and its Pastor, Arnold Martin.

Pastor Arnold Martin graduated from Evarts High School in 1966, attended Eastern Kentucky University and taught at Harlan High School for three years before going to Jericho Mining Co. where he worked as office manager for ten years.

In 1983, meetings were held in his apartment with his wife Vickie, his mother Ada, and Jonathan Grills’ family.  It was then that God planted the seed that would grow to be a church with a vision in Harlan.  God gave increase and the need for a place to meet arose.

If a new church was to be established, God would have to be in the effort; therefore, the new church was called "Immanuel" which means, "God with us." A search for property resulted in one third of an acre of land located on Sookie Ridge. A two story brick building was constructed by September 1984 when the first meeting was held in the basement with 15 people attending. In a few years, there were 200 people attending.

Because of crowded conditions, a search was started for more property in the fall of 1987. In April of 1988, an agreement was made with J.A.D. Coal Company to purchase our current property or 84 acres located in Upper Elcomb on highway 72 in Catron's Valley. In August of 1988, the church property on Sookie Ridge was sold to Gary and Rita Townsend for $200,000.00. This was enough to pay our debt and give a good start on the new facility which included two 6,000 square foot buildings.

After a couple of years, a large shelter house was built on the soft ball field. In the spring of 2001, a third building was constructed. It is a 4800 square foot building which will be a multi-purpose building. The main function will be for the an adult class, dining hall, and teen center.  God has truly blessed us richly!  You can see a Real Player video showing the progress of our construction from the building of the auditorium in 1988, to the culvert, to the pouring of the concrete of our new parking lot.  You can access the video by clicking here.  We added a new steeple after that which can be seen in the following photo.

THE MINISTRIES:  For over 20 years, Pastor Martin wrote the well-known newspaper article, “From a Pastor’s Heart” in the Harlan Daily Enterprise which had been designed to be a blessing to every one regardless of denomination. We have a bus ministry which brings people from different areas of our county to church.

In the spring of 2001, a new television ministry was added. The “Word To You” is a 30 minute television program on “The Living Faith Television” network.

The Word to You is now moving ONLINE and will be STREAMED via REAL PLAYER on this website to both our local community and the world.  The Word to You are the recorded messages of Pastor Arnold Martin of the Word of God delivered at Immanuel.  Both video and audio streaming will be available.  Click on the Real Player Logo to get your Free Player from Real Networks.

We have Sunday School Classes for both adults and children.  These classes cover all ages and we also provide a well equipped Nursery and Kindergarten Class.  There is also an active Youth Masters Program for our young people.

The newest ministry at Immanuel is the Harlan Area chapter of Reformers Unanimous International, which is a Christ-Centered, Bible-Based Addiction Recovery Program. You can click on the RU logo, and see more information about this very effective program that is reaching many with the hope of Jesus Christ in setting the captive free. This has also opened up an exciting new Jail Ministry in the local Harlan County Detention Center.

Immanuel Church also has a Gymnasium, Baseball Field, and Volleyball Field for fellowship and the youth.  We also have a Dining Hall for Fellowship and Dinners.  Fellowship is a part of the Christian walk, and God has blessed us with a place where we can meet and enjoy fellowship with one another.  There is also a Sheltered Picnic Area on the upper section next to the Baseball Field.

The biggest part of our budget goes to home missions. We want to reach the people of Harlan County with the gospel. We try to reach our own people with the article, the buses, the TV, the Internet, and personal church visitation. We also believe in supporting foreign missionaries.  And in response to God's command to go out into all the world, the Word to You website was born.

To contact us:

Call us at (606) 573-6839

or email us at wordtoyou@bellsouth.net

or write us at

Immanuel Baptist Church
550 Upper Elcomb Drive
Harlan, KY  40831