Bio

I’m Tony Wolfenbarger, a follower of Jesus. I am committed to being a disciple who establishes multiplying communities of Jesus-followers where I live, work, learn, play, and worship. That means I train others how to be disciples that multiply.

I have been married to Emily since 1995 and the dad of Caleb, Joshua, and Josiah, my precious children. I am also a friend to a few close brothers and sisters in Christ.

I aim to partner with individuals, groups, church planters, churches, and organizations to launch relational disciple-making communities that multiply and transform lives for Jesus. If you want to be a disciple who makes disciples, contact me. I will show you how to be a multiplying disciple of Jesus.

I’ll give you a few highlights. I was raised in Knoxville, TN, except for a few years in London, KY, during middle school. I attended Fulton High School, where our motto was, “Enter to learn, go forth to serve.” From birth, I attended an independent fundamental Baptist church. At the age of 30, I moved to an evangelical Southern Baptist Church named Grace. While there, I realized my calling into vocational Christian ministry.

In 2002, Emily and I resigned from our jobs and moved to Louisville, KY, where I would attend the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (SBTS). She had been a church secretary, and I was a divisional manager in a printing, labeling, and bar-coding company. While at SBTS, I earned a Master of Divinity from the Billy Graham School of Missions, Evangelism, and Church Growth. Upon graduating in 2005, I accepted a local missions pastor position at Grace, our home church.

In 2008, I was called to be the senior pastor, where I am still serving, of Ballardsville Baptist Church in a town called Crestwood, a few miles outside of Louisville, KY. I returned to SBTS and earned a Doctor of Ministry degree in 2016. You can read my thesis (here), if you are into that! In 2018, our church transitioned to an elder-led governance, but it was difficult. During the difficulty of this time, my calling was refined, and I realized the absolute necessity of disciple-making to the church’s mission.

Jesus put godly men in my life who taught me how to be a disciple and how to make disciples in relational environments. Since then, I have been growing in my walk with Jesus and helping others do the same. The result has been an amazing transformation in me, my marriage, my family, and our church.

I no longer gain my Christian fulfillment solely from how things are going at church. Church ebbs and flows, but my joy comes from being an all-in follower of Jesus who helps others do the same.

My goal for this ministry is to help you experience what I am experiencing by following Jesus.

Thanks for visiting!