Central Christian Church, also known in its early years as the Church of Christ in Indianapolis and Christian Chapel, is located at 701 North Delaware Street in downtown Indianapolis, Indiana. Its members formally organized on June 12, 1833, as the city's first Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) congregation. The congregation formally adopted the name of Central Christian Church on February 3, 1879. Its red brick and stone masonry Romanesque Revival-style church was dedicated in 1893. Building additions were completed in 1913 and in 1922. The church continues to serve the Indianapolis community and holds weekly worship services.
Members of the Indianapolis Disciples of Christ congregation, along with others around the state, were instrumental in establishing North Western Christian University, present-day Butler University, which opened for student enrollment in 1855. The congregation was also active in missionary work and acted as host to several annual meetings of the Indiana Christian Missionary Society, which the congregation helped to organized in 1849, and the American Christian Missionary Society. Church members also formed a women's mission society and hosted the executive committee of the national Christian Woman's Board of Missions. The church helped to establish other Disciples of Christ congregations in Indianapolis, including the Second Christian Church, the city's first African American Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) congregation in 1866. Central Christian Church became known for its music and educational programs, community outreach, and foreign ministry. Notable church members include Ovid Butler, a local lawyer who helped found North Western Christian University, and temperance movement advocate and women's suffrage leader Zerelda G. Wallace.
History
Origins
In 1833 a group of five congregations of New Light and Baptist reformers in Rush County, Indiana, selected missionary evangelist John O'Kane to organize the first Church of Christ in Indianapolis that later became known as Central Christian Church. The congregation initially met in a log cabin belonging to Benjamin Roberts and was formally organized on June 12, 1833. Charter members of Indianapolis's first Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) congregation included John J. Sanders, a local physician, and his family; Benjamin Roberts; and Peter Roberts. The Church of Christ in Indianapolis was the city's fourth religious congregation, preceded by the Baptists, Presbyterians, and Methodists.
First meetinghouse
Indianapolis's first Church of Christ congregation met at various sites until 1837, when its first meetinghouse was erected on the south side of Kentucky Avenue, between Capitol and Senate Avenues. The church building, which is no longer standing, had two front doors, one for men and one for women. A low partition installed along the church's center interior aisle separated the sexes during worship services. In 1839 the congregation's first meetinghouse served as the site of the first statewide meeting of the Disciples of Christ in Indiana. In 1849 a group gathered at the church to organize the Indiana Christian Missionary Society.
Christian Chapel
In 1852 the Indianapolis congregation's new brick church was completed at the corner of Delaware and Ohio Streets. The new building became known as Christian Chapel.
Members of the Indianapolis Disciples of Christ congregation, along with others around the state, were instrumental in organizing North Western Christian University (present-day Butler University) in the 1850s. On July 27, 1852, the university's first board of directors met at the church to discuss plans to build the first building on the site of its first campus at Thirteenth Street and College Avenue in Indianapolis. (The university opened for student enrollment in 1855.)
In addition, the Christian Chapel congregation was active in missionary work. Annual meetings of the Indiana and American Christian Missionary Societies were held at the chapel in October 1872. In 1874 a group of women from Christian Chapel organized a women's mission society. Many of the Indianapolis Disciples of Christ congregation's women went on to hold leadership positions in the state and national Christian Woman's Board of Missions, which was established later that year. The group became a sponsor of a global evangelic and service ministry. The national board's executive committee held its first meeting at Christian Chapel.