Pastor Douglas McCaleb, and his wife, Mary Margaret, came to Wurtland, Kentucky in June of 1967 "with the purpose in mind to start a church." The young pastor was aware that it would be a matter of trial and error. Pastor McCaleb was returning to one of the communities where he had spent part of his childhood attending school and growing up with his parents, two brothers, and a sister.

The first three month's services were held in an empty house on Old U.S. 23 in Wurtland, Kentucky, owned by Mrs. Wurts Chinn. On the first Sunday of October 1967, Temple Baptist Church, with four members, was organized. Any extra money that came to the church was put into a "Building Fund". In 1968, Edward Long, of Wurtland, rented the congregation a furniture store on Uhlen Branch; there were a total of ten members.
The Kentucky Department of Highways notified Temple that a four-lane highway (U.S. 23) would be going through their property. Temple Baptist Church needed a building! After much prayer, one of TBC's members approached Riggs Real Estate in Flatwoods in search of property. The corner of Greenbo Boulevard and Birch Street was available for $9,500. Soon eight more people joined the congregation.
In 1973, TBC built the basement of the church. God used the abilities and expertise of several church members. The congregation met in the block basement with a tarpaper roof to worship. They held children's Sunday school classes in the little house still located on the parking lot. Between 1972 and 1973, fourteen more joined the church.
In 1975, the congregation had grown to the point of needing to build onto the block basement. The late 1970's brought many more members.
In 1977, ten years after his efforts had begun; Pastor Doug McCaleb was hired as the full-time pastor of Temple Baptist Church.

The congregation faced a turning point in their ministry when their Pastor announced to them in 1990 that God had called him to pastor a church in another state. Pastor Doug left the congregation adequately equipped to handle this situation and he assisted the men in every way to make the transition as smooth as possible. The congregation prayed much and searched for another pastor and God sent Jim and Beth Pridemore. Pastor Jim and Beth were unanimously voted to become our pastor and family. The early 1990's were a time of slow, but steady growth as the church recovered from several corporate relocations that took many members away from the area. Often the church facilities would fill to capacity only to decline again due to the inability to expand.
By God's leading, in 1981, the congregation had purchased a piece of property about one mile from the Birch Street location. Believing that relocation was the long-term solution to the growing pains of the church, a plan was put into motion that would move the congregation to a 10-acre tract of land on Short Hollow Road. A feasibility study was performed, the congregation was asked to approve the plan, and the building campaign began. After several years of raising funds, the building process started in May of 2000. The first services were conducted in the new facilities in September of 2001.  

Throughout its history, Temple Baptist Church has maintained a two-fold commitment: to be a solid Bible-teaching ministry, and to have a worldwide outreach through its mission program. Today we provide support for 35 missionary families who minister throughout the world.

While seeking to grow and meet the needs of a rapidly changing world, Temple Baptist Church remains committed to the goal of glorifying the Lord Jesus Christ while edifying the saints.