The Rev. Lisa Lewis Balboa, senior pastor of Freeman Chapel CME Church, has been elected president of the Kentucky Council of Churches.
A Todd County native and resident of Trenton, Balboa has been a minister in the Christian Methodist Episcopal faith for more than 30 years. She is also presiding elder of CME’s Evansville-Hopkinsville District.
Prior to becoming the first female pastor of Freeman Chapel, she was pastor of Lane Tabernacle, also in Hopkinsville. Other churches she has served as pastor include Phillips Chapel, Elkton, Sebree Chapel, Trenton, and Lane Chapel, Guthrie.
Early in her ministry with CME, in 2001, Balboa chaired the first-ever Martin Luther King Jr. community commemoration in Todd County.
In Christian County, Balboa has led efforts to provide health resources to community members. Her church assisted during the COVID-19 pandemic, and Balboa responded to the country’s racial unrest in the summer of 2020.
“Known for her passion for ecumenical work, Balboa has served as president of the Christian County Ministerial Association and is a member of the Planning Committee for the National Workshop on Christian Unity,” the CME district leadership said in a press release. “Her ministry has been recognized nationally and locally — she was honored as Rural Pastor of the Year, she leads the CME Commission on Concerns of Women’s Ministry, and is a past recipient of the Louisville Presbyterian Religious Leader Award.”
The Kentucky Council of Churches is an ecumenical organization with a focus on Christian unity and social justice. It was established in 1947. It is affiliated with several denominations across the state.
Jennifer P. Brown is co-founder, publisher and editor of Hoptown Chronicle. You can reach her at editor@hoptownchronicle.org. Brown was a reporter and editor at the Kentucky New Era, where she worked for 30 years. She is a co-chair of the national advisory board to the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, governing board past president for the Kentucky Historical Society, and co-founder of the Kentucky Open Government Coalition. She serves on the Hopkinsville History Foundation's board.
