TITLETOWN (NBC 26) — Beth Haven Baptist Church has been on Ridge Road in the shadow of Lambeau Field since 1984. The run will end in 2024, as the church is moving to Bellevue after the Green Bay Packers purchased its property.
- Beth Haven is home to approximately 40 parishioners, and a K-12 school with 12 students
- Senior pastor Greg Kummer attended the school in his youth and is the second pastor in church history
- The Packers bought the church in 2019 and allowed Beth Haven five years to vacate the property
- The church will rebrand as Bellevue Baptist Church when it moves to its new home at 1383 Bellevue St.
- The Village of Bellevue granted it a conditional use permit at its board meeting Wednesday
- Video shows the interior of the church and school
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
As Titletown continues to grow, you'll soon be able to park your car here on Sundays.
For the past four decades, this area has been used for a very different purpose on most Sundays.
Beth Haven Baptist Church has a long history here in the shadows of Lambeau Field.
"They would've been breaking ground in [19]83," Greg Kummer said.
Pastor Kummer has been here since the beginning.
"Just remembering the times of going to school here, my friends with me here, playing basketball here in the parking lot," Kummer said. "It was great. It was a fun time."
On game weekends, they'd hold a service on Saturday night, and welcome Packers fans on Sunday for parking.
"They knew to respect our property," Kummer said. "In return, they got to use our indoor restrooms. It wasn't a porta-potty out in the area."
Today, the K-12 school has just 12 students, and Sundays bring around 40 parishioners.
But this past season was the church's last in Titletown — they sold the property to the Packers in 2019.
"There was a little bit of time to get on the same page," Kummer said.
The church agreed to vacate the building in five years.
"We leave here happy with them, I'll put it that way," he said.
The Packers tell me the area will become additional parking for Lots 9 and 10.
Kummer and Beth Haven are heading to a new home in Bellevue, where they'll take on the name "Bellevue Baptist Church."
This week they got a permit to build on their new property.
"We're getting new beginnings, and let's start out with a fresh name," Kummer said. "When we go there, we're still we're going to be home."
"The church officially closes the doors on this location on July 1, and tithing will give way to tailgating permanently.
