Bishop Walter Smith, Jr. is the pastor emeritus of the New Horizon Baptist Church in Louisville, KY.

He acknowledged his call to ministry on Thanksgiving Day in 1981 at the St. James Missionary Baptist Church under the pastorate of Rev. Allen Evans, Jr.  Prior to his call he served as a deacon, superintendent, Sunday School teacher, and president of the Pastor’s choir.

On the first Sunday in January 1983, Walter Smith Jr. joined the New Horizon Missionary Baptist Church and worked diligently by the side of the founding pastor the late Rev. George E. Mahin.  Bishop Smith was ordained to the work of the gospel ministry by the authority of the New Horizon Missionary Baptist Church in June 1984, during the pastorate of the late Rev. George E. Mahin.

On the first Sunday in August 1984, Rev. Walter Smith, Jr. became the pastor of New Horizon Missionary Baptist Church upon the resignation of Rev. Mahin.   He faithfully led the New Horizon congregation for 36 1/2 years.  During his tenure as pastor, Bishop Smith designed and oversaw New Horizon’s first building project located at 659 S. 27th Street; created a number of ministries to meet the needs of the community from a feeding program and clothes closet, an after-school enrichment program for students and much more.  Bishop Smith has also trained dozens of ministers and pastors for ministry.  Blessed with a tremendous gift of leadership and a heart for people New Horizon has been a fertile training ground for those seeking to faithfully answer the call to Gospel ministry.

Our Pastor Emeritus

In 1995, New Horizon Missionary became a part of the Full Gospel Baptist Fellowship and pastor Smith was appointed Overseer of the State of Kentucky.  On November 12th, 1999 he was consecrated as Bishop of the State of Kentucky and actively served in that role for fifteen years.

Bishop Walter Smith, Jr. retired as pastor of New Horizon at the close of 2020.

Bishop Smith is married to the former Pernilla Scott and from their union, they have four adult children, eleven grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.