Baptist Church
Omaha Nebraska NE
This story should begin in 1887 with the founding of Trinity Baptist Church in Omaha, Nebraska. The Trinity congregation met in two locations before merging with the McKinley Park Baptist Church in 1967. This new merger took the name of Judson Baptist to identify their mission and ministry through American Baptists, USA.
In appreciation of its namesake, the new Judson Baptist Church (sometimes called North Judson) began a South Judson Baptist Church in Bellevue, NE. This mission was birthed because of the expansion of Offutt Air Base and the Strategic Air Command during the Cold War. South Judson grew into its own and became New Life Baptist Church.
Early in 2001, the remaining north Judson Baptist Church built a new building in La Vista and moved into its new location. Soon thereafter, an influx of Kachin refugees from Burma began with a large number coming to the Omaha area where they could get jobs in the meat packing industry. To continue the missions emphasis of Adoniram Judson, the congregation sold their La Vista building to the Omaha Kachin Baptist Church in 2022. This change provided a worship center for people from Burma with whom Adoniram Judson had ministered 200 years previously.[1]
The sign pictured here notes the three congregations speaking three different languages that met in the LaVista building at the turn of the 21st century. The English-speaking Judson Baptist Church officially disbanded in 2023 after 146 years of ministry that included the spawning of 3 congregations in the Omaha area.
+++++++++++++++
[1] Phone call with Greg Mamula, Executive Minister, American Baptist Churches of Nebraska, June 22, 2023