The Avenue

 

Ben Hardman

 

Lead Pastor
Ben has over 15 years ministry experience and is a graduate of Anderson University in Indiana. He started as the youth minister at Madison Park Church of God in Anderson, Indiana where he served for 7 years before moving to Louisville, Kentucky & Southeast Christian Church. Ben spent 4 years leading Southeast’s student ministry department before taking over their college & young adult ministry, the Post, 3 years ago.  While at Southeast, Ben also headed up the Southeast Leadership Conference for two years.   Ben is married to Sarah and have two boys, Cole, 7 and Caden, 5 and are awaiting adoption of baby Claire from Ethiopia.  Ben has been a speaker for the Nashville Speakers bureau, for CIY conferences and many more student events around the country.  He was named one of the top twenty youth ministers in the country by the church report and is writing his first book with group publishing, “Thrive: doing more than surviving on a secular college campus!” 

 

You can reach Ben at ben@avechurch.com

 

Chris Harper

  

Community Pastor

 Chris comes to us from Northside Christian Church in Southern Indiana where he has served for the past year as a missions minister. Before that Chris served with Edge Outreach, a Social Justice Ministry in Louisville Kentucky, where Chris oversaw their Missions House Operations in the heart of the West End. Chris is also the co-founder of Spendyourself Inc. a non-profit apparel company with a heart for social justice and a vision to drive positive change in the world (check us out at www.spendyourself.net). Chris’ background is in social policy and he holds his masters degree from the Kent School of Social Work at the University of Louisville. Over the years Chris has been involved with several organizations from Youth For Christ to the Fuller Center for Housing. In 2005, while working with the State of Kentucky at the House of Representitaves, Chris was made an Honorable Kentucky Colonel. Chris and his wife Allyson live in Old Louisville and enjoy watching the community be transformed by God’s love! 

  

 you can reach chris at chris@avechurch.com

 

Travis Whalen

 Campus Pastor / Church Planter

 

  

 

Travis has been the young adult’s pastor at Veritas, a ministry of Northside Christian church for the past two years.  He is a former missionary in Ireland and has a huge heart for college students.  Travis has also worked as a children’s minister and he will oversee all of our family ministry as well as our ministry to the University of Louisville.  Travis is a gifted preacher and within the next 3 years, Travis will plant our second campus on another secular college campus.  Travis & his wife Natalie just gave birth to their first son Parker!

 

 

 

 

 

You can reach Travis at travis@avechurch.com