Leadership

Prior to serving as a senior pastor, she was an associate pastor to children and families at Broadway Baptist in Louisville and worked on staff of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. She was ordained by Southside Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala., in October 2012.

Pastor Emily was born and raised in Louisville, Ky., where she graduated from Ballard High School. She is the child of a pastor and a public-school teacher, and a proud and avid support of the University of Louisville Cardinals. In the fall and winter, she can regularly be found cheering on the Cards at L&N Stadium and the KFC Yum! Center. She and her husband, Scott Rushing, have two children, Franklin and Eliza, who bring loads of joy to their lives.

As pastor of Immanuel, Emily is responsible for preaching, vision casting, pastoral care, nurturing spiritual development, and other acts of leadership that help our church discover and fulfill our God-given mission. Emily is grateful to be pastor of such a loving, inclusive community, where relationships are paramount and generosity and service are part of the church’s DNA. She believes that you’d be hard-pressed to find more thoughtful, committed, and engaged people anywhere else.

Emily is actively involved in the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Kentucky, where she has served in leadership roles. She facilitates a Peer Learning Group of “young” pastors (anywhere other than the church, they would be considered middle-aged), and is a member of the Frankfort Ministerial Association. She is also connected and involved in various ways with Baptist Women in Ministry and Simmons College of Kentucky.

When she is not dreaming up new things for the church or chasing her children around the house (or state), Emily loves to read, work puzzles (crossword, jigsaw, and all the NYT daily puzzles), and spend time with friends and family. Every time a new Marvel movie comes out, she and Scott will be at the theater. She loves podcasts and is an Executive Producer of Pantsuit Politics: A Different Approach to the News. And, if her tv is on, she’s probably watching Gilmore Girls.

He has served previously as minister of music at Midway Baptist Church for 12 years and Farmdale Baptist church for 2 years. Mac has a passion for music of all types and has been involved in the choir at Immanuel Baptist Church since joining in January of 1984. He has served in his current position as minister of music since 2017.

It is his hope that all who participate in our worship will be inspired and enriched by the hymns and choir music in a way that makes worship more meaningful.

He subsequently taught elementary education in Brooklyn, New York, for a decade before returning to his old Kentucky home.

Presently, Sam serves as a third-grade teacher at a local elementary school, as well as our Director of Children and Youth Ministries. In each of these roles, Sam’s primary objective is to establish inclusive and differentiated learning environments that foster a sense of belonging and love among all children.

After graduating from Georgetown, she played piano and organ at Highland Hills Baptist Church in Fort Thomas and Forks of Elkhorn Baptist Church in Midway.

Sara and her husband, Bennie, joined Immanuel in 1980 when their son, John, was three years old. That was also the year she re-entered the workforce and was employed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Veterinary Services, where she worked for 15 years. She has been playing piano or organ at Immanuel since 1985, first as a substitute and eventually full time. (She also worked in Immanuel’s church office from 1999-2014.)

In her “free” time, Sara enjoys reading, knitting, playing the piano, and spending time with family and friends. She and Bennie have one son (John), daughter-in-law Lera, and grandchildren, Reed and Madeleine.

Joni’s favorite thing about working at Immanuel is interacting with church and community members. When she is not working, she loves to read books, enjoy an evening with friends at Casa Fiesta, play bridge, and cheer on the Kentucky Wildcats. She has two adult children who grew up at Immanuel and are working in helping professions.

She most recently worked as the office administrator for the Kentucky Public Health Association and the Kentucky Health Departments Association.

Jill enjoys working at Immanuel because she gets to interact with its superb staff and church members, and it also helps to keep her brain sharp! In her spare time, she plays golf and bridge, reads lots of good books, goes to UK football games, likes to scrapbook, and prepares tax returns for friends and family!

Jill has been married to Gary LeMaster since 1981 and has two adult daughters, Amie and Megan, and a son-in-law, BJ. She also has three wonderful granddaughters, June, Georgia, and Johanna, who keep her hopping and are the joys of her life!