Love 40207 is St. Matthews Baptist Church’s commitment to be an active and positive member in and within our community. 40207 is the zip code in which we find ourselves and, while many of our mission efforts go outside of that area, the goal is to begin with showing love to our neighbors and then move on to the ends of the earth.
The event was developed with the following five goals in mind:
- Be vital to the life and hope of our city.
- Raise awareness of our existing ministry and missions partners and projects.
- Create an avenue for new ministry partnerships and projects.
- Give families a way to serve together.
- Give the church family an opportunity to serve in a multi-generational environment.
The first LOVE 40207 event was held in 2018 and has continued each year since, even during the COVID challenged era of 2020 and 2021 with special precautions. Each year the feeling at the end of the day is exhaustion but also a feeling of having accomplished so much more together than could be done individually.
This past year, the church reached people all over the 40207 area through Love 40207 working in dozens of locations doing such things as working in the mission garden which provides fresh produce to local food banks, visiting folks who are homebound, doing home repairs for the elderly, putting together and delivering care packages for frontline workers, providing resources for local cyclists, making blankets for Ronald McDonald House residents, doing local park clean-up, and beautifying St. Matthews Elementary School.
While the specifics of LOVE 40207 have changed over the years, the goals and the heart are still the same. Pray for this special day of ministry, as it is coming up soon, and search for a way to be involved!
LOVE 40207 in 2026
LOVE 40207 in 2026 is on Sunday, August 9! There will be an opening prayer time at 9:00 a.m. and then projects will begin. There are projects that will take until lunch and others that won’t take quite as long. There are projects that are completed inside and seated while others are outside and very active. This year you have the option to sign up for projects that begin at 11:00 if you aren’t able to work the whole morning. Sign ups will open in July.
The church is proud to partner with St. Matthews Area Ministries (St. MAM) as part of Love 40207 and throughout the year to provide additional services and programs to the community. Our Independence Day 5K Race proceeds directly benefit St. MAM as well.
St. MAM’s mission is to unite the resources and people of area congregations to effectively meet community needs. Through St. MAM, area congregations collaborate and partner with government, schools, businesses, and other non-profits to meet emergency needs, to stabilize families in transitional situations, to provide a nurturing and healthy environment for children and youth, and to offer resources for the benefit of the whole community.